Glenn Weiss is an American producer and director of television and live events. He has won 14 Emmy Awards and eight Directors Guild of America awards as a director and producer for various awards shows and reality shows including the Tony Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, and Academy Awards. As of 2026, he is the director of the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards.
Early life
Weiss was raised in a Jewish family.[1] He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1983.[2]
Career
Weiss started his career working at the Washington, D.C., bureau of CNN while still a full-time University of Maryland student before becoming a producer and director at Fox affiliate WTTG. His first national credit was America's Most Wanted, followed by other shows including Studs, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Gladiators 2000, and talk shows hosted by Jane Pratt and Tempestt Bledsoe in the years since.
As of 2018, Weiss has won 14 Emmy Awards,[3] and, as of 2015, five Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement,[4] and has been nominated for Producers Guild of America Awards.[2]
Weiss has also directed numerous televised events, including the Tony Awards, Academy Awards,[5] for which he has garnered three directing Primetime Emmys and has directed and produced Primetime Emmy Awards.[6] Other directing credits include the Kennedy Center Honors, CableACE Awards, Billboard Music Awards, BET Awards, Peter Pan Live!, The SpongeBob Musical: Live On Stage!, Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, the Primetime Emmy Awards, Live from Lincoln Center, and the American Music Awards. He also directed the 2020 DNC.
Among the Academy Awards ceremonies that Weiss was the director of was the 94th Academy Awards.[7] According to executive Rob Mills in a Variety article referring to the Chris Rock–Will Smith slapping incident,
One quick shout out I want to give is to the director Glenn Weiss. I was in the truck with him in our control room on New Year’s Eve when Mariah Carey was having some vocal issues singing. I was with him when [at the 89th Academy Awards] they did the wrong envelope on ‘La La Land’ and I was with him last night. And there is nobody who keeps a cooler head and just keeps the show moving along. While obviously, knowing exactly what's happening. He really is the best in these situations.[8]
Personal life
During the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 18th, 2018, Weiss made headlines by proposing to long-time girlfriend Jan Svendsen during his acceptance speech for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special for his work on that year's Academy Awards. He proposed by saying, "You wonder why I don’t like to call you my girlfriend? Because I want to call you my wife." The ring previously belonged to his mother, who had died two and a half weeks prior. The moment was widely shared on social media platforms Twitter and Instagram.[9][10] They got married on 14 February 2023, with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi officiating.[11]
Awards
References
- Bloom, Nate (September 14, 2017). "Jewish entertainers well-represented at Emmy Awards". Saint Louis Jewish Light. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019.
- Zitrin, Richard (February 22, 2016). "The Five Spot: Glenn Weiss". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on December 12, 2018.
- "Glenn Weiss". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- "Tony Awards Director Glenn Weiss Earns His 12th Directors Guild Award Nomination". TheaterMania. Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
...and won the award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical Variety in 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 for the 61st, 64th, 65th, 66th, and 67th Annual Tony Awards.
- "Oscars: Glenn Weiss Returning as Ceremony Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- Evans, Greg (May 25, 2017). "Primetime Emmys Tap Glenn Weiss & Ricky Kirshner To Exec Produce Awards". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- "GLENN WEISS RETURNS AS DIRECTOR FOR 94TH OSCARS®". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. January 10, 2022. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- Schneider, Michael (March 28, 2022). "Oscars: What Was Happening in the ABC Control Room as Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock". Variety. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- DeSantis, Rachel; Dillon, Nancy (September 18, 2018). "See It: Oscars director Glenn Weiss proposes to girlfriend during Emmys acceptance speech". Daily News. New York City. Archived from the original on November 4, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- Moniuszko, Sara M (September 18, 2018). "First-ever Emmy Award marriage proposal sends Twitter into a frenzy: 'Best speech ever!'". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- Chuba, Kirsten (February 24, 2023). "Glenn Weiss, Who Proposed During 2018 Emmys, Finally Gets Married — With Help From Nancy Pelosi". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
External links
- Glenn Weiss at IMDb
- Glenn Weiss at Emmys.com