Thomas Azzari

Production Designer

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The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

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.

"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.'"

People Talking About ...

Highlights

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

03:56

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

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

01:49

Thomas Azzari on designing sets for theme parks

07:57

Full Interview

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Chapter 1

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

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

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

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

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

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"

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

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

Chapter 3

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

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

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

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

Shows

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

Topics

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

Professions

Designers

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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

View Profession

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

Genres

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

People

Andy Ackerman

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

01:56

Bob Newhart

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Thomas Azzari on designing the set for Newhart

04:20

Danny Arnold

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Thomas Azzari on doing set design for Fish and Barney Miller

06:14

Jason Alexander

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Thomas Azzari on the cast of Seinfeld

01:50

Jerry Seinfeld

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Thomas Azzari on the job of set designing for Seinfeld

02:19

Thomas Azzari on the cast of Seinfeld

01:50

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

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Thomas Azzari on the cast of Seinfeld

01:50

Larry David

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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

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

02:12

Sid Krofft

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

02:12

Tom Cherones

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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