Don Roy King


Donald Roy King is an American television director, and also a producer, writer, and actor. He has been the director for Saturday Night Live since 2006. He has "directed more hours of live network television than anyone else in the history of television," according to Michael Chein.
He has won a number of Emmys, among other awards.

Early life and education

King is a native of Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. He grew up in both Monroeville and Pitcairn, and initially wanted to go into acting. His father worked as a mailman, with both his parents supporting his interests in sports and the arts. King was active as an athlete as a young student, and also directed classmates in small plays. He initially planned on attending West Point, with a medical exam later finding something wrong with his back and preventing him from applying. In eighth grade, he traveled with classmates to New York to see several Broadway musicals, with King developing a "crush" on New York City, aiming to eventually have a career there.
He attended Gateway High School, graduating in 1965, and Pennsylvania State University, graduating in 1969 with a degree in broadcasting. He graduated Penn State's Bellisario College of Communications. He initially studied for a degree in broadcast journalism, and also was involved with the school's theater department. He first directed a project during the last class of a broadcasting course, comparing it to playing quarterback on a football team. He also had an amateur boxing career.

Career

Early career

Early in his career, King wanted to be an actor, and also became a director at a local station in Pittsburgh. He then became a director at several bigger stations in Pennsylvania. Aiming to eventually work in New York, he moved to a station in San Jose, then to a larger station in Pittsburgh, then moving on to direct at Channel 5 in New York. King directed morning news television for around two decades, first at ABC's Good Morning America and later CBS This Morning. His other directing work includes Survivor, The Early Show, and The Mike Douglas Show. King went on to be nominated for five Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Individual Direction For A Variety Show. He won in 1977 for The Mike Douglas Show, for the episode with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire appearing together for the first time. At the age of 27 or 28, after already earning an Emmy for directing, he enrolled again in acting classes.
In 1991, he won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic Design for his work on CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. 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. His assignments for various networks also took him to "20 countries and 38 states," with King working on productions and directing shows for "morning shows, documentaries, telethons, sporting events, concerts, and musicals." He also had experienced directing a number of sports broadcasts.'
Near the end of his career, he had directed CBS This Morning, Good Morning America and The Early Show for 21 years, and was looking for a career change away from morning news television. In his mid-50s, he was still directing morning television at This Morning, then decided "I’ve got to change this lifestyle," moving on from CBS. Shortly afterwards, he was offered the chance direct Saturday Night Live. After directing The Mike Douglas Show, afterwards he was offered the show America Alive, which flopped after eight months, leaving King "out of work for the first time in my life." He unexpectedly received an offer to direct SNL, and was brought in to test on six shows.

SNL

At the age of 58, he was hired as the director of Saturday Night Live in 2006, becoming the third director in the show's history and the fourth director to "man" the SNL control room. Helming a live, 90-minute late night sketch and musical show, he does not write or select sketches, noting it’s his job to help "bring them to life" instead. In 2016, he was the subject of an AARP video profile.
As of 2017, he was in his 11th season with SNL, and had won "six primetime Emmy awards, a daytime Emmy and three awards from the Directors Guild of America." That year, he won best directing for a variety series for an episode hosted by Jimmy Fallon.
He has been nominated for thirteen Directors Guild of America awards, which he won in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
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. Between 2008 and 2018, he won an Emmy every year. By 2018, he had received nine Emmy Awards, eight Primetime and one Daytime, and five Directors Guild of America awards. In 2015 and 2016, he lost out to the Daily Show and Inside Amy Schumer. In 2018, he was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series, again for SNL, winning. The next year, he won Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series again at the Primetime Emmy Awards. At that point he had 28 Emmy nominations. In 2018, he played himself in A Star Is Born.
He is the recipient of 10 Emmy awards and 19 nominations. His work on Saturday Night Live has earned him nine Primetime Emmys and 13 nominations. In January 2020, King won the Directors Guild of America Award for Variety/Talk/News/Sports - Regularly Scheduled Programming for Saturday Night Live.

Broadway Worldwide

He has spoken about the television industry at events and schools such as Lawrence Herbert School of Communication and Berkeley Forum. When not working on SNL and live version of Weekend Update in August, King is involved in various stage plays and musicals. Among projects he has worked on are Broadway version of Romeo and Juliet and Memphis. King is the creative director of Broadway Worldwide which brings theatrical events to theaters and television. The company has produced four major productions as of 2019, all of which King directed: '; ' with Carol Burnett; and Memphis, all directed by King. He also directed a big screen taping of Broadway's Romeo and Juliet with Orlando Bloom in 2013.

Personal life

King lives in New York City, and has a daughter named Cameron. He married actress Kate Snyder in 1995, after a prior marriage ended in divorce.

Filmography

Director

;2019
;2017
;2016
;2015
;2014
;2013
;2011
;2010
;2009
SNL Presents: A Very Gilly Christmas
Saturday Night Live: The Best of Amy Poehler
Saturday Night Live Sports Extra '09 '
;2008
;2005
;2002
;2001
;2000
;1987
;1977-1980

Actor

;2018
;2011
;2010

Producer

;2001
;1998

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef
1991News & Documentary Emmy AwardOutstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic DesignCBS Evening News with Dan Rather
2007Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical VarietySaturday Night Live
2007Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy SeriesSaturday Night Live
2008Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy SeriesSaturday Night Live
2009Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical VarietySaturday Night Live
2009Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy SeriesSaturday Night Live
2010Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical VarietySaturday Night Live
2010Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy SeriesSaturday Night Live
2011Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical VarietySaturday Night Live
2011Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy SeriesSaturday Night Live
2012Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical VarietySaturday Night Live
2012Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy SeriesSaturday Night Live
2013Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical VarietySaturday Night Live
2013Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy SeriesSaturday Night Live
2014Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports - SeriesSaturday Night Live
2014Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety SeriesSaturday Night Live
2015Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports - SeriesSaturday Night Live
2015Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports - SpecialSaturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special
2015Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety SpecialSaturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special
2016Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety SeriesSaturday Night Live
2016Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports - SeriesSaturday Night Live
2017Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety SeriesSaturday Night Live
2017Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports - SeriesSaturday Night Live
2018Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety SeriesSaturday Night Live
2019Directors Guild of America AwardOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports - SeriesSaturday Night Live
2019Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety SeriesSaturday Night Live
2020Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Variety SeriesSaturday Night Live