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Paris Barclay
Paris Barclay at the DGA National Biennial Convention, where he was elected DGA President on June 22, 2013 in Los Angeles
Born (1956-06-30) June 30, 1956 (age 68)
Chicago Heights, Illinois, United States
Alma materHarvard University
OccupationTelevision director
Years active1989–present
Spouse
Christopher Mason
​
(m. 2008)​
ChildrenTwo

Paris K.C. Barclay (born June 30, 1956) is an American television director and producer, and writer. He is currently serving his second term as the President of the Directors Guild of America. He is a two-time Emmy Award winner and is among the busiest single-camera television directors, having directed nearly 150 episodes of television to date, for series such as NYPD Blue, ER, The West Wing, CSI, Lost, The Shield, House, Law & Order, Monk, Numb3rs, City of Angels, Cold Case, and more recently Sons of Anarchy, The Bastard Executioner, The Mentalist, Weeds, NCIS: Los Angeles, In Treatment, Glee, Smash and The Good Wife, Extant, and Manhattan, Empire, and Scandal.

Presently, Barclay is serving as Director/Executive Producer for one of FOX’s highly anticipated pilot’s, Pitch, from writer/creators Dan Fogelman and Rick Singer.

Early life

Barclay was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He attended La Lumiere School, a private college preparatory boarding school in La Porte, Indiana. On scholarship, he was one of the first African-Americans to attend the school, Barclay went on to Harvard College, where he was extremely active in student musical theatre productions and the a cappella singing group The Harvard Krokodiloes. During his four years there, he wrote 16 musicals, including the music for two of the annual Hasty Pudding shows. Barclay attended both the La Lumiere School and Harvard with John Roberts, now the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. His Harvard roommate was novelist Arthur Golden, author of Memoirs of a Geisha.

Music video career

Following his graduation from Harvard, he worked as a copywriter and creative supervisor at Grey, BBDO, Cunningham & Walsh, and Marsteller. Barclay then moved into music video directing and production through his own company, Black & White Television. He directed music videos for Bob Dylan ("It's Unbelievable"), the New Kids On The Block ("Games" [1]), Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross ("The Best Things in Life Are Free" [2]). Most notably, he created eight videos for LL Cool J, including "Mama Said Knock You Out", which won awards from both MTV and Billboard—and went on to be listed by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.[3] In 2013, Complex Magazine ranked "Mama Said Knock You Out" as one of the top 50 rap videos of the 1990s,[4] crediting it with creating "one of the most crucial links in establishing the cultural bridge between boxing and rap." Barclay was often hired to direct videos for films, introducing audiences to House Party (1990), White Men Can't Jump (1992), Mo' Money (1992), Posse (1993), and Cool Runnings (1993), among others.

In 2012, Barclay directed his first music video in 16 years, working once again with LL Cool J and R&B star Joe on the video for "Take It".

Also drawing on his music video experience was Barclay's episode ("The Coup") of the Steven Spielberg-produced NBC series Smash, in which TV Fanatic said that the Barclay-directed number for the original song "Touch Me" (written by OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder) "pushed the boundaries from traditional Broadway show to music video level."[5]

Film and television career

1990s

Paris began his successful career in television with an episode of Angel Street. He was hired by John Wells, who was making his debut as an executive producer.

Barclay directed Shawn and Marlon Wayans' first feature film, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996) – also featuring Keenen Ivory Wayans, Vivica Fox, and Bernie Mac. Although it received mixed reviews, it was a box office success and has built a cult following since its release. Barclay also directed the HBO movie, The Cherokee Kid (1996), a Western dramedy starring Sinbad, James Coburn, Burt Reynolds, Gregory Hines, and A Martinez.

After directing episodes of ER, Paris directed and eventually became a producer of NYPD Blue. In three years there, Barclay would receive two Emmy Awards for best directing—the second of which was for the episode titled "Hearts and Souls"— featuring the death of Jimmy Smits' character Bobby Simone. The episode has been ranked one of TV Guide's 100 Best Episodes of All Time.[6] Barclay has since reteamed with Smits again in his role as "Nero Padilla" on Sons of Anarchy.[7]

2000s

In 2000, Barclay joined forces with fellow NYPD Blue producers Steven Bochco and Nicholas Wootton to create City of Angels, a medical drama with a predominantly African-American cast including Blair Underwood, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Maya Rudolph, and Vivica Fox. The show aired on CBS for two seasons while winning two NAACP awards.

