directing her concert for HBO," he says.
Just prior to leaving for the tour, he
wed actress Christine Lahti, a
Birmingham, Mich., native and U-M
graduate. Married for 18 years, the cou-
ple have three children: 13-year-old
Wilson and twins Joseph and Emma, 8.
Schlamme and his wife moved to
Los Angeles, where he made a name
for himself producing and directing
Tracey Ullman's series Tracey Takes On,
and directing the groundbreaking
comedy The .Larry Sanders Show, wi th
Gary Shandling. "HBO found me
work constantly," says Schlamme.
The in-demand director has worked
on a host of other TV shows, includ-
ing ER, Ally McBeal and Chicago Hope.
I got into this business to tell sto-
ries and communicate," he has said of
his preference for the small screen. "I
have to be honest and say, 'Where is
the material that offers me the most
opportunity CO do that?'"
Most recently, he executive pro-
duced the acclaimed ABC sitcom
Sports Night, in creative partnership
with Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter
with whom he also brought The West
Wing to life.
Schlamme recently talked with the
Jewish News about his family, Jewish
roots and The West Wing.
JN: How did The West Wing evolve?
TS: Aaron [Sorkin] had written this
pilot script based on the film The
American President, which he also
wrote. While Aaron and I we were
working together on Sports Night, I
read the pilot and really liked it. It was
the height of the Monica Lewinsky
scandal, and at first, NBC was drag-
ging its feet about putting on a politi-
cal show. But the network finally said,
"yes," and Aaron and I decided to
become partners.
JN: Were you involved in the casting?
TS: Very much. Martin Sheen was
somebody we wanted [For the presi-
dent], but we shelved the idea for a
while because he had been in The
American President, playing a different
character. We had talked about James
Earl Jones and Sidney Poitier as presi-
dent, and another actor, whom we
were close to casting. The night
before, I couldn't sleep, thinking he
wasn't right. I called Aaron the next
morning and said, "Can we revisit
Martin again?" He signed on to do
about four or five episodes
because
the series concept focuses on the men
and women who work for the presi-
dent. But he enjoyed it so much we
made him permanent.
WING
Mancha, The Out-of Towners, The
Man in the Glass Booth, Plaza Suite).
Cross-Cultural Production in
Film or Television:
Following is a list of this year's
honorees in additional categories:
Network Television Film:
ANNE FRANK; ABC
Cable Television Film:
VARIAN'S WAR; Showtime
Documentary Film:
BACKSTORY GENTLEMAN'S
AGREEMENT HBO
RACHEL WEISZ — Enemy at the Gates
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Wing; NBC
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Management and Employees
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