"One of the major successes of Seinfeld is that Jerry and Larry concentrated on writing. They had no production experience. I'd find out what sets they needed, how many entrances and exits there were, how many people were there in the scene. I would go away and design the sets. Then I would go to Larry and Jerry and show them what I had in mind. Eventually Larry just said to me, 'Tom, we trust you.'"

    About This Interview

    In his three-hour interview, Thomas Azzari talks about his early interest in art design and how he rose through the ranks of the CBS art department to become a set designer. He describes early set designing jobs on The Wild, Wild West, Gunsmoke, and Gilligan's Island, and recalls his time designing sets for The Della Reese Show and the St. Jude Children's Hospital Telethon. He discusses breaking into sitcoms with Barney Miller and Fish, as well as working on Newhart and Night Court. He then details his long association with Seinfeld, where he created hundreds of sets over the course of the show, including those for the celebrated episodes, "The Parking Garage" and "The Finale." He outlines his post-Seinfeld career, including stints on Caroline in the City, Spin City, and Sports Night, speaks of changes in the industry, and discusses returning to the Seinfeld set for an arc on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Karen Herman conducted the interview on June 24, 2011 in Taos, NM.

    All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.
    People Talking About ...
    Thumbnail of Thomas Azzari

    Thomas Azzari on getting into the Art Department at CBS and becoming a set designer

    03:56
    Thumbnail of Thomas Azzari

    Thomas Azzari on designing the bedroom set for the final Newhart episode

    01:49
    Thumbnail of Thomas Azzari

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for the Seinfeld episode "The Finale"

    01:52
    Thumbnail of Thomas Azzari

    Thomas Azzari on returning to the Seinfeld set on Curb Your Enthusiasm 

    01:49
    Thumbnail of Thomas Azzari

    Thomas Azzari on designing sets for theme parks

    07:57
    Play Full Interview

    Chapter 1

    On his early life and influences; on his early interest in art design; on working at CBS and becoming a set designer

    14:49

    On doing set design for Gunsmoke and various westerns; on set designing for Gilligan's Island and The Della Reese Show

    15:09

    On working for KTLA; on set designing for Fish and Barney Miller; on designing a set for the St. Jude Children's Hospital Telethon

    16:31

    On set designing for Newhart and working on the finale of the show; on set designing for Night Court

    15:46

    Chapter 2

    On designing the sets for various feature films; on getting the job as set designer for Seinfeld; on the art department and cast of Seinfeld

    15:44

    On building the Seinfeld sets; on designing the set for the Seinfeld episode "The Parking Garage"; on working with Larry David and designing the sets for the Seinfeld episode "The Finale"

    15:54

    On the role of his sets on Seinfeld; on why Seinfeld was a success; on Seinfeld's influence on other sitcom productions

    10:01

    On designing sets for Caroline in the City, Spin City and Sports Night; on set designing for That's My Bush! and Coupling

    15:44

    Chapter 3

    On redesigning the sets for Alice; on the products featured on Seinfeld; on designing sets for theme parks

    12:20

    On directing various television charity projects; on projects he's been working on since retiring from television

    13:10

    On teaching; on how the business and creative aspects of television have changed; on technical developments in television

    09:44

    On unions in television and advice to aspiring production designers; on returning to the Seinfeld set on Curb Your Enthusiasm and how he'd like to be remembered  

    12:07

    Alice

    Thomas Azzari on redesigning the sets for Alice

    02:41

    Barney Miller

    Thomas Azzari on doing set design for Fish and Barney Miller

    06:14

    Caroline in the City

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Caroline in the City

    00:41

    Curb Your Enthusiasm

    Thomas Azzari on returning to the Seinfeld set on Curb Your Enthusiasm  

    01:49

    Emmy Awards, The (Primetime and Daytime)

    Thomas Azzari on winning an Emmy for Fish

    00:43

    Fish

    Thomas Azzari on doing set design for Fish and Barney Miller

    06:14

    Thomas Azzari on winning an Emmy for Fish

    00:43

    Foley Square

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Foley Square

    01:29

    Gilligan's Island

    Thomas Azzari on doing set design for Gilligan's Island

    02:18

    Gunsmoke

    Thomas Azzari on doing set design for Gunsmoke

    04:50

    Newhart

    Thomas Azzari on doing set design for Newhart

    04:24

    Night Court

    Thomas Azzari on doing set design for Night Court

    05:17

    Rawhide

    Thomas Azzari on doing set design for various westerns

    03:18

    Seinfeld

    Thomas Azzari on how he came to set design for Seinfeld

    01:32

    Thomas Azzari on set designing "Jerry"'s apartment on Seinfeld

    01:12

    Thomas Azzari on the job of set designing for Seinfeld

    02:19

    Thomas Azzari on the cast of Seinfeld

    01:50

    Thomas Azzari on the art department and the volume of sets at Seinfeld

    03:26

    Thomas Azzari on the timetable for building sets for Seinfeld

    02:03

    Thomas Azzari on designing the set for the Seinfeld episode "The Parking Garage"

    01:40

    Thomas Azzari on designing Seinfeld's New York street and various other sets

    04:17

    Thomas Azzari on designing the set for the Seinfeld episode "The Parking Garage" (continued)