In 2002 he returned to the John Wells fold to produce and direct the pilot, The Big Time, featuring Christina Hendricks, Dylan Baker, Molly Ringwald and Christopher Lloyd—which eventually aired as a two-hour movie.[8] In the years that followed, Barclay worked on a wide variety of television dramas and comedies. He served as co-executive producer and producing director of the series Cold Case, for which he has also directed nine episodes. Other shows he directed in the decade include The West Wing, Huff, Law & Order, Numb3rs, Lost, House, The Shield, Weeds, Monk,The Good Wife, NCIS: Los Angeles, Sons of Anarchy, CSI, The Mentalist and 9 episodes of Glee.

2008 marked Barclay's return to HBO, where he executive produced three seasons of In Treatment, as well as directed 36 episodes.

2010–present

In 2011, Barclay became the executive producer and primary director for the fourth season of FX's Sons of Anarchy, a role he continued through the seventh and final season.

Also in 2013, Barclay directed two episodes of Glee, "Diva"[9] and "Lights Out".[10] For his work on "Diva", Barclay was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Direction in a Comedy Series,[11] his second Emmy nomination for Glee. In the same season, Barclay directed an episode of The New Normal and the penultimate episode of the ABC series Last Resort.

In 2014, Barclay directed the season premiere and penultimate episodes of Sons of Anarchy for the fourth year running. In addition to his Sons of Anarchy duties, Barclay also directed the milestone episode "100" for Glee, for which he received another Emmy nomination,[11] in addition to episodes of The Good Wife, Extant, executive produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Halle Berry, and Manhattan, a Tommy Schlamme/Sam Shaw period drama for WGN America;; and Glee’s emotional flashback episode “2009” – the first half of the series finale, “a perfect tribute to the origins of Glee, the original cast, and Cory Monteith.”

In 2015, Paris continued his role as Executive Producer/Director on FX’s, “The Bastard Executioner”. The show starred Katey Sagal, Stephen Moyer, and Matthew Rhys. At the end of the year, he was enlisted by FOX to direct an episode of “Empire”, the Television Critics Association program of the year.

In 2016, Paris joined the Shondaland family by directing an episode of ABC’s critically acclaimed show, Scandal, created/produced by Shonda Rhimes, starring Kerry Washington.

He is currently in post production for one of FOX’s highly regarded pilot’s, Pitch, from writer/creator’s Dan Fogelman and Rick Singer, starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Ali Larter, Mark Consuelos, Dan Lauria and up and comer Kylie Bunbury in the title role.


Directors Guild of America

In June 2013, Paris was elected President of the Directors Guild of America, the first African-American and first openly gay President in the history of the Guild. After the vote, Barclay expressed gratitude for the honor and admiration for the Union's history, saying "I am profoundly honored to be elected President of the DGA.... The DGA has worked for more than three-quarters of a century to advance the creative and economic rights of directors and their teams and I look forward to continuing this strong tradition of service. As the son of a glass blower and a tile maker from Chicago, I am extremely humbled to have the honor to serve in the footsteps of the legendary leaders of the DGA like Frank Capra, Robert Wise and Gil Cates." Barclay was nominated for the Presidency by past-President Michael Apted, who said of him, "Paris’ qualifications for DGA president are exceptional.... His understanding of the issues facing directors and their teams is outstanding and his ability to resolve problems and create solutions is beyond compare." His nomination was seconded by Steven Soderbergh, who said of Barclay, "This is a great moment for our Guild; Paris will be a phenomenal leader as we move into the future."[12] Paris has been enthusiastically re-elected this year, June 2015, to continue his notable presidency.[13]

Before being elected DGA President, Barclay served four terms as First Vice President of the DGA, where he was the first African-American Officer in the history of the guild. While serving as First Vice President, Paris was also chair of the DGA’s Political Action Committee, whose mission it is to promote the interests of DGA members to state and federal lawmakers. Their top issues include battling online copyright threats and promoting production tax incentives. He also served on the Western Directors Council and co-chaired the Diversity Task Force, whose mission is to encourage the hiring of women and minority directors to networks and studios.[14] In addition, Paris served as a board member of the DGA-affiliated Franco-American Cultural Fund, which promotes cultural exchange between French and American directors.

Barclay was re-elected to a second term as DGA president in June of 2015.

