Joel Rosenzweig

Joel Rosenzweig was a director best known for his work on the television shows Cagney & Lacey and The Trials of Rosie O’Neill.

He worked on both shows with his brother, Barney Rosenzweig, the Emmy Award-winning executive producer of Cagney & Lacey, and a writer and producer for The Trials. Joel’s sister-in-law Sharon Gless, also an Emmy winner, was featured in both series as well.

Joel also directed episodes of What's Happening Now!, Christy and One West Waikiki. Christy was produced by Barney’s production company, The Rosenzweig Co. and featured Tyne Daly, one of the stars of Cagney & Lacey. His direction resulted in Emmy nominations for John Karlin (best supporting actor, Cagney & Lacey), Ed Asner (best supporting actor, The Trials of Rosie O’Neill) and an Emmy win for Tyne Daly (best supporting actress, Christy).

In 2007 he began producing the reality show L.A. Ink, featuring tattoo artist Kat Von D. He is also credited with having worked on the series Falcon Crest and Buck James, and in 1977 he appeared in an episode of Charlie’s Angels as a policeman, his only credit as an actor. He attended USC in the 1970s where he was guided by his mentor Nina Foch, an Oscar-nominated actress who taught classes at the School of Cinematic Arts. For his master’s thesis he mounted the first-ever staging of The Who’s Tommy, and then another staging at the age of 22 with a professional cast at the Aquarius Theatre in Hollywood.

After working in theater for almost 20 years, Rosenzweig transitioned to television and then later on to teaching. He served as president of his local Texas State Teachers Association, and was the drama specialist for the Richardson Independent School District in Texas. He also taught government at Lake Highlands High School.

Joel Rosenzweig died October 29, 2015, in Richardson, Texas. He was 66.