About
"Lighting changes all the time. Lighting is a living thing. Lighting a program is not light it and walk away from it. Sometimes you can do that, but it is ever-changing, just as the face is ever-changing. You don't get up in the morning looking exactly the same as you did yesterday."
In his two-hour-plus interview, Imero Fiorentino (1928-2013) discusses his early years and influences - going to Radio City Music Hall and being intrigued by theater arts, and joining the "stage squad" in high school theater. He talks about the devastating moment in his life when he lost an eye and how he used the experience as a driving force in his pursuit of success. He recalls his start in television in 1950, working trial-by-fire as a staff lighting director at ABC. Fiorentino describes developing creative lighting and working for ABC anthology series Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue, Tales of Tomorrow, and Omnibus (on which he used leaves to create a shadow effect). He tells tales of some "live" television mishaps (too much flash powder once knocked over a camera; a bed in a tender scene fell down twice; a boom shadow appeared through an entire scene). He details lighting the first televised appearance of the Bolshoi Ballet, a particular favorite; speaks of forming his own company, Imero Fiorentino Associates; and recounts lighting the 1960 presidential debates, the Telstar satellite broadcast in 1962, and the World Showcase Pavilions at Disney's Epcot Center. Throughout the interview, Fiorentino speaks of the craft of lighting -- working with crews and talent, utilizing equipment, how the tools of the trade have changed over the years, and creating mood with light. Karen Herman conducted the interview on September 15, 2006 in New York, NY.
Highlights
Imero Fiorentino on lighting Neil Diamond
Imero Fiorentino on how lighting can create a mood
Imero Fiorentino on how losing an eye changed him and affected his chosen profession
Imero Fiorentino on Telstar I, the satellite that relayed the first live transatlantic transmission on July 10, 1962— the American flag outside the sending station at Andover, Maine
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on advice to aspiring lighting directors
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his childhood in Brooklyn; on radio shows and hobbies he enjoyed as a kid; on wanting to be a lighting designer from the time he was a little boy; on joining the Stage Squad in high school - building scenery and hanging lights for school productions; at attending Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon) and studying lighting and design
On losing an eye before he went to college; on how losing an eye changed him and affected his chosen profession; on his father's death; on becoming the breadwinner of the family and how he got into television
Chapter 2
On getting hired at ABC television; on working with the lighting director engineer; on lighting experimental television programs at ABC; on the equipment with which he worked in the early days; on the role of a lighting director and lighting designer
On the tools of a lighting director and how the tools have changed over the years; on daily changes to a lighting setup
Chapter 3
On how lighting can create a mood; on a color palette for a show; on how he works with directors; on working with performers and on-camera talent;
On performers he's worked well with over the years - Neil Diamond; on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC; on lighting Omnibus and trying to give depth and shadow; on some of his favorite productions that he worked on
Chapter 4
On Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue, with Glenn Osser (conducting) and Paul Whiteman; on an accident that happened in filming the live opening of Tales of Tomorrow; on a shadow thrown on the actors from a microphone on live TV, during the first U.S. Steel Hour production "P.O.W." with Richard Kiley
On the first televised appearance of the Bolshoi Ballet, Best of the Bolshoi (local ABC stations, 1959; edited and re-aired on network ABC, 1965), directed by Charles S. Dubin
On leaving ABC and starting his own company
Chapter 5
On Telstar I, the satellite that relayed the first live transatlantic transmission on July 10, 1962— the American flag outside the sending station at Andover, Maine; on working with Presidents on their television appearances; on lighting the 1960 Presidential debates starting with the second one, following the first debate wherein Richard Nixon looked badly, making the best improvements he could
On working on lighting Disney's Epcot Center; on then-current projects; on studio lighting; on advice to aspiring lighting directors; on creating a good lighting plan; on working with new technology; on how he'd like to be remembered
Shows
Best of the Bolshoi, The
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on the first televised appearance of the Bolshoi Ballet, Best of the Bolshoi (local ABC stations, 1959; edited and re-aired on network ABC, 1965), directed by Charles S. Dubin
Omnibus
Imero Fiorentino on lighting Omnibus
Imero Fiorentino on lighting Agnes DeMille in a ballet production on Omnibus - one of his favorite moments
Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue, with Glenn Osser (conducting) and Paul Whiteman; a story about an opera singer who refused to sing the show's finale
Tales of Tomorrow
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on an accident that happened in filming the live opening of Tales of Tomorrow
United States Steel Hour, The
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on mishaps on live TV including one he briefly recalls from U.S. Steel Hour: "Fearful Decision"
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on a shadow thrown on the actors from a microphone on live TV, during the first U.S. Steel Hour production "P.O.W." with Richard Kiley
Topics
Anthology Drama
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC
Imero Fiorentino on a shadow thrown on the actors from a microphone on live TV, during the first U.S. Steel Hour production "P.O.W." with Richard Kiley
