Tom Schiller (Los Angeles, California, 12 april 1949) is an American comedian, director, actor and writer, the son of TV comedy writer/producer Bob Schiller and best known for his eleven-year stint writing and directing short films for Saturday Night Live (following the steps of the show's original short film makers Albert Brooks and Gary Weis). His films, often featuring members of the original SNL cast and further other members or guest stars and normal people, aired on the program in a segment titled, "Schiller's Reel'' and they are notorious for his genius and intelligent combination of tender, caring and most of the times dark themes united with a melancholic style of humor and a charming use of the editing, that makes sometimes the movies he made similiar to the ones of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
He was a featured player in season 5, also working non stop for the show until 1993, the year of his departure and release of his last short film, and his most celebrated works as a director still as today in the history of SNL are the shorts films Don't Look Back in Anger, La Dolce Gilda, Java Junkie, Love is a Dream, Hooked on Sushi and Will Work for Food.
Still SNL related Schiller directed in 1984 the notorious unreleased fantasy-comedy drama cult with Gremlns actor Zach Galligan Nothing Last Forever, produced by then-New Show producer and creator Lorne Michaels (Lorne leaved SNL in 1980 and it will return only in 1985) and with a lot of SNL alumnis in the ensemble cast, and directed outside of his SNL many other art films, one such as Flapjack Floozie of 1988 (with Teri Garr in the cast)
Filmography as a director
On SNL
- The Acid Generation: Where Are They Now?
- Life After Death
- Don't Look Back In Anger
- La Dolce Gilda
- Sushi By The Pool
- Roman Holiday
- Picasso: The New York Years
- Perchance To Dream
- Clones Exist Now
- Life After Death
- Java Junkie
- Linden Palmer, Hollywood's Forgotten Director
- Mask Of Fear
- Art is Ficial
- Love is a Dream
- Broadway Story
- Falling in Love
- Dieter In Space
- Hooked On Sushi
- The Vision of Van Gogh
- Sudden Pressure
- Our Noisy, Noisy World
- SchillerVision Theatre
- Hidden Camera Commercials
- Million Dollar Zombie
- Dieter's Dream
- While The City Sweeps
- Criminal Encounter
- Will Work For Food
Outside SNL
- Nothing Lasts Forever
- Flapjack Floozie