Don Scardino (born February 17, 1948) is an American television director and producer and a former actor. Born in New York City, Scardino began his career as an actor. His first Broadway credit was as an understudy in The Playroom in 1965. Additional Broadway acting credits include Johnny No-Trump, Godspell, and King of Hearts. Off-Broadway he appeared in The Rimers of Eldritch, The Comedy of Errors, Moonchildren, and I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road, he was also the lead in a cult classic B horror movie titled Squirm in 1976. He served as Artistic Director at Playwrights Horizons from 1991-96. On television he appeared on the daytime soap operas The Guiding Light, All My Children, Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, and Another World and the primetime series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and The Name of the Game. Feature film credits include Rip-off, Homer, Squirm and Cruising. Following his acting on the network soap operas, he began to direct them. He directed episodes of Another World, One Life to Live, and All My Children. He went on to direct plays on and off-Broadway, including the world premiere of Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men. He has directed extensively in television, most notably NBC's comedy 30 ROCK. Feature film directing work includes Me & Veronica (Venice Film Festival), and Advice From A Caterpillar, winner, best comedy, at Aspen Comedy Festival. Scardino was married to actress Pamela Blair from 1984 to 1991. He is currently married to painter Dana L. Williams.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 17, 1949 (77)
- New York City, New York, USA
- Director, actor and producer, also composer
- 34 on MovieCove · 60 credits in all
What are Don Scardino's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 1 · Earnest 10
A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 2 · Dark 5
A split, not a type: Grounded 7 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 1
Gentle 2 · Charged 8 · Intense 2
Steady 8 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 6 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 5
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 0
Casual 6 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 7 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 3
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy8
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Don Scardino's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 19 of their 34 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Don Scardino's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
60 credits, 34 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows
A Break in the Rain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
The Cool Kids(2018)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all shows
Murphy Brown (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
New Amsterdam(2018)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows
Instinct(2018)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all shows
Young Sheldon(2017)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows
Angel from Hell(2016)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend(2015)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows
Browsers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
The Mindy Project(2012)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all shows
2 Broke Girls(2011)
Midcredits score: 43rd percentile of all shows
Royal Pains(2009)
Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all shows
Lipstick Jungle(2008)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows
30 Rock(2006)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows
Rescue Me(2004)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Hope & Faith (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
George Lopez(2002)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows
The Education of Max Bickford (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
100 Centre Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
DAG (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Ed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
The West Wing(1999)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films
Sports Night(1998)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
The Deal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Soul Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Public Morals (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Cosby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Pearl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
The Big Easy(1996)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows
Central Park West (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Tracey Takes on New York(1993)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Me and Veronica (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Law & Order(1990)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows
Women and Wallace (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
27 Wagons Full of Cotton (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Tattingers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
American Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Purlie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
He Knows You're Alone(1980)
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Cruising(1980)
Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all filmsThe Rubber Gun Squad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Squirm(1976)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Rip-Off (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Homer(1970)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The People Next Door(1970)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all filmsCBS Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
After All (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Mission Control (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 58 titles, 56 of them dated from 1966 to 2025.
Biggest box office
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)
Highest rated
You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (in a Canadian Kind of Way) (2025)
Most popular right now
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins (2026)
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Don Scardino's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 38th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 12 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 36th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up12
- 50th to 74th8
- 25th to 49th9
- Below 25th5
Shape of the crowd
13 of their 34 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved6
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser12
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed13
Reviewers score the atmosphere 61/100 and the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Don Scardino's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Don Scardino work with?
People who share at least 2 of Don Scardino's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Edgar Lansbury shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Kimberly McCulloughShared titles: All About the Washingtons (2018), The Cool Kids (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Kimberly McCullough
- Phill LewisShared titles: All About the Washingtons (2018), The Cool Kids (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Phill Lewis
Editors
- Brian Smedley-AstonShared titles: Squirm (1976), The People Next Door (1970)See all 2 shared titles with Brian Smedley-Aston
Producers
- Edgar LansburyShared titles: Advice from a Caterpillar (1999), He Knows You're Alone (1980), Squirm (1976)See all 3 shared titles with Edgar Lansbury
- George ManasseShared titles: He Knows You're Alone (1980), Squirm (1976)See all 2 shared titles with George Manasse
- Joseph BeruhShared titles: He Knows You're Alone (1980), Squirm (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Joseph Beruh
Mixed roles
- Bud S. SmithShared titles: Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders (2026), Cruising (1980)See all 2 shared titles with Bud S. Smith