Writer, director, producer MARSHALL HERSKOVITZ has enjoyed a distinguished career in the separate worlds of film and television. Born in Philadelphia in 1952, he attended Brandeis University and then the American Film Institute, where he and Edward Zwick met in 1975 and formed their long and successful creative partnership.

Following AFI, Herskovitz wrote and directed for several television series, including Family and The White Shadow, until he teamed up with Zwick to create the explosive television movie Special Bulletin in 1983, for which Herskovitz won two Emmys -- for best dramatic film and best writing for a dramatic film -- a Writers Guild Award, and the Humanitas Award.

In 1985, Herskovitz and Zwick created The Bedford Falls Company, named for the town in It’s a Wonderful Life. The company’s first project was the acclaimed television series thirtysomething. For his work on the series, Herskovitz received two more Emmy Awards, two Directors Guild Awards, a Writers Guild Award, a Humanitas award, the Golden Globe Award, the People’s Choice Award, the Peabody Award, and several others.

In 1991, Herskovitz directed his first feature film, Jack The Bear, starring Danny DeVito, then two years later produced Legends of the Fall, starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. The following year Herskovitz and Zwick teamed up to produce the groundbreaking series My So-Called Life, starring a then-unknown Claire Danes, followed by relativity in 1995. The next year Herskovitz spent six months in Rome, producing and directing the historical epic Dangerous Beauty.

In 1999, Herskovitz and Zwick created and executive produced the award winning series Once and Again for ABC. During the show’s three year run, he and Zwick produced Traffic, winner of two Golden Globe Awards and four Academy Awards, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Benicio Del Toro; and I am Sam, starring Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer.

In 2003, Herskovitz co-wrote and produced The Last Samurai, directed by Zwick and starring Tom Cruise. He and Zwick most recently produced Blood Diamond in South Africa, which Herskovitz also co-wrote. Herskovitz lives with his two daughters in Los Angeles. An active environmentalist, he has served on the board of several organizations committed to preserving America’s precious natural resources. He is currently serving as President of the Producers Guild of America.

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