Kennedy-Nixon Debates
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on lighting the 1960 Presidential debates starting with the second one, following the first debate wherein Richard Nixon looked badly, making the best improvements he could; also the issues he had lighting JFK due to RFK's interference
Technological Innovation
Imero Fiorentino on the equipment with which he worked in the early days
Imero Fiorentino on the tools of a lighting director and how the tools have changed over the years
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on Telstar I, the satellite that relayed the first live transatlantic transmission on July 10, 1962— the American flag outside the sending station at Andover, Maine
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on working with new technology
Television and the Presidency
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on lighting the 1960 Presidential debates starting with the second one, following the first debate wherein Richard Nixon looked badly, making the best improvements he could; also the issues he had lighting JFK due to RFK's interference
TV's Golden Age (1940s & '50s)
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC
Imero Fiorentino on a shadow thrown on the actors from a microphone on live TV, during the first U.S. Steel Hour production "P.O.W." with Richard Kiley
Imero Fiorentino on Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue, with Glenn Osser (conducting) and Paul Whiteman and a story about an opera singer who refused to sing the show's finale
Professions
Lighting Designer
Imero Fiorentino on wanting to be a lighting designer from the time he was a little boy
Imero Fiorentino on how losing an eye changed him and affected his chosen profession
Imero Fiorentino on lighting experimental television at ABC
Imero Fiorentino on the equipment with which he worked in the early days
Imero Fiorentino on the role of a lighting director and lighting designer
Imero Fiorentino on how lighting can create a mood
Lighting Director
Imero Fiorentino on the role of a lighting director and lighting designer
Imero Fiorentino on the tools of a lighting director and how they changed over the years
Genres
Classic Anthology Series
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC
Imero Fiorentino on lighting Omnibus
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue, with Glenn Osser (conducting) and Paul Whiteman; a story about an opera singer who refused to sing the show's finale
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on a shadow thrown on the actors from a microphone on live TV, during the first U.S. Steel Hour production "P.O.W." with Richard Kiley
News and Documentary
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on lighting the 1960 Presidential debates starting with the second one, following the first debate wherein Richard Nixon looked badly, making the best improvements he could; also the issues he had lighting JFK due to RFK's interference
People
Tallulah Bankhead
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program
Vic Damone
Imero Fiorentino on learning from the Stage Squad adviser in school and lighting a young Vic Damone
Agnes De Mille
Imero Fiorentino on lighting Agnes DeMille in a ballet production on Omnibus - one of his favorite moments
Neil Diamond
Imero Fiorentino on lighting Neil Diamond
Charles S. Dubin
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program and on other dramas
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on the first televised appearance of the Bolshoi Ballet, Best of the Bolshoi (local ABC stations, 1959; edited and re-aired on network ABC, 1965), directed by Charles S. Dubin
John Frankenheimer
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program and on other dramas
Dustin Hoffman
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program and on other dramas
Grace Kelly
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program and on other dramas
John F. Kennedy
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on lighting the 1960 Presidential debates starting with the second one, following the first debate wherein Richard Nixon looked badly, making the best improvements he could; also the issues he had lighting JFK due to RFK's interference
Robert F. Kennedy
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on the issues he had lighting JFK due to RFK's interference
Richard Kiley
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on a shadow thrown on the actors from a microphone on live TV, during the first U.S. Steel Hour production "P.O.W." with Richard Kiley
Tad Mosel
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program and on other dramas
Richard M. Nixon
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on lighting the 1960 Presidential debates starting with the second one, following the first debate wherein Richard Nixon looked badly, making the best improvements he could; also the issues he had lighting JFK due to RFK's interference
William S. Paley
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on lighting the 1960 Presidential debates starting with the second one, following the first debate wherein Richard Nixon looked badly, making the best improvements he could; also the issues he had lighting JFK due to RFK's interference
Reginald Rose
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program and on other dramas
Robert Saudek
Imero Fiorentino on lighting Omnibus
George Schaefer
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program and on other dramas
Rod Serling
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program
Dinah Shore
Imero Fiorentino on lighting The U.S. Steel Hour at ABC and the people he worked with on the program and on other dramas
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
Imero Fiorentino on lighting experimental television at ABC
Paul Whiteman
Lighting Director Imero Fiorentino on Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue, with Glenn Osser (conducting) and Paul Whiteman; a story about an opera singer who refused to sing the show's finale