Neal Marshad (born April 25, 1952) is an American film and television producer, director, cinematographer, and screenwriter.
Marshad was born on April 25, 1952, inPeekskill, New York, the son of Ruth Marshad andLook art director and graphic designer Jack Marshad.[1] Marshad grew up inCroton-on-Hudson, New York, and since 1975[2] Marshad resides inTribeca inLower Manhattan,New York City. Starting in 1971, Marshad attendedNew York University, Tisch School of the Arts, Institute of Film and Television, and earned a bachelor's degree in film. Marshad was mentored by professorGeorge C. Stoney who taught documentary filmmaking. Marshad's audio engineering professor was Lee Osborne known for his work as the location live performance recording engineer for bothWoodstock the music festival and the documentaryWoodstock (film). Marshad's classmates includedBarry Sonnenfeld,Amy Heckerling,Susan Seidelman,Martin Brest,Mitchell Block andLeonard Maltin.
Beginning in 1964, Neal Marshad was mentored byFluxus founderGeorge Maciunas at his father's New York design studio, where Marshad was influenced by Maciunas and fellow avant-garde artistsAy-O andYoko Ono.[3]
While attending New York University in 1973, Marshad produced, edited and co-directed with Patrice Marden the documentary "...and the walls came tumbling down"[4] examining the work of an improvisational drama workshop conducted by actressMarketa Kimbrell with inmates at the Queens House of Detention for Men in New York City. The film documents how a dramatic play is planned, written, and rehearsed in improvisational sessions. Marshad signed a distribution agreement withUniversity of California, Berkeley Extension Media Center to release the documentary.[5] The documentary was selected for the 33rd Annual Student Film Festival atNew York University Tisch School of the Arts, Institute of Film and Television, screening on October 27, 1973, at New York City'sBleecker Street Cinema. The film was selected to compete in theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Regional Student Film Competition forStudent Academy Awards, and was screened on November 17, 1973, at theFashion Institute of Technology Haft Auditorium in New York City.
In 1973, Neal Marshad was hired by the New York City-based post-production company Ross-Gaffney to serve as a sound effects editor and sound effects Foley assistant for the motion pictureSummer Wishes, Winter Dreams directed byGilbert Cates. This was Marshad's first experience editing 35mm motion picture film and 35mm soundtracks[6] and he became a member of theNational Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians trade union which included workers in the film industry.
After graduatingNew York University Tisch School of the Arts in 1974, Marshad photographed and directed aPBS documentary,Sculpture byIsaac Witkin[7] which was broadcast in the United States on Public Broadcasting Service on October 19, 1976, and had non-theatrical exhibition at New York City'sThe Metropolitan Museum of Art on November 7, 1976. Marshad and Witkin attended the Metropolitan Museum screening and followed with a Q&A .[8]
In 1978, Marshad collaborated with emerging filmmakerKathryn Bigelow on her experimental short film "The Set-Up" while she was completing her graduate studies at Columbia University.[9] The film premiered on November 21, 1978.[10] Marshad served as audio engineer overseeing post-production voice over sound recording. The film, written and directed by Bigelow, is a 20-minute black-and-white deconstruction of cinematic violence, juxtaposing a brutal fight sequence with philosophical commentary by two off-screen theorists.[11]
Beginning in 1978, Marshad edited, produced, photographed, post-production supervised, and audio-engineered short films in collaboration with writer/director Tom Schiller forNBC'sSaturday Night Live over a 47-year period, commencing with "Perchance to Dream"[12] which premiered on Season 4 Episode 14 and was broadcast on March 10, 1979. Marshad engineered the voice-over recording for actorBill Murray in Marshad's screening room at 377 Broadway in New York City. The host for the episode wasGary Busey. In May 1979, Marshad supervised the post production of the short film Clones Exist Now directed and written by SNL film segment director Tom Schiller which first aired Season 4 Episode 6 on May 26, 1979, withCarrie Fisher hosting andThe Blues Brothers were the musical guest. In February 1980, Marshad collaborated again with SNL director/writer Tom Schiller and supervised the post production of the Schiller's Reel short Mask of Fear, which aired Season 5, Episode 12 on February 23, 1980, hosted byKirk Douglas withSam & Dave the musical guest.[13]
