Larry Carroll (director)

Larry Carroll
Born1950-1951
Pittsfield, MA
DiedDecember 5, 2015 (age 64)
Los Angeles, California
Occupations
  • Director
  • painter
  • educator
Known forSundog Productions, Peacemakers, "Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh?"

Larry Carroll was a director, painter and educator who directed hundreds of television commercials and many hours of television series.[1][2][3][4][5]

Larry was born in the Berkshires of Massachusetts where he grew up studying theatre and fine arts. He received his bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Florida.

After working as an art director/producer for various advertising agencies for many years, Carroll started directing commercials for Sundog Productions, a company he founded with offices in Detroit and Los Angeles. In that time, Carroll produced and directed hundreds of commercials for a wide range of clients including Ford, Chevrolet, Buick, Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, ABC TV, Domino's Pizza, AC/Delco, Charles Schwab and numerous others.[6][7]

Carroll also wrote, directed, and edited an award-winning, feature-length documentary on the late comedian Sam Kinison. The film, entitled "Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh?," ran on HBO and won the Chris Award, the highest honor from the Columbus International Film Festival,[8] the Telly for Best Documentary, the Best Director Award at the New York International Film and Video Festival, as well as several other awards.

Carroll then went on to direct episodic television, including the pilot for Peacemakers, a series he co-created for USA Network.[9][10] The pilot was the second most watched premiere in cable television history.[11] Recently, Carroll completed a short film titled "Sword" for Canon Inc.[12]

He continued to pursue his love of painting and exhibited in numerous galleries, including a series of oil paintings and a short film titled "Soldiers" at the third annual GROUP W ARTISTS[13] exhibit in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Carroll's painting "Egg in Space"[14] was selected for exhibition in "Second Time Around: The Hubcap as Art" at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley.[15] Over 1000 artists entered hubcap paintings and sculptures of which 260 were selected for the show.

He also directed a 10-minute short film about the Landfillart project, the idea that gave birth to the hubcap exhibit which screened at the Museum Exhibit opening in the fall of 2014.[16]

Carroll joined the faculty at the University of Southern California where he taught Directing and Producing in the School of Cinematic Arts,[17] in addition to continuing to paint both in oil and watercolor[18] until his death on December 5, 2015. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.[19]

  1. ^ Roberts, Jerry. Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors 2009, page 75
  2. ^ "Coulters, Ray Team To Launch Tropix Films". SHOOTonline.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  3. ^ "Review and information on The Huntress series". Archived from the original on 2014-09-06. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  4. ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (1997). "Fire Down Below Review"
  5. ^ "Red Skies (2002) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on 2015-07-09. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  6. ^ "Ford: No Production Roadblocks". AdWeek. 23 October 2003. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. ^ "That's Mini-DV?". SHOOTonline.com. Archived from the original on 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  8. ^ Columbia Film Festival Awards Program Archived 2015-05-09 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "A Nostalgic Roundup Along Happy Trails". The New York Times. 30 July 2003. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  10. ^ Ann Donahue. "Peacemakers - Variety". Variety. Archived from the original on 2018-05-27. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
  11. ^ "Breaking News - 'Peacemakers' Smashes Records for USA - TheFutonCritic.com".
  12. ^ "Sword Shot on the Canon - cinescopophilia.com".
  13. ^ Michael Krawitz, Special to The Eagle (10 August 2006). "Group W: Second Shift". Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  14. ^ "LandfillArt - Larry Carroll". Archived from the original on 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  15. ^ "Second Time Around: The Hubcap As Art Opens At MSV - Winchester Va News". Archived from the original on 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  16. ^ "Second Time Around: The Hubcap as Art". Archived from the original on 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  17. ^ "USC Cinematic Arts - School of Cinematic Arts Directory Profile". Archived from the original on 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  18. ^ Larry Carroll's work at Riley Arts Gallery Archived 2013-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ "Larry Carroll". The Berkshire Eagle. Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2016-03-17.