Mr. Reza Badiyi was born in Arak Iran and at an early age developed a passion for acting and the cinematic arts. Despite family objections, he studied drama in Iran and received a gold medal for his acting abilities from the Shah. Later he switched from acting to cinematography and became so proficient in this field that he became the Shah's personal cinematographer travelling with him throughout Iran.
In Iran, Mr. Badiyi made numerous documentaries. He received international recognition for one work in particular, a documentary called a Flood in Khuzestan. This work depicted a diverse group of trapped individuals, including Mr. Badiyi , in their efforts to survive the flood. For his efforts, Mr. Badiyi won the Golden Ribbon of Art, from the Shah and received worldwide recognition when the Red Cross showed the film internationally. When the United States government saw the documentary, they invited him to come to the US to study film.
Director Reza Badiyi was Mentored by Robert Altman
Mr. Badiyi studied at Syracuse University and was eventually sent to Kansas to work with a large motion picture production company. It was here that he met a young director, Robert Altman, who is today revered and remembered as one of the great American directors. Mr. Altman was impressed with Mr. Badiyi's knowledge of cinematography and they became close friends. Mr. Altman became Mr. Badiyi's mentor and Mr. Badiyi became Mr. Altman's protégée. This friendship resulted in many collaborative efforts between the two directors and helped propel Mr. Badiyi's career as a Hollywood director.
Since that time over the past forty years, Mr. Badiyi has made over 60 documentaries, four feature films and over 420 hours of primetime television. Some of his television credits include directed episodes of Hawaii 5-O, Mission Impossible, Star Trek 9, The 6 Million Dollar man, Starsky and Hutch, Cagney and Lacey, Baywatch and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to name a few.
Badiyi Famous for Hawaii 5-0 and Mary Tyler Moore Opening Sequences
Badiyi has also done hundreds of title visualizations, and is best known for creating the opening sequence of Hawaii 5-O and the Mary Tyler Moore Show. For his achievements, Mr Badiyi received the Directors Guild of America Award and became known as the Godfather of American Television.
Although all of his accomplishments are tremendous, the fact that we have a man who was brought up in an easternized society, with little knowledge of English, becoming one of the most successful, prolific directors of a westernized, English-dominant medium is quite frankly astounding. Mr. Badiyi's use of stunning visual effects and creative power has forever changed and revolutionized the medium of television.
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Cyrus Dehkan - I am a dentist that's been in practice for 22 years. Although not a professional writer, I do enjoy giving views on various subjects. My ...