    00:56

    Thomas Azzari on working with Larry David on Seinfeld

    02:14

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Seinfeld after Larry David's departure

    00:56

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for the Seinfeld episode "The Finale"

    01:52

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Tom Cherones and Andy Ackerman on Seinfeld

    01:56

    Thomas Azzari on how Seinfeld set a new standard for production

    02:09

    Thomas Azzari on why Seinfeld worked and the role of his sets on the show

    01:28

    Thomas Azzari on "Jerry"'s apartment and "Kramer"'s entrances on Seinfeld

    01:21

    Thomas Azzari on the art department on Seinfeld

    01:00

    Thomas Azzari on creating a graphics company with some of the Seinfeld art department

    03:06

    Thomas Azzari on all of the products featured on Seinfeld

    02:12

    Seinfeld: "The Finale"

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for the Seinfeld episode "The Finale"

    01:52

    Seinfeld: "The Parking Garage"

    Thomas Azzari on designing the set for the Seinfeld episode "The Parking Garage"

    01:40

    Thomas Azzari on designing the set for the Seinfeld episode "The Parking Garage" (continued)

    00:56

    Spin City

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Spin City

    01:55

    Sports Night

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Sports Night

    03:52

    West Wing, The

    Thomas Azzari on turning down the opportunity to set design for The West Wing

    00:56

    Wild Wild West, The

    Thomas Azzari on doing set design for The Wild, Wild West

    01:41

    Classic TV Series Episodes

    Thomas Azzari on designing the bedroom set for the final Newhart episode

    01:49

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for the Seinfeld episode "The Finale"

    01:52

    Comedy

    Thomas Azzari on designing the bedroom set for the final Newhart episode

    01:49

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for the Seinfeld episode "The Finale"

    01:52

    Memorable Moments on Television

    Thomas Azzari on designing the bedroom set for the final Newhart episode

    01:49

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for the Seinfeld episode "The Finale"

    01:52

    Pop Culture

    Thomas Azzari on designing the bedroom set for the final Newhart episode

    01:49

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for the Seinfeld episode "The Finale"

    01:52

    Technological Innovation

    Thomas Azzari on technological developments in television since he started his career

    04:01

    Television Industry

    Thomas Azzari on how the business of television has changed

    03:27

    Thomas Azzari on how the process of creating television has changed

    01:21

    Thomas Azzari on technological developments in television since he started his career

    04:01

    Thomas Azzari on the importance of unions in the television industry

    01:26

    We Laughed

    Thomas Azzari on designing the bedroom set for the final Newhart episode

    01:49

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for the Seinfeld episode "The Finale"

    01:52

    Designers

    Thomas Azzari on designing the sets for Gunsmoke and The Wild, Wild West

    06:31

    Thomas Azzari on designing the set for the Seinfeld  episode "The Parking Garage"

    01:40

    Thomas Azzari on designing Seinfeld's New York street and various other sets

    04:17

    Thomas Azzari on the job of set designing for Seinfeld

    02:19

    Thomas Azzari on his advice to aspiring production designers 

    02:41

    Set Designer

    Thomas Azzari on designing the sets for Gunsmoke and The Wild, Wild West

    06:31

    Thomas Azzari on designing the set for the Seinfeld  episode "The Parking Garage"

    01:40

    Thomas Azzari on designing Seinfeld's New York street and various other sets

    04:17

    Thomas Azzari on the job of set designing for Seinfeld

    02:19

    Thomas Azzari on his advice to aspiring production designers 

    02:41

    Comedy Series

    Thomas Azzari on designing the set for Newhart

    03:32

    Thomas Azzari on doing set design for Night Court

    05:17

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Seinfeld

    36:24

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Spin City

    01:55

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Sports Night

    03:52

    Andy Ackerman

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Tom Cherones and Andy Ackerman on Seinfeld

    01:56

    Jason Alexander

    Thomas Azzari on the cast of Seinfeld

    01:50

    Danny Arnold

    Thomas Azzari on doing set design for Fish and Barney Miller

    06:14

    Tom Cherones

    Thomas Azzari on the job of set designing for Seinfeld

    02:19

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Tom Cherones and Andy Ackerman on Seinfeld

    01:56

    Larry David

    Thomas Azzari on the job of set designing for Seinfeld

    02:19

    Thomas Azzari on working with Larry David on Seinfeld

    02:14

    Thomas Azzari on set designing for Seinfeld after Larry David's departure

    00:56

    Thomas Azzari on returning to the Seinfeld set on Curb Your Enthusiasm 

    01:49

    Marty Krofft

    Thomas Azzari on working on Sid and Marty Krofft's, The Lost Saucer

    02:12

    Sid Krofft

    Thomas Azzari on working on Sid and Marty Krofft's, The Lost Saucer

    02:12

    Julia Louis-Dreyfus

    Thomas Azzari on the cast of Seinfeld

    01:50

    Bob Newhart

    Thomas Azzari on designing the set for Newhart

    04:20

    Jerry Seinfeld

    Thomas Azzari on the job of set designing for Seinfeld

    02:19

    Thomas Azzari on the cast of Seinfeld

    01:50

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