Marshad was producer, cinematographer, and post-production supervisor for Saturday Night Live's "Java Junkie" a Schiller's Reel short film featuringPeter Aykroyd andTeri Garr. "Java Junkie" was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts[14] Short Film Showcase and was distributed theatrically in USA.[15] The film premiered on NBC Saturday Night Live season 5 episode 8, December 22, 1979.[16]
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes commissioned Marshad to direct a documentary film including a live broadcast concert at theAsbury Park Convention Hall on August 8, 1979. The film was shown in January 1980 onWarnerMedia'sQube (cable television).[17]
Marshad is credited as both film producer and director of photography forSaturday Night Live Schiller's Reel "Linden Palmer, Hollywood's Forgotten Director"[18] which was broadcast on February 9, 1980, and hosted byChevy Chase. Marshad collaborated with writer/director Tom Schiller and shot the film entirely inThe Battery (Manhattan).
In 1981 Marshad is credited for his post production sound engineering work onYou Are Not I (film),[19] an independent film directed bySara Driver and co-written and photographed byJim Jarmusch and based on a short story byPaul Bowles.[20] The film was screened in the Master Works section of the 2011 New York Film Festival.[21]
In 1981 German directorWim Wenders hired Neal Marshad to provide film post-production services and post-production audio engineering services forThe State of Things (film) and Wenders edited the film in Marshad's 35mm edit room in New York City.[22]
In January 1982,The Steinettes, the a capella doo-wop street group known for their appearance in theRobert Altman filmPopeye, collaborated with Marshad. Neal Marshad produced and engineered a recording of twenty songs performed by The Steinettes in his studio at 295 West 4th Street in Greenwich Village, New York City.
In 1982, Marshad won anEmmy Award for outstanding achievement in directing and cinematography for his work forCBS SportsSuper Bowl XVI[23]
In 1982, Marshad formed Neal Marshad Productions, and began directing and producing films forIBM in the US and Europe using theARPANET to facilitate global communications between crews and clients. IBM commissioned Marshad to direct a documentary film about architectRenzo Piano[24] and the IBM Traveling Technology Pavilion inParis.
In 1984 Marshad collaborated with actor/producerMichael Douglas,[25]Betsy Gotbaum, andRolling Stone Magazine's publisherJann Wenner, and theNew York City Police Department to produce and direct a documentary film about handgun ownership[26] dedicated toJohn Lennon.[27]
In 1985, Marshad was hired byApple Computer Inc. to produce, direct, and shoot "Are We There Yet?" a video intended to address the departure of company co-founderSteve Jobs and the leadership of then-CEOJohn Sculley. The video featured Apple technologists, executives, and co-founderSteve Wozniak.[28]
On December 17, 1988,NBCSaturday Night Live aired the short film Marshad produced and photographed collaborating with writer/directorTom Schiller titled "Love is a Dream". The film featuredPhil Hartman andJan Hooks.[29] The film was named one of the best pre-recorded moments in all 50 years of SNL history by CinemaBlend.com.[30] The film was selected by producerLorne Michaels to be included in six episodes of Saturday Night Live between the time it premiered in 1988 and the SNL50 Anniversary show broadcast on February 16, 2025.[31]
In 1989, Marshad started to develop, co-produce, and co-direct with Donna Olson, the PBS television documentaryThe Conspiracy of Silence. The film explores domestic violence in the U.S., emphasizing its cross‑cultural reach and ubiquity across social classes featuring actressKathleen Turner.[32] The documentary follows survivors and legal advocates including Denise Brown,[33] sister ofNicole Brown Simpson, and Judge Deborah Kooperstein and highlights work at The Retreat, a women's shelter in East Hampton, New York.[34] Originally broadcast three times between 1995 and 1996 on PBS, The Conspiracy of Silence received a Silver Award at the 1996 WorldFest–Houston (Women's Issues) and an Honorable Mention for Health & Medicine at the 1996 Columbus International Film & Animation Festival.
