 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Tom Schiller" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Tom Schiller is an American writer, director, comedian and actor best known for his eleven-year stint writing and directing short films forSaturday Night Live (following the show's original short film makersAlbert Brooks andGary Weis). His films, often featuring members of the originalSNL cast, aired on the program in a segment titled, "Schiller's Reel." He is the son of TV comedy writer/producerBob Schiller.
Schiller was part of the original 1975 writing team whenSaturday Night Live debuted onNBC. Schiller was an on-screen cast member for one season.[1] Notable films included theFederico Fellini send-up "La Dolce Gilda" and "Don't Look Back in Anger", which depicted an elderlyJohn Belushi as the last living "Not Ready For Primetime Player," visiting a cemetery where his castmates are buried, recalling their deaths, and remarking he survived by dancing, at which point he dances on their graves. ("Don't Look Back in Anger" noted the irony of the situation in light of Belushi's fast-living lifestyle, with Belushi remarking on the predictions—which turned out to be accurate—that Belushi would be the first cast member to die.) Another favorite was "Java Junkie", a send-up of a 1950s-style cautionary film about a coffee addict (played byPeter Aykroyd) which Schiller made with producer/cinematographerNeal Marshad. Schiller wrote and directed the short film "Love Is a Dream" forSNL again with producer/cinematographer Neal Marshad and starringPhil Hartman andJan Hooks. Schiller also wrote and directed a feature film,Nothing Lasts Forever (1984). The film, which was shelved byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer, has never been officially released theatrically or for home media, featuredBill Murray,Dan Aykroyd,Zach Galligan,Sam Jaffe,Mort Sahl,Lauren Tom,Imogene Coca, Apollonia van Ravenstein andEddie Fisher, the film has gained a cult following and influenced a number of young directors.
Prior to working onSaturday Night Live, Schiller worked as an assistant to documentary filmmaker Robert Snyder and directed a film about his longtime friend and mentor, authorHenry Miller. Schiller is the son of sitcom writerBob Schiller, who was a staff writer onI Love Lucy.
Schiller has gone on to direct over 500 comedy TV commercials and is currently represented by his own company, Schillervision.
In spring 2013, the comedy album "Tom and Don", which is a compilation of improv interviews between Schiller and musicianDonald Fagen, was released. Schiller's body of work is the subject of the 2005 bookNothing Lost Forever: The Films of Tom Schiller by Michael Streeter. Schiller is married to humorist, community volunteer, author and partygiver,Jacque Schiller, née Lynn.
Schiller's likeness is represented in the filmSaturday Night (2024) by upcoming actor and artist Parker Wierling.
Some of the names here will be familiar only to die-hard fans; others, like Murphy, defined what was funny for generations of viewers.
