John Shaffner

On his early life and influences; on television he watched as a child; on the first time he saw color television

On his education at The University of Montana and Carnegie Mellon

On starting out in television; on directing the made-for-television movies A Lathe of Heaven and The Cheever Stories

On early art direction jobs in Hollywood; on the duties of an art director, set decorator, production designer and prop master; on starting a company with Joe Stewart

On working with David Copperfield; on designing the set for The Golden Girls; on working in first-run syndication

On set design for Star Search; on working with David Copperfield; on winning Emmys for his David Copperfield specials

On set design for Shop Till You Drop and the Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon

On designing the set for Friends

On his day-to-day duties as set designer for Friends; on creating iconic sets for television series

On working with the cast of Friends; on creating "swing sets" for Friends; on the community of set designers in television  

On designing the set for The Drew Carey Show; on designing the set for Dharma & Greg; on making the transition to high definition and working in feature films

John Shaffner on designing the set for The Emmy Awards

On designing the set for Big Brother; on designing the set for Ellen DeGeneres' talk show

On designing the sets for Two and A Half Men and The Big Bang Theory

On designing the set for The Tonight Show Starring Conan O'Brien

On his initial involvement with The Television Academy; on becoming Chairman of The Television Academy and the challenges he faced during his terms

On reinventing The Emmy Awards; on creating Television Academy Honors and the Television Academy Hall of Fame

On The Archive of American Television; on career highlights and regrets; on advice to aspiring art directors and his legacy in the television industry