Before he became a director, Ellis was a successful stage actor; he performed on Broadway in the original casts of the 1980 original musical Musical Chairs and The Rink with Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera.
He received the 1991 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Director of a Musical, for And The World Goes Round.
[6] He was the executive producer for the television drama Weeds on Showtime, and has directed television episodes of Modern Family, Nurse Jackie, The Good Wife, Hung, 30 Rock, Desperate Housewives, The Closer and Frasier.
[1] He received an Emmy Award nomination in 2007 for directing the episode "The Break Up" of the comedy series 30 Rock.
In 2010, Playbill announced that Ellis was expected to direct upcoming musical adaptations of the 1930s films The Blue Angel and Little Miss Marker.