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{{short description|American writer}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2020}}
'''Tom Schiller''' is an American writer, director, comedian and actor best known for his eleven-year stint writing and directing short films for ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' (following the show's original short film makers [[Albert Brooks]] and [[Gary Weis]]). His films, often featuring members of the original ''SNL'' cast, aired on the program in a segment titled, "Schiller's Reel."
He is the son of TV comedy writer/producer [[Bob Schiller]].

==Career==
Schiller was part of the original 1975 writing team when ''Saturday Night Live'' debuted on [[NBC]]. Schiller was an on-screen cast member for one season.<ref name=nytimes2019-12-14/> Notable films included the [[Federico Fellini]] send-up "La Dolce Gilda" and "Don't Look Back in Anger", which depicted an elderly [[John Belushi]] as the last living "Not Ready For Primetime Player," visiting a cemetery where his castmates are buried, recalling their deaths, and remarking he survived by dancing, at which point he dances on their graves. ("Don't Look Back in Anger" noted the irony of the situation in light of Belushi's fast-living lifestyle, with Belushi remarking on the predictions—which turned out to be accurate—that Belushi would be the first cast member to die.) Another favorite was "Java Junkie", a send-up of a 1950s-style cautionary film about a coffee addict (played by [[Peter Aykroyd]]) which Schiller made with producer/cinematographer [[Neal Marshad]]. Schiller wrote and directed the short film "Love Is a Dream" for ''SNL'' again with producer/cinematographer Neal Marshad and starring [[Phil Hartman]] and [[Jan Hooks]]. Schiller also wrote and directed a feature film, ''[[Nothing Lasts Forever (film)|Nothing Lasts Forever]]'' (1984). The film, which was shelved by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], has never been officially released theatrically or for home media, featured [[Bill Murray]], [[Dan Aykroyd]], [[Zach Galligan]], [[Sam Jaffe]], [[Mort Sahl]], [[Lauren Tom]], [[Imogene Coca]], Apollonia van Ravenstein and [[Eddie Fisher (singer)|Eddie Fisher]], the film has gained a cult following and influenced a number of young directors.

Prior to working on ''Saturday Night Live'', Schiller worked as an assistant to documentary filmmaker Robert Snyder and directed a film about his longtime friend and mentor, author [[Henry Miller]]. Schiller is the son of sitcom writer [[Bob Schiller]], who was a staff writer on ''[[I Love Lucy]]''.

Schiller has gone on to direct over 500 comedy TV commercials and is currently represented by his own company, Schillervision.

In spring 2013, the comedy album "Tom and Don", which is a compilation of improv interviews between Schiller and musician [[Donald Fagen]], was released. Schiller's body of work is the subject of the 2005 book ''Nothing Lost Forever: The Films of Tom Schiller'' by Michael Streeter. Schiller is married to humorist, community volunteer, author and partygiver, [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/space-matters-jacque-lynn?variant=39935259574306 Jacque Schiller, née Lynn].

Schiller's likeness is represented in the film [[Saturday_Night_(2024_film)|''Saturday Night'']] (2024) by upcoming actor and artist Parker Wierling.

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=nytimes2019-12-14>{{cite news |first=Gus |last=Wezerek |title=The 'S.N.L.' Stars Who Lasted, and the Ones Who Flamed Out |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2019-12-14 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/14/arts/television/SNL-history.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2019-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214233933/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/14/arts/television/SNL-history.html |archive-date=2019-12-14 |url-status=live
|quote=Some of the names here will be familiar only to die-hard fans; others, like Murphy, defined what was funny for generations of viewers.}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|id=0771680|name=Tom Schiller}}
* {{cite web |last=Streeter |first=Michael |date= |title=Nothing Lost Forever:The Films of Tom Schiller |url=https://www.nothinglostforever.com/ |website=NothingLostForever.com |location= |publisher= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924220525/http://www.nothinglostforever.com/ |archive-date=September 24, 2023 |access-date=May 2, 2025}}
* http://www.schillervision.com/ the official Schillervision site
^[https://music.apple.com/us/album/tom-don-tapes-vol-1/630672053] Interview - Tom and Don: Part 1 at Apple [[ITunes]]

{{EmmyAward ComedyVarietyMusicWriting 1970s}}
{{EmmyAward ComedyVarietyMusicWriting 1980s}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiller, Tom}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American male comedians]]
[[Category:21st-century American comedians]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American television directors]]
[[Category:American male television writers]]
[[Category:American television writers]]
[[Category:Film directors from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:21st-century American screenwriters]]
[[Category:American advertising directors]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]

Tom Schiller - Revision history

imported>Kjell Knudde: Added more categories.