Reputation in the entertainment industry

During his three decades as a director, Barclay has developed a strong reputation as a go-to director capable of working adeptly in multiple genres - described in a June 2011 article in Variety as a "highly adaptive force with the ability to control both TV detectives and scene-stealing gleesters". The same article ranked Barclay among the "Ten TV Directors Who Leave Their Mark."[15]

Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter stated in an interview with The Star-Ledger[16] that it wasn't until Paris came on board to direct that the show found its "groove", observing: "We had all those glitches in those first two or three episodes [...] We had (Paris) come in [...] and we all just started trusting what we were doing here." Later in an interview for Variety, Kurt stated "The great thing about (exec producer Paris Barclay) is that he's a writer and he's also a director [...] so he can get the scripts and understand the production realities of it but also understand creatively what the need for everything is."[17]

In an interview with TV Fanatic, Glee actor Blake Jenner credited Barclay for guiding him through a difficult scene in the episode "Lights Out", saying "He was just so nurturing."[18]

In a piece for Vulture, television critic Matt Zoller Seitz cites Barclay as one of the few producer/directors who can "manage and drive the medium [of television]" as well as a writer-showrunner can. Seitz explains, "Directors tend to think in terms of images and moments; those skill sets aren’t often compatible with the left-brain requirements of managing a sitcom or drama (though there are always exceptions; see veteran TV director Paris Barclay’s executive-producer credit on FX’s stylishly nasty biker drama, Sons of Anarchy)."[19]

Ryan Murphy, creator of the Fox hit Glee, called Paris' episode "Wheels" a "turning point for the show".[20]

Over time, many of Paris Barclay’s former assistants have gone on to great Hollywood success in their own right. One of his first assistants was Kevin Williamson, writer of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and the creator and Executive Producer of the hit television shows Dawson’s Creek, The Vampire Diaries, and The Following.[21] Josh Barry, another former Barclay assistant,[22] heads the television department at Prospect Park after working as an executive in Drama Development at ABC.[23] Sam Martin, the former HBO executive (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Lackwanna Blues) and film producer (Pariah) and Jason Clodfelter, VP of Drama Development at Sony Television,[24] is another former Barclay assistant.[25] both previously served as Barclay assistants.

Awards

Along with winning two Emmy Awards[26] for NYPD Blue (Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series - "Lost Israel part II" and "Hearts and Souls"), Barclay has garnered another six Emmy nominations: two for producing NYPD Blue (Outstanding Drama Series), one for directing The West Wing (Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series - "Indians In The Lobby"), and three for directing Glee (Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series - "Wheels", "Diva" and "100") .[11]

He has also received a Directors Guild of America Award for NYPD Blue and 10 other DGA Award nominations for The West Wing (3), In Treatment (2), NYPD Blue (2), ER, House, and Glee. In 2007, he and Taylor Hackford were recipients of the DGA Robert B. Aldrich Award,[27] for Distinguished Service to the Directors Guild.

Barclay received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Drama Series as co-creator, writer, and director of the groundbreaking medical drama City of Angels, another Image Award for directing Cold Case, and a third Image Award for directing Smash. He has been nominated for the Image Award for Directing every year it has been offered, from 2006 to 2013. On February 22, 2014 the NAACP honored Paris by inducting him into the NAACP Hall of Fame.[28] The Hall of Fame Award is bestowed on an individual who is a pioneer in his or her respective field and whose influence will shape the profession for generations to come. Other recipients have included Lena Horne, Paul Robeson, Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby and Oprah Winfrey.

Also a writer, Paris received his first WGA Award nomination for co-writing Pedro with screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, marking the Oscar-winner's first WGA credit. The moving story of The Real World's Pedro Zamora garnered the team nominations for a GLAAD Media Award and Humanitas Prize.

Episodes directed by Paris for Glee[29] and In Treatment[30] have become the recipients of the prestigious Peabody Award[31] for excellence in broadcasting. The Glee episode "Wheels" was also acknowledged at the 2010 Shane's Inspiration Gala, receiving the Visionary Leadership Award for shining a light on the abilities of those with disabilities.

The Glee episode, "Wheels" and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode, "Coup de Grace" were both chosen for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Television Academy Honor, saluting "Television with a Conscience,"[32] in which the Academy recognizes achievements in programming that present issues of concern to society in "a compelling, emotional, and insightful way." Barclay also accepted the Voice Award[33] from the US Department of Health and Human Services on behalf of In Treatment, for "incorporating dignified, respectful, and accurate portrayals of people with mental illnesses."