On October 28, 1989, during Season 15, Episode 4 ofSaturday Night Live, Marshad served as producer and cinematographer for the "Schiller's Reel" short film segment titled "Falling in Love". Written and directed byTom Schiller, the segment starred SNL repertory playersVictoria Jackson andJon Lovitz. The film was shot at Mother's Stage, a production space located inEast Village, Manhattan. "Falling in Love" is a satirical take on romantic musicals, featuring Jackson and Lovitz as a couple who reunite and sing together before experiencing an unexpected comedic twist: together falling off of a NYC high-rise apartment building. The film was broadcast as part of the episode hosted byJames Woods with musical guestDon Henley.[35]
In 1989 and 1990, Marshad produced, directed and photographed two standup comedy specials hosted byThe Improv comedy club founderBudd Friedman and sponsored byJohnnie Walker as a way for talent scouts fromThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson andStar Search to book up-and-coming standup talent. Judges who attended the taping of the shows and voted to determine the winners wereGeorge Schlatter,Jack Rollins,Charles H. Joffe,Estelle Getty, andPaul Rodríguez. The one-hour specials were broadcast respectively onThe Comedy Channel in 1989 and onComedy Central in 1990, for which Marshad directed then unknown comediansSteve Harvey,[36]Ray Romano,[37] Brian Kiley,Judd Apatow andEllen Cleghorne.[38]
On February 24, 1990, during Season 15, Episode 14 ofSaturday Night Live, Neal Marshad served as supervising producer and director of photography for the "Schiller's Reel" segment titled "Hooked on Sushi" starringKevin Nealon. The short film, directed and written byTom Schiller, parodied America's growing obsession with sushi culture. Marshad collaborated with Schiller, lending the segment a cinematic visual style. Marshad's direction of photography contributed to the noir aesthetic. The film was shot in Zutto, a Japanese restaurant, inTribeca neighborhood in New York City.[39]
In 1993, while working for IBM Latin America, Marshad directed a documentary film about making theVatican Library accessible online.[40]
Starting on May 6, 1993, Marshad began a creative collaboration and media production contract with theEstée Lauder Companies. He was commissioned to interviewEstée Lauder and her son, CEOLeonard Lauder[41] to advise and support the company's transition from analog to digital media throughout the company worldwide. Marshad produced videos, multilingual interactive CD-ROMs, the company's first international website, and a live global press conference. Marshad was asked to work withEvelyn Lauder and theBreast Cancer Research Foundation, to expand worldwide public education on early detection and self-examination. Marshad collaborated with and directed formerNBC News correspondentRichard Valeriani to help with media training and they produced a taped interview of Evelyn Lauder using 3 robotic cameras at theWall Street Journal TV studio, with Marshad's associate producer and editorJoe Tripician.
