Nook NotesPick a film
Fielder Cook

Director

Fielder Cook

Born March 9, 1923 in Atlanta, Georgia, USADied June 20, 200341 films

Fielder Cook (March 9, 1923 – June 20, 2003) was an American television and film director, producer, and writer whose 1971 television film The Homecoming: A Christmas Story spawned the series The Waltons.

Read more

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Cook graduated with honor with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature from Washington and Lee University, then studied Elizabethan Drama at the University of Birmingham in England. He returned to the United States and began his career in the early days of television, directing many episodes of such anthology series as Lux Video Theater, The Kaiser Aluminum Hour, Playhouse 90, Omnibus, and Kraft Television Theatre. In later years, he directed the television movies Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys, A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story, Gauguin the Savage, Family Reunion, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Will There Really Be a Morning?, and others; adaptations of The Philadelphia Story, Harvey, Brigadoon, Beauty and the Beast, The Price, Miracle on 34th Street, and The Member of the Wedding; and episodes of Ben Casey, The Defenders, and Beacon Hill.

Cook's credits for feature films include A Big Hand for the Little Lady, How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968), Prudence and the Pill (1968, co-director), From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1973), Eagle in a Cage, and Seize the Day.

Start here

The best way into Fielder Cook's work
Patterns posterFirst watchPatterns19567.2To eliminate internal opposition, a cruel CEO sabotages and humiliates a good-natured executive in an effort to force his resignation — and make the reticent new hire his new yes man.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach

Filmography

41 films as director
  1. 1997The Member of the WeddingDirector
  2. 1987A Special FriendshipDirector
  3. 1986Seize the DayDirector
  4. 1984Why Me?Director
  5. 1983Will There Really Be a Morning?Director
  6. 1981Family ReunionDirector
  7. 1980Gauguin the SavageDirector
  8. 1979I Know Why the Caged Bird SingsDirector
  9. 1979Too Far to GoDirector
  10. 1978A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig StoryDirector
  11. 1976Beauty and the BeastDirector
  12. 1976Judge Horton and the Scottsboro BoysDirector
  13. 1975The RivalryDirector
  14. 1975Valley ForgeDirector
  15. 1975Miles To Go Before I SleepDirector
  16. 1974This Is the West That WasDirector
  17. 1973Miracle on 34th StreetDirector
  18. 1973From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. FrankweilerDirector
  19. 1972The Hands of Cormac JoyceDirector
  20. 1972HarveyDirector
  21. 1972Eagle in a CageDirector
  22. 1971The Homecoming: A Christmas StoryDirector
  23. 1971NeighborsDirector
  24. 1971EnemiesDirector
  25. 1971Goodbye, Raggedy AnnDirector
  26. 1971The PriceDirector
  27. 1971Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?Director
  28. 1969Mirror, Mirror Off the WallDirector
  29. 1969Teacher, TeacherDirector
  30. 1968Prudence and the PillDirector
  31. 1968How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your LifeDirector
  32. 1966BrigadoonDirector
  33. 1966A Big Hand for the Little LadyDirector
  34. 1962Big Deal in LaredoDirector
  35. 1962The Farmer's DaughterDirector
  36. 1961The Two Worlds of Charlie GordonDirector
  37. 1961A String of BeadsDirector
  38. 1960In the Presence of Mine EnemiesDirector
  39. 1959Home Is the HeroDirector
  40. 1956PatternsDirector
  41. 1955PatternsDirector