Greg Garrison

Who was Greg Garrison?

Greg Garrison was a pioneer producer and director in television, directing nearly 4,000 shows in his career. He received more than a dozen Emmy Award nominations, although he never won.

Garrison, born Harvin Ginsburg, started his television career by accident at the age of 22. Among his first productions were The Kate Smith Show and Your Show of Shows. He went on to produce and direct many television specials with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Donald O'Connor and many others. He was probably best known for producing and directing the The Dean Martin Show, The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, hour-long comedy specials with Dom DeLuise, and summer shows with Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, Jonathan Winters, The Golddiggers, and Marty Feldman. He also directed one of television's landmark 1960 presidential debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

In his later years Garrison supervised for Guthy-Renker the digital remastering of the Dean Martin Show and celebrity roasts for release on DVD. The marketing of these included an entertaining informercial with clips of an interview of Garrison by host Regis Philbin about his memories of producing/directing the Martin show.