PRODUCTION CREW BIOS
GERALD W. ABRAMS (Executive Producer) – Beginning his television career more than 35 years ago, Mr. Abrams is well established in the entertainment industry. In 1973 he joined The Jozak Company as Vice President of Creative Affairs and made his way to produce “The Secret Life of John Chapman” and executive produce “James Dean, Portrait Of A Friend,” “Red Alert,” “The Defection Of Simas Kudirka” and the series “Julie Farr, M.D.” Mr. Abrams later formed a new company, Cypress Point Productions, where he executive produced “Jekyll & Hyde,” “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” “The Gift,” “Second Honeymoon” and “Nuremberg,” for which he received a Golden Globe and Emmy nomination. On the feature side, Mr. Abrams executive produced the film “Hearts Of Fire.” In 1985, Mr. Abrams formed Phoenix Entertainment Group with Gerald Isenberg, which they operated for nearly five years until it was acquired and renamed Hearst Entertainment Productions. Partnering with Jennifer Alward, Mr. Abrams created Evolve Entertainment where they produced “Escape From Wildcat Canyon” and “Black and Blue.” Most recently, Mr. Abrams has ventured into reality television. Here he has executive produced several pilots, specials and series for Hearst, NBC, ESPN, A&E and the History and Discovery Channels. Mr. Abrams served on the Board of Directors of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society for two years.
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MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN (Associate Producer) – Since Mr. Goldstein has been with Cypress Point Productions as an associate producer, his credits include “Black and Blue” and “Second Honeymoon.” Mr. Goldstein is currently executive producing “44 Minutes Shootout.”
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CHRISTOPHER LEITCH (Co-Producer/Director) – Mr. Leitch’s television series credits consist of “China Beach” and “Moonlighting.” His television feature film directorial credits include “Satan’s School for Girls,” “Cab to Canada,” “Little Girls in Pretty Boxes,” “A Friend’s Betrayal” and “Three Blind Mice.” Additionally, Mr. Leitch has directed hit feature films “Courage Mountain” and “Teen Wolf Too.”
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HALLMARK CHANNEL / ‘A Christmas Visitor’ – Crew Bios – Page 2
PAUL D. GOLDMAN (Producer) – Credited with more than 150 movies, television series, miniseries and reality programs, Mr. Goldman has developed and executive produced “The Retrievers,” “Eye of the Wolf,” “Hope Ranch” and “Scent of Danger.” Mr. Goldman currently holds the position of Producer for Cypress Point Productions. Throughout his career he has held various titles such as Executive Producer for Discovery Communications/Animal Planet, Sr. Vice President of Production & Post Production for Hearst Entertainment and Sr. Vice President of Production & Business Affairs for Once Upon a Time Productions, as well as for Savoy Television.
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FRANK SIRACUSA (Producer) – Fifteen years in the industry and going strong, Mr. Siracusa has produced many notable television feature films, including “The Triangle,” “Sanctuary,” “One True Love,” “ On Hostile Ground” and “Murder Most Likely,” which was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Dramatic Program. Additionally, Mr. Siracusa produced the multi-award-winning “Summer’s End,” which received Best Cable Movie at both the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival and Young Artist Awards, as well as a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Special. For series television, Mr. Siracusa’s writing credits include “Top Cops,” “Hearts of Courage” and three episodes of “Due South.” Most recently, Mr. Siracusa partnered up with Paul Gross to form Whizbang Films where they’ve just completed production on “The Sins of the Father” and are beginning production on “The One.”
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GEORGE SAMERJAN (Writer) – With extensive military and writing knowledge, Mr. Samerjan comes to this project well-versed. Throughout his career, Mr. Samerjan has amassed nearly 10 years of military service, 15 novels, more than 2,000 poems and one Emmy Award. From 1966 to 1975, Mr. Samerjan served in the U.S. Army, including the Vietnam war, where he received more than six medals. With David Saperstein as partner, Mr. Samerjan’s novels have become screenplays, as well as two of his poems, “Tiger Patrol” and “Tightening The Noose,” have appeared in DEAR AMERICA. The latter of the two also being chosen to be part of a permanent exhibit at the D.A.V. Vietnam Veterans Memorial in New Mexico. In 1981, he received an Emmy Award for “Interactive Video Disc” in the Best Training or Information Program Under Fifteen Minutes category.
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HALLMARK CHANNEL / ‘A Christmas Visitor’ – Crew Bios – Page 3
DAVID SAPERSTEIN (Writer) – Mr. Saperstein has a resume that encompasses careers from military man and song publisher to author and director. In 1959 he joined the United States Army and served for a year until being recalled to serve for two more years. He was later honorably discharged and went on to pursue other career paths. After an education at CCNY’s Film Institute, Mr. Saperstein began writing novels and TV and feature films. Several years later he began directing. His most notable writing and directorial feature film credit is the sci-fi hit “Cocoon,” for which he won two Academy Awards and garnered a nomination from the Writers Guild of America in the category of Outstanding Achievement in the Screen Story Written Directly For the Screen. Other feature credits include “A Killing Affair” and “Fighting Back.” The movie-of-the-week “Miles to go Before I Sleep,” the series “The Vintage Years” and the miniseries “Defense of Ivan The Terrible: The John Gill Story” round out some of his television and cable credits. Mr. Saperstein’s most recognizable novels include Cocoon, a NY Times Best Seller; Fatal Reunion, a Bantam Lead Book; Metamorphosis: The Cocoon Story Continues and Butterfly – Millennium’s Children, the second and third books in the Cocoon trilogy. Mr. Saperstein has written more than 80 songs that have been published. He has received an American Film Festival Award, a Chris Award and the New York Art Director’s Club Award. He has also won film festival awards in San Francisco, New York, Venice and Melbourne. Mr. Saperstein is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America.
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