Imero Fiorentino facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Imero Fiorentino
Imero Fiorentino
Born	July 12, 1928 Brooklyn, New York
Died	October 1, 2013(2013-10-01) (aged 85) New York City, New York, U.S.
Known for	Lighting designer and consultant, television lighting

Imero (Immie) Fiorentino (born July 12, 1928 – died October 1, 2013) was a very important American lighting designer. He is known as one of the first and most respected leaders in the American entertainment world.

Immie started his career designing lights during the "Golden Age of Television." He worked on famous shows like Omnibus, U.S. Steel Hour, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, and Kraft Television Theatre. People from all over the world asked for his help with big projects. He designed lighting for things like the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention, many United States presidential election debates, big concert tours, and TV specials. He even designed the lighting for the World Showcase at Epcot in Walt Disney World.

Early Life and Learning

Immie Fiorentino was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were from Sicily. His mom made doll dresses, and his dad was an artist who painted faces on Dy-Dee Dolls.

As a young boy, Immie loved going to Radio City Music Hall. He became very interested in theater, especially lighting and set design. He read many books to learn all he could. In junior high and at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, he joined the stage crew. He did the lighting and set design for school plays.

A wonderful teacher, Florence Druss, saw his talent for lighting design. She told him to follow it as a career and go to college. In his junior year, he was accepted to Carnegie Tech, which is now Carnegie Mellon University.

Before he finished high school, Immie had a bad accident and lost one eye. He thought his plans were ruined because he believed he couldn't design lighting without depth perception (seeing how far away things are). But his teacher visited him in the hospital. She told him no one would know he had only one eye and that he "would still be the best lighting designer ever." She convinced him to keep going. So, with his family's help, Immie went to Carnegie Tech and studied theater.

After college, Immie planned to teach and design at Indiana State University. But his father passed away, and Immie became the main provider for his family. He looked for work at NBC, DuMont, and ABC. When he interviewed at ABC, Immie admitted he knew nothing about TV lighting. The interviewer said, "So what? Nobody does." Television was very new in 1950, and everyone was learning. Immie remembered, "The man called back later and said, 'I can hire you as a lighting director for television.' I said, 'Who's going to teach me?' He said, 'Nobody's going to teach you.' I said, 'Well, how will I know if it's right?' He said, 'If it looks good, remember how you did it.' I started the next day."

Amazing Career in Lighting

Lighting Up Early TV Shows

Immie Fiorentino's lighting career began during the "Golden Age" of television. His early TV work included shows like Omnibus, U.S. Steel Hour, and Pulitzer Prize Playhouse. He even lit the Bolshoi Ballet's first TV appearance in the U.S. Back then, broadcasts were in black and white. There was no videotape or retakes; everything was done "live."

Early TV images needed a lot of light to show up on screen. Often, many fluorescent lights were used. But Immie came from a theater background. He chose lighting tools that would create a more artistic look. Soon, people heard about his unique style, and directors started asking for his help. Immie worked with famous directors like Sidney Lumet and John Frankenheimer in those early TV years. Lighting directors back then invented new techniques as they went along. For ten years, Immie worked as an ABC lighting designer. He was one of a small group of lighting pioneers at different networks.

Starting His Own Company

In 1960, Immie left ABC to start his own company, Imero Fiorentino Associates (IFA). As the TV industry grew, Immie realized that independent companies would produce much of the networks' content. These companies would need experienced lighting designers. Soon, IFA became the top company for freelance lighting designers. Many lighting designers from different networks came to work at IFA.

Over time, his business grew. IFA started to offer not just lighting design, but also set design, production, staging, and technical help for TV and live events. They did everything from Broadway shows to political conventions. They also worked on educational seminars and architectural lighting projects.

Immie was very involved in the artistic side of the company. He also helped manage and lead the business. He was proud to guide the many unique projects that came to IFA.

Immie's creativity was clear in his work for fourteen Democratic and Republican National Conventions. He led the IFA team that designed the lighting for these big political events.

He also led the team that designed the lighting for the World Showcase Pavilions at Walt Disney World's Epcot in Orlando, Florida. His team also lit the famous Howard Hughes Flying Boat "Spruce Goose" aircraft in Long Beach, CA. He worked on Neil Diamond's international concert tours and TV specials, earning two Emmy Award nominations. He also lit the huge industrial show, The Milliken Breakfast Show, for 21 years.

Immie also helped IFA become known for designing and advising on many large TV studios across the country. He led the IFA team that redesigned the lighting during the 1991 updates of Madison Square Garden. He also designed the WaMu Theater inside the Garden.

His other famous projects include:

• Frank Sinatra - The Main Event, shown live from Madison Square Garden.
• El Cordobes: The Bullfight of the Century, sent live from Spain to 28 countries by satellite.
• The huge rock concert, California Jam.
• The Broadway show, The Night That Made America Famous.

He advised every U.S. President since Dwight D. Eisenhower on TV appearances and campaigns. He also worked on many Presidential Debates. He was hired to do the TV lighting the day after the first Kennedy-Nixon debate. In that debate, Nixon looked bad because the bright studio lights made his face look strange. Immie lit the first-ever pictures sent to outer space and back to Earth using "Telstar 1" in 1962. Immie and William Knight were the lighting designers for the famous Barbra Streisand - A Happening in Central Park on September 16, 1968.

Later Career Years

In 1996, another company bought IFA. Immie Fiorentino then joined that company as a Senior Vice President. Later, that company was bought by Jack Morton Worldwide, where he continued in the same role. During the 2000 and 2008 political conventions, Immie was the main lighting designer for Fox News' coverage. In 2002, he started a new part of his career as an independent lighting and production consultant.

His Family

Immie Fiorentino was married to Carole Hamer from 1953 to 1963. They had one daughter, Linda. In 1970, he married Angela Linsell, who is an artist. His daughter Linda is a minister and is married to Ken Crabbs. They have a son named Christian Imero Fiorentino Crabbs.

Passing Away

Immie Fiorentino passed away in New York City on October 1, 2013.

Being Part of Important Groups

• National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences: He was on the Board of Governors and was its Vice President from 1971 to 1975.
• Illuminating Engineering Society
• International Tape Association
• International Industrial Television Association
• International Teleproduction Society
• International Radio and Television Society

Awards and Special Honors

• 2012 Wally Lifetime Achievement Award
• U.S. Institute Of Theatre Technology Award
• 1992 Silver Circle Honoree, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
• Art Directors Club Award
• Illuminating Engineering Society:
  • Award Of Merit
  • Section Award
  • Award Of Excellence
  • Lumen Award
• Carnegie Mellon University:
  • Merit Award
  • Distinguished Alumni Award
  • L. Blair Award Of Excellence
• Emmy Award Nominations (3)
• VPA Pioneer Award
• USITT Distinguished Lighting Designer Award