Marshad started to stream video he produced, directed and photographed on aBBC website he designed in 1995.[42]
On December 17, 1995, theNew York Times reported on a group art show and published Marshad's photograph. The photograph was of Denise Brown's hands wearing the bracelet her sisterNicole Brown Simpson wore when she was slain. Another photograph Marshad created, one depicting the hands ofJerry Della Femina, was also included in the show "Nonviolent Hands" at the Vered Gallery, East Hampton, New York.[43]
In 1996, Marshad formed The Marshad Technology Group, a digital agency, and was hired byChanel,Neiman Marcus,Beiersdorf La Prairie,[44] and theBBC to strategize, create and launch their internet businesses. In the same year, he was commissioned bySpeedo, the swimwear manufacturer, to create and launch Speedo.com.[45] Marshad enabled email communication betweenOlympic Games athletes and sports fans online, for the1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1996 Marshad developed the Marshad Technology Group WebDB Product Suite, an earlySoftware as a service (SaaS) platform licensed commercially on October 28, 1998. The software enabled users to manage and modify website content remotely with a web browser, preceding the widespread adoption of content management systems such asWordPress. Marshad's software provided a dashboard for updating and organizing web content. The system included database connectivity and a modular architecture, allowing for customization and scalability, making it one of the first enterprise-level SaaS tools for content management. One implementation of the software was for a website Marshad designed LaPrairie.com. Marshad developed a personalized consultation tool using an early form of generativeArtificial intelligence. The system collected user data through prompts and generated customized product recommendations, representing one of the first known uses of AI in e-commercePersonalization.[46]
On August 11, 1996 Marshad was director of photography (videographer) for theUSC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education interviews ofMartin Greenfield[47] in Westhampton, New York. Under the direction ofSteven Spielberg, the Foundation has collected the permanent testimony of over 52,000 holocaust survivors, liberators, rescuers, and war crimes trial participants.[48]
In 1997, Marshad collaborated with playwrightEdward Albee and Martha Wadsworth Coigney[49] to create the first website for theInternational Theatre Institute.[50] The goal of the website was to promote open and free communications among playwrights, actors, directors and all people working in theater around the world. For that effort, Marshad directed and streamed audio interviews which he recorded of Albee. This was the first recorded performance Albee allowed to be published on the web.
In 1998, Marshad worked as segment producer and cinematographer on theNBC Network TV specialSaturday Night Live: The Best of Phil Hartman which aired on June 13, 1998,[51] collaborating with writer/directorTom Schiller and actorsPhil Hartman andJan Hooks. The film Marshad produced is the last tribute to Hartman in a special send off by all the current and past SNL cast members who worked with Hartman includingCandice Bergen,Dana Carvey,Danny DeVito,Will Ferrell,Chris Kattan,Steve Martin,Mike Myers,Chris Rock,Adam Sandler, andWilliam Shatner.Al Franken was one of the writers as well asConan O'Brien and others.[52]
Marshad collaborated again with playwrightEdward Albee[53] to direct videos of his performances at theJack Lenor Larsen sculpture garden at LongHouse Reserve, East Hampton, New York in 1999.[54]
Marshad was hired in October 1999 byLaura Mercier andJanet Gurwitch, the founders ofLaura Mercier Cosmetics to provide e-commerce strategy, visual design, cloud hosting, and technology for www.lauramercier.com.[55]
The film Marshad produced and photographed for Saturday Night Live titled "Love is a Dream" was included in the broadcast of theSaturday Night Live 25th Anniversary Special airing on September 25, 1999[56] which won the 2000 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.[57] and the show was nominated for the 2000 Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Miniseries, Movie or Special, and was nominated for 2001TV Guide Award for Comedy Special of the Year.[58]
In June 2000. Marshad developed an animated TV series "Walter Miller Homepage" with writer David Sampugnaro and animatorsYvette Kaplan, Tony Eastman, Rick Mischel, and Willy Hartland.[59] The show was based on a web property created by Sampugnaro, the five-timeJeopardy! winner and Ultimate Tournament of Champions player. Marshad and Sampugnaro sold the rights to the show toThe Harvey Entertainment Company which was Harvey's first production meant for primetime television.[60]
