Donald Roy King (born October 9, 1947)[1] is an American television director, producer, writer, and actor.
He initially planned on attending West Point, with a medical exam later finding something wrong with his back and preventing him from applying.
He won in 1977 for The Mike Douglas Show,[15][better source needed] for the episode with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire appearing together for the first time.
[12] In 1991, he won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic Design for his work on CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.
[16] At one point in his career, he was asked to be on a Blue Ribbon Panel for the Emmys, which he recollects gave him an understanding of how subjective it is to discern good directing.
[20] In 2010, he consulted on the film Morning Glory, where "he ensured that the TV scene was depicted accurately," and also played Merv the Director.
[15] In January 2020, King won the Directors Guild of America Award for Variety/Talk/News/Sports - Regularly Scheduled Programming for Saturday Night Live.
[4] When not working on SNL and live version of Weekend Update in August, King is involved in various stage plays and musicals.
[10] King is the creative director of Broadway Worldwide which brings theatrical events to theaters and television.
[12] The company has produced four major productions as of 2019, all of which King directed:[12] Smokey Joe's Cafe, Putting It Together with Carol Burnett, Jekyll & Hyde, and Memphis.
[citation needed] He also directed a big screen taping of Broadway's Romeo and Juliet with Orlando Bloom in 2013.