Biography
Abby Singer (born Abner E. Singer) was an American production manager, unit production manager and producer who worked primarily in film and television from the late 1940s to the 1990s. After serving in the Second World War, he began his career in 1949 as an assistant to a Columbia Pictures executive and moved into television production management at Universal Studios in 1957.
He held key production roles on numerous series, including several for MTM Productions such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, The Bob Newhart Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere (1982–1988), where he served as coordinating producer and unit production manager. He also worked as unit production manager on the feature Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974). Singer received five Primetime Emmy nominations for his work on St. Elsewhere.
His name entered industry parlance as the “Abby Singer shot”, referring to the second-to-last shot of a production day. He was a longtime member of the Directors Guild of America, serving multiple terms on its National Board, and received the guild’s Frank Capra Achievement Award in 1985.
