---
name: "Ernest Pintoff"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ernest-pintoff"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "15 December 1931"
died: "12 January 2002"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T16:48:40.179707+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ernest Pintoff

Director. Born 15 December 1931 in Watertown, Connecticut, USA. Died 12 January 2002.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 15 December 1931, Watertown, Connecticut, USA
- **Died:** 12 January 2002

## Biography

Ernest Pintoff (15 December 1931 – 12 January 2002) was an American film and television director, screenwriter and producer. Born in Watertown, Connecticut and raised in New York City, he began his career as a jazz trumpeter and taught painting and design at Michigan State University before entering animation in the mid-1950s.

Pintoff directed the animated shorts *The Violinist* (1959), narrated by Carl Reiner, which received an Academy Award nomination, and *The Critic* (1963), written and narrated by Mel Brooks, for which he won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Subject. He later moved into live-action features, including *Harvey Middleman, Fireman* (1965), and directed episodes of numerous television series.

His television credits include episodes of *Hawaii Five-O* (1968), *Kojak* (1973), *The Six Million Dollar Man* (1974), *Falcon Crest* (1981), *Knots Landing* (1979) and *MacGyver* (1985). He received the Winsor McCay Award in 1998 for lifetime contributions to animation.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, imdb.com, watch.plex.tv.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Kojak* (1973), Fi1m 80, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/kojak.md)

## Also known for

- *MacGyver* (1985), Director
- *The Six Million Dollar Man* (1974), Director
- *The Bionic Woman* (1976), Director
- *Hawaii Five-O* (1969), Director
- *Voyagers!* (1982), Director
- *Falcon Crest* (1981), Director
- *Knots Landing* (1979), Director
- *Ellery Queen* (1975), Director

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ernest-pintoff