In September 2001, Marshad collaborated with actorJerry Stiller,[61] jazz singerCassandra Wilson[62] and actressKathleen Turner,[63] to direct and produce "What Can I Do?" a public service television campaign for the Citizens Committee for New York City to help residents recover from the destruction of theSeptember 11 attacks. Marshad previously collaborated with the Citizens Committee for New York City starting in 1977[64] to help NYC residents recover fromNew York City blackout of 1977 andDavid Berkowitz (the "Son of Sam") and created the "Who Cares About NYC?"[65][66] public service television campaign withDiane von Fürstenberg,Otto Preminger,Robert Merrill,Jack Gilford,Dina Merrill,Cliff Robertson,Gato Barbieri,Alan King,Rocky Graziano,Robert Klein,Henny Youngman, and others.[67] The ad campaign Marshad directed was awarded byArt Directors Club of New York and included in its 57th Annual Exhibition in 1978. Marshad's TV spot directorial work for the "Who Cares About NYC?" public service campaign is in the permanent collection of thePaley Center for Media formerly the Museum of Television & Radio and the Museum of Broadcasting.[68]
Marshad is currently an executive producer forEurocinema, the Video-On-Demand television network available specializing in European box office films that is in 35 million United States homes.[69]
In August 2011 Marshad signed an agreement with theApollo Theater to exclusively direct, develop, joint venture and produce musical and comedy filmed entertainment for online streaming to worldwide audiences.[70]
In 2012 Marshad worked as segment producer, segment director, and segment director of photography for a TV special produced by and starringSteve Harvey.[71]
The Marshad Technology Group achievedGoogle Partner status in March 2014. Marshad was asked, in May 2014, to become DOWNTOWN magazine's Digital Media Advisor, and was offered a board position.[72]
On October 11, 2014, "Love is a Dream", a film Marshad produced and photographed, was broadcast onSaturday Night Live season 40 as a tribute to former cast memberJan Hooks who died on October 8, 2014.[73] The episode in which the film aired was Episode 3 of Season 40 (overall episode 769) which was nominated in the 2015 67th Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Interactive Program category.[74][75]
"Love is a Dream" aired in theSaturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special which aired on February 15, 2015, and was the 2015 Primetime Emmy Award winner forOutstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Limited Series. The show also won the 2015 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special.[76]
Steve Harvey and Deep Dish Productions of Chicago, LLC contracted with Marshad in October 2015 to provide Segment Producer/Director/Director of Photography services for The Steve Harvey Show on NBC.[71]
In June 2016, Marshad was named to the International Advisory Board of LongHouse Reserve, byJack Lenor Larsen,East Hampton (town), New York.[77]
In November 2016,Microsoft asked Marshad to become a Microsoft Bing Partner Agency.[78]
On November 20, 2021, "Java Junkie", a film Marshad produced and photographed featuring actressTeri Garr, was broadcast onSaturday Night Live (season 47) as a tribute to former cast member and writerPeter Aykroyd, brother of original Not Ready for Primetime PlayerDan Aykroyd, who died on November 6, 2021. Before the show ends, a photo by Neal Marshad of Peter Aykroyd is shown in silence. SNL also posted the film as an online tribute on X, formerly called Twitter.[79][80][81][82] This SNL episode won in 2022 the74th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Sketch Series.
In 2023, Marshad began writing and developing "Tribeca Co-op", a murder mystery set in a New York City co-op building. Initially written as a feature-length screenplay, Marshad adapted the story into a television pilot for a limited series in 2024. The plot centers on a building superintendent and part-time stand-up comic who helps expose a decades-old conspiracy involving hidden property deeds, set against a backdrop of class conflict between long-time artist residents and affluent newcomers. Marshad is collaborating with co-writer Dashiell Finley, producer G. Mac Brown, andJames Signorelli. The feature length script and the TV pilot scripts were registered withWriters Guild of America West and copyrighted through theUnited States Copyright Office.[83] On March 9, 2025, a table read occurred involving fourteen New York City actors. The table read was organized by Marshad's associate casting director, Vivian Taylor, at Marshad's loft in NYC's Tribeca neighborhood.
"Love is a Dream" the Saturday Night Live film Marshad is credited as producer and director of photography was included in theSaturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special which aired February 16, 2025.[84][31] The SNL50 show earned thirteen 2025 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) and another for Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork For A Special. The show earned seven Emmy wins including the Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Special.[85][86]
Marshad married Erica (née Klapper) Marshad, MSW in 1983 and they have two sons, Cameron Marshad and Tyler Marshad.
