An armful of Emmy awards
Harry Kooperstein’s personalized license plate is: EMYMN17. In other words, Emmy Man 17.
That’s how many Emmys Kooperstein has won. From 1987 through 1999, the now Sun City Palm Desert resident collected eight Emmys as producer and director of Live From The Hollywood Bowl, an annual TV special that featured the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Hollywood Bowl orchestras, and an array of hosts that included Carol Burnett, Tyne Daly and Alex Trebeck.
Kooperstein garnered another five Emmys as Outstanding Director of Live Special Events. Two more Emmys, Awards of Excellence, were bestowed by the Film Advisory Board of Hollywood. And two more for Outstanding Non-News Director.
“Getting awards for something I loved to do was the icing on the cake,” said Kooperstein. “And when it came to directing those Hollywood Bowl specials, it sure helped to have a musical background.”
Midwest musical roots
Born in 1941, he was raised in a musical family in Columbus, Ohio. His father played violin. His cousin sang opera. He played trumpet in the high school marching band, performing so well that he was noticed by the conductor of the Ohio State University Marching Band.
He continued his musical education at Ohio State and remembers those years in the marching band as “one of the proudest achievements of my life.”
His TV experience began as stage manager at a Columbus station. He moved up to directing local news, then moved on to Indianapolis, Ind., where the weatherman was a young David Letterman.
“We knew that Dave wouldn’t be a weatherman long,” said Kooperstein. “He was definitely destined for bigger things.”
Directing musical specials
In 1976, California beckoned, and he landed a job directing the news at KCOP-TV Los Angeles. That led to his producing and directing the Live From The Hollywood Bowl specials.
“I also had the good fortune,” said Kooperstein, “to direct a series of specials, starting with a behind-the-scenes look at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Sunset Boulevard. The one-hour special, with Webber and star Glenn Close, followed the musical from beginning rehearsals to opening night at LA’s Shubert Theater. It made for exciting television.”
Then Kooperstein went on to direct the musical specials on Miss Saigon andKiss Of The Spider Woman at LA’s Ahmanson Theater; the Los Angeles premier of the Broadway musical Grease, the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade and the Emmy award-winning tribute to actress Natalie Wood.
After Wood’s death, KCOP paid tribute to her with a week-long film festival and a one-hour special hosted by Roddy McDowall and Hope Lange. Reminiscences by such friends as Orson Welles, Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, Karl Malden and Christopher Plummer highlighted the special.
“Directing the tribute to Natalie was a high point in my career,” said Kooperstein. “The show was done with the blessings of her husband, Robert Wagner, on the understanding it would deal with her career, not her personal life.”
Barbara, Kooperstein’s wife of 30 years, said, “Everybody loved working with Harry. While others were frantic, Harry stayed calm and collected. When he directed the musicals, he directed with arms outstretched as though he were conducting an orchestra. It was wonderful to watch.”
Kooperstein also directed the controversial documentary Rape, a confrontation between convicted rapists and survivors. Filmed on location at the Oregon State Penitentiary, the program was awarded a gold medal by the International Film and Television Festival of New York.
In 1999, 2000 and 2001, Kooperstein produced and directed for KVTX-TV in Salt Lake City their annual special, Salute to the Symphony, featuring the Utah Symphony Orchestra conducted by Keith Lockhart.
Other specials he directed were The Golden Era of the Silents, hosted by Mickey Rooney, and Superman Superstar, hosted by Tom Bosley.
Kooperstein is an active member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and has served three times as governor.
Trumpeting his love of music
Through the years, Kooperstein kept his trumpet handy, sitting in with various Hollywood bands, particularly Carroll O’Conners Gingerman Club with George Segal, Jack Lemmon and other noted musicians.
He directed This Joint Is Jumpin’, a two-hour all-star jazz special featuring Jack and Chris Lemmon, Bea Arthur, Dudley Moore and Jackie Cooper, and hosted by Conrad Janis and his Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band. Locally, he has jammed with the Ted Herman Band.
Kooperstein is currently in discussion to direct a Playboy Jazz documentary that will celebrate the recognition Hugh Hefner’s Playboy has given to jazz artists since the early 50s.
He enjoys a weekly “Lunch Bunch” attended by some high-powered, entertainment industry retirees.
Kooperstein makes good use of driving time by practicing on the trumpet mouthpiece he keeps in his car. The car with the license plate EMYMN17. The license plate that only begins to sum up his brilliant career.