The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Oberlin grad living dream
Director’s latest documentary takes look at TV and movie legend
An Emmy, Grammy and Writers Guild Award nominee, John Scheinfeld admitted his 15-inch black-andwhite television with rabbit ear antennas couldn’t always pick up a signal when he was living in an Oberlin College dorm.
However, the 1975 graduate said that whenever possible during those days he’d watch a show, which he views as playing a key role in becoming a critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker.
“I would say in general watching films and television, as well as attending Oberlin, had a big impact on me,” said Scheinfeld, calling from Los Angeles. “The first movie I saw was ‘Lawrence of Arabia.’
“I remember while sitting in the theater, my jaw dropped and my eyes were wide looking at this amazing film and saying to myself, ‘I have to be a part of this.’”
Scheinfeld’s journey to Hollywood involved four years at Oberlin College, where he graduated with degrees in communication and sociology.
“I knew from the time I was 12 years old that I wanted to be producing, directing and writing something — which made Oberlin a stranger choice because at that time they didn’t have a film program,” Scheinfeld said.
“The most specific I could get was theater,” he added. “At least that involved directing actors and working with a script.”
When looking back at his Oberlin education, the filmmaker said he came away with an emboldened spirit of independence that helped him navigate his way through the entertainment industry.
“While I arrived at Oberlin College, knowing what I wanted to do, the overall experience gave me many tools that I have used today,” said Scheinfeld, who returned to Cleveland a few years ago for the first time in decades to screen his 2010 documentary, “Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?)” at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“Also, sociology ended up helping me in everything I do — what makes people who they are and the social structures. All of those things I learned in sociology very much apply when I’m doing a documentary and taking a deep dive into a subject.”
Over the last three decades, the Milwaukee native has documented the lives of everyone from Bob Hope and John Lennon to Nilsson and John Coltrane. His latest project is “The Happy Days of Garry Marshall,” which is scheduled to air at 8 p.m. May 12 on WEWS-TV 5.
As far as picking Marshall as a documentary subject, the well-loved television legend has been on Scheinfeld’s radar for years.
“In the documentary, Ron Howard makes the point that in every generation there are two or three guys who are just geniuses in show businesses,” Scheinfeld said. “In television at that time, it was Norman Lear and Garry Marshall.
“Norman’s lane was much more socially relevant comedy, issue-oriented comedy. Garry in the documentary says he never wanted to change the world; he wanted to entertain the world.”
While “The Happy Days of Garry Marshall” initially was intended to air this spring, Scheinfeld said its timing during the coronavirus pandemic — with audiences feeling uneasy about the future — is apropos. What could be better than spending an evening with the man once described as the Norman Rockwell of television?
“With all of the darkness and division coming out of Washington these last three and a half years — and now what we’re all having to experience with COVID-19 — I just felt it was well worth celebrating a man who all he wanted to do was make you laugh, touch your heart and have you leave feeling good,” Scheinfeld said.
“Now, I firmly believe this is the right show at the right time.”