In June 2011, Advertising Age featured Paris on the cover as one of 2011's 50 Most Creative People, saying "Mr. Barclay brings an innate cultural awareness to shows."[34] TV Guide also recognized his House episode, "Three Stories", as one of the 100 Best Episodes of All Time.[6]

In addition to his honors in television, Paris has been awarded the Founder's Award from Project Angel Food in 1998, the GLAAD Stephen F. Kolzak Award in 2001, to honor his outstanding representation of the LGBT community, and in 2004 the Pan-African Film Festival Pioneer Award. In 2009 Barclay was named by POWER UP as one of the Top Ten Gay Men in Entertainment;[35] 2010 he received the Bridge Award [36] from the Cornerstone Theater in Los Angeles for over 20 years of contributing to the theater. Barclay received the 2012 Upton Sinclair Award[37] from the non-profit Liberty Hill for "unwavering idealism and vision.".[37] Also in 2012, he and husband Christopher Barclay were awarded with the Family Values Award from In the Life Media, given to "individuals whose representation of LGBT families serve as an inspiration for all Americans.[38] Most recently he’s been awarded the Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign, the Legacy Award from the African-American Film Critics Association.

Work in musical theater

In the theater, Barclay presented his original musical On Hold With Music at the Manhattan Theater Club in 1984, with a cast including Jason Alexander, Terry Burrell, John Dossett, Ray Gill, and Maureen Brennan. Based on his life in advertising, Barclay wrote and composed the sung through musical in its entirety.[39]

In 1985, he wrote the book, music and lyrics for another musical drama entitled Almos’ a Man, based on a short story by Richard Wright – which had been developed in the second year of the ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop in New York,[39] under the tutelage of Charles Strouse and Stephen Sondheim. It was produced that year at Soho Rep, receiving a mixed review from the New York Times’ Mel Gussow.[40]

After years of directing, Barclay returned to composing in September 2001 with the premiere of a musical based on the collection of letters Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam. Called Letters from ‘Nam, the play featured Grammy winner Maureen McGovern, future Tony winner Levi Kreis, and David Burnham. Praised by most reviewers[41][42] and opening days before the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Vietnam musical hit home emotionally with those who performed in it, produced it, or experienced it.[43]

In 2003, Barclay wrote songs for and co-directed "Order My Steps" for the Cornerstone Theater Company. The musical play, with book by Tracey Scott Wilson, dealt with the African-American church’s response to the AIDS epidemic. The Los Angeles Times call a "moving tale about the human toll of AIDS."[44]

Barclay returned to Vietnam with One Red Flower: Letters from ‘Nam, a reworked version of the musical was produced at the Village Theater in Issaquah to further acclaim,[45] with Levi Kreis and David Burnham reprising their roles. Other productions followed, with the most significant being Eric Schaeffer’s "gritty and emotional"[46] staging at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia in 2004.

In 2008, Barclay presented a reading of One Red Flower in Los Angeles to benefit New Directions, an organization that supports veterans of all wars. Maureen McGovern, Levi Kreis and David Burnham returned in featured roles, with television stars Hunter Parrish and Josh Henderson. Although it was not a full production, again it received glowing reviews, described by Beverly Cohn in the Santa Monica Mirror as an "evening that had the audience smiling with a lump in its throat."[47]

Personal life

Openly gay since late in his college days,[48] he was a regular contributor to The Advocate for several years. Barclay married food-industry executive Christopher Barclay (né Mason), his partner of 17 years, in 2008.[49]

Filmography

Directed episodes of (arranged in order from most episodes directed to least):

Television pilots:

Television movies:

