Lela Swift facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lela Swift
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| Born |
Lillian Siwoff
February 1, 1919 New York City, New York, U.S.
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| Died | August 4, 2015 (aged 96) |
| Occupation |
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| Spouse(s) | Gilbert Schwartz |
| Children | 2 |
| Family | Seymour Siwoff (brother) |
Lela Swift (born Lillian Siwoff) was an important television director and producer. She was born on February 1, 1919, and passed away on August 4, 2015. She is most famous for her work on the TV shows Dark Shadows and Ryan's Hope. She also produced Dark Shadows for a short time.
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Early Life
Lela Swift was born as Lillian Siwoff in New York City, New York, in 1919. Her brother was Seymour Siwoff. He was famous for his work with baseball statistics and owned a company called the Elias Sports Bureau.
Career in Television
Lela Swift began her career at CBS. She started by working in the secretarial pool. Later, she worked behind the scenes on news programs. She learned a lot about how TV shows are made.
Becoming a Director
Swift moved up through the ranks at CBS. She became an assistant director for several TV series. Her career as a director officially began in 1950.
In 1961, she moved to NBC. There, she worked on a show called Purex Specials for Women.
Working on Dark Shadows
In 1966, Lela Swift joined Dan Curtis to work on the ABC television series Dark Shadows. This show was very popular. It lasted for five seasons and had 1,225 episodes. Swift directed almost half of all the episodes. She also helped produce the show from 1970 to 1971.
Directing Ryan's Hope
After Dark Shadows, Swift became one of the directors for the series Ryan's Hope. This was a daytime drama about a large Irish-American family. The show was on TV for 14 years.
Awards and Recognition
Lela Swift was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards for her work on Ryan's Hope. She won this award three times: in 1977, 1979, and 1980. She also received a Daytime Emmy nomination for directing an episode of The ABC Afternoon Playbreak.
Personal Life
Lela Swift was married to Gilbert ("Geb") Schwartz. He passed away on January 30, 2015. They had two sons, Russell and Stuart. Both of their sons also work in the television industry. Russell is an executive at Starz. Stuart is a TV producer known for his work on Unsolved Mysteries.
Death
Lela Swift passed away on August 4, 2015, in Santa Monica, California. She was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery.
See also
In Spanish: Lela Swift para niños
