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Asaad, who taught in Yellow Springs 1964-68, is known as one of television’s most prolific and successful situation-comedy directors. You can enjoy his current work right now in episodes of “Dharma and Greg” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.” He also directed the “Michael Richards Show” (remember Kramer from “Seinfeld”?) but, “unfortunately, that show came and went,” Asaad wryly commented from his home in Los Angeles. “Its time had not quite arrived.”

Asaad has directed more than 300 TV episodes for all of the major networks, and was series director for “The Facts of Life,” “Who’s the Boss?”, “WKRP in Cincinnati,” “The Last Resort,” “Frannie’s Turn,” “Married People,” “George,” “In the House,” and “Sister, Sister.” He also directed the pilots for several new network series, including those for “Family Ties,” “The Last Resort,” “Report to Murphy,” “Bureau,” “Married People,” and “George.”

“My time at Antioch was really a superb experience,” said Asaad. He was involved with the Antioch College Shakespeare Festival and the Antioch Area Theatre. “What originally was going to be a year turned into three and then four,” he said of his developmental time at Antioch. Born in Cairo, Egypt, Asaad came to the United States in 1961 to pursue graduate studies at the Yale University School of Drama. He graduated from Yale in 1964 with a Master of Fine Arts degree in directing. He earned his BA at American University in Cairo. He headed for California in 1968 and led the Directing Department of the U.S. International University at San Diego. From there, he gradually became more and more involved with television.

“I am a free-lance director, so my work varies from year to year,” Asaad said. “I’ve been fortunate to be involved with many good shows.” A track record like Asaad’s may indicate he has more than a little to do with the shows being good. Asaad remains close to the stage as well, however, directing productions at San Diego’s Old Globe Theater, one of the nation’s top-ranked regional theaters. He is also co-chair of the Yale Alumni Association in Los Angeles. He heads the Yale Connection, which gathers for readings of original works and other theater-related activities. It provides a forum for creative exchange, promotes the process of new play development and celebrates the collaborative nature of theater.

After Asaad directed the 1994 world premiere of “The Disputation” at the Tiffany Theater on Sunset Strip he was described by Talmudic scholar and playwright Hyam Maccoby as “a director of genius.”

Asaad is also a member of the teaching faculty at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts West and the California Institute of the Arts.

Asaad said he would enjoy hearing from Antioch community friends and former students. Please write him in care of his agent, Steve Glick, at the William Morris Agency, 151 El Camino Drive, Suite 323, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. l

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by Fred Kraus, Researcher/Writer at Antioch College (937) 767-6380 fkraus@antioch-college.edu

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