References

  1. ^ "MEDIA: Producer Paris Barclay: - 3104 - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News Archive - Windy City Times". Windycitymediagroup.com. 2004-05-01. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  2. ^ "Luther Vandross - "The best things in life are free"". mvdbase.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  3. ^ "Experience The Music: One Hit Wonders and The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  4. ^ "The 50 Best Rap Videos of the '90s". Complex. 2013-02-24. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  5. ^ "Smash Review: Touch Me". TV Fanatic. 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  6. ^ a b "What's the best episode of all-time?". Aoltv.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  7. ^ Nero Padilla (Character)
  8. ^ The Big Time (TV Movie 2002) - IMDb
  9. ^ "Glee" Diva (TV Episode 2013) - IMDb
  10. ^ "Glee" Lights Out (TV Episode 2013) - IMDb
  11. ^ a b c [1] Archived 2013-07-21 at the Wayback Machine Cite error: The named reference "emmys.com" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Paris Barclay Elected DGA President; 2013-2013 Officers & Board Members Announced". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  13. ^ David Robb (June 27, 2015). "Paris Barclay Re-Elected DGA President". Dateline: Hollywood. Retrieved September 2015. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. ^ "The Guild / Members | DGA - Member Profile". DGA. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  15. ^ Neal Justin (2011-06-02). "TV directors who leave their mark". Variety. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  16. ^ Alan Sepinwall/The Star-Ledger. "Sons of Anarchy: Kurt Sutter Q & A". Nj.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  17. ^ Variety, Staff. "Showrunners Impact Report". Variety Magazine. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
  18. ^ "Blake Jenner Teases Catfish Reveal and "Cliffhangers Galore" on Glee Season Finale". TV Fanatic. 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  19. ^ Zoller, Matt. "Seitz: How to Direct a TV Drama". Vulture. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  20. ^ "Exclusive: Ryan Murphy calls tonight's episode of 'Glee' a 'game changer' - latimes.com". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  21. ^ "Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec". The Hollywood Reporter. 2010-09-09. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  22. ^ Josh S. Barry - IMDb
  23. ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "Former ABC Executive Josh Barry Joins Prospect Park As TV Partner". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  24. ^ Lisotta, Christopher. "Rabinowitz, Clodfelter to Join Sony as Development Execs : In Depth : TVWeek - Television Industry news, TV ratings, analysis, celebrity event photos". TVWeek. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  25. ^ Josef Adalian (2004-08-29). "Spelling tips delevopment to Bendavid". Variety. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  26. ^ Paris Barclay-Awards - Awards - IMDb
  27. ^ "DGA". Stage.dga.org. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  28. ^ Variety http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/paris-barclay-cheryl-boone-isaacs-to-be-inducted-into-naacp-hall-of-fame-1201078126/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ^ "View Winner | George Foster Peabody Awards". Peabodyawards.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  30. ^ "View Winner | George Foster Peabody Awards". Peabodyawards.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  31. ^ "Peabody Search | George Foster Peabody Awards". Peabodyawards.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  32. ^ "Television Academy Honors - 2010 | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences". Emmys.tv. 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  33. ^ "The Voice Awards - Previous Winners". Whatadifference.samhsa.gov. 2003-09-08. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  34. ^ "The Creativity 50 | News - Advertising Age". Adage.com. 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  35. ^ "Paris Barclay Power Up Honoree". Wn.com. doi:10.1136/jcp.2008.058867. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  36. ^ "Heads To...Cornerstone Gala celebrating Paris Barclay-LA". Harvardwood. 2010-03-16. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  37. ^ a b "Upton Sinclair Award Honoree Paris Barclay - Liberty Hill Foundation". Libertyhill.org. 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  38. ^ "In The Life Media | Celebrating Our Legacy, Envisioning Our Future". Donate.itlmedia.org. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  39. ^ a b Brownfield, Paul (1999-09-13). "Laying Down His Own Law - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  40. ^ The New York Times http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?pagewanted=print&res=9904E4D6163BF931A35756C0A963948260&_r=1&. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  41. ^ "Talkin' Broadway Regional News & Reviews - "Letters from 'Nam" in Boston 9/24/01". Talkinbroadway.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  42. ^ Markland Taylor (2001-09-23). "Letters From 'Nam". Variety. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  43. ^ "Northshore | Northshore Magazine". Nshoremag.com. 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  44. ^ Foley, F. Kathleen (2003-07-05). "Plight of the faithful in the AIDS fight - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  45. ^ "Talkin' Broadway Regional News & Reviews: "One Red Flower: Letters from 'Nam - 11/14/02". Kevinnoonchester.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  46. ^ "One Red Flower, a CurtainUp DC review". Curtainup.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  47. ^ "Theatre Review: One Red Flower | Santa Monica Mirror". Smmirror.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  48. ^ "Powerful Gay Men in Hollywood". AfterElton. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  49. ^ Stockwell, Anne. "Love Stories Paris Barclay and Christopher Mason". Advocate.com. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
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