---
name: "Jerry Ziesmer"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jerry-ziesmer"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "31 May 1939"
died: "1 August 2021"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 84
updated: "2026-09-16T21:20:24.691630+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."
---

# Jerry Ziesmer

Actor. Born 31 May 1939 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Died 1 August 2021.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 31 May 1939, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
- **Died:** 1 August 2021
- **Active:** 1979–2000

## Biography

Jerry Ziesmer (31 May 1939 – 1 August 2021) was an American assistant director, production manager and occasional actor. He trained in acting at Northwestern University and UCLA before completing the Directors Guild of America assistant directors training programme in 1969.

Ziesmer worked on more than 50 films, often as first assistant director. His credits include *Apocalypse Now* (1979), *Rocky II* (1979), *Scarface* (1983), *Jerry Maguire* (1996) and *Almost Famous* (2000). He also appeared in small acting roles, most notably as the civilian intelligence officer in *Apocalypse Now* who delivers the line 'terminate with extreme prejudice'. In 1999 he published the memoir *Ready When You Are, Mr. Coppola, Mr. Spielberg, Mr. Crowe*. He received the Directors Guild of America's Frank Capra Achievement Award in 2006.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (6)

- *Almost Famous* (2000), Fi1m 82, Associate Producer, First Assistant Director — [page](https://film.one/film/almost-famous.md)
- *Jerry Maguire* (1996), Fi1m 81, as Trainer — [page](https://film.one/film/jerry-maguire.md)
- *Say Anything...* (1989), Fi1m 81, as U.S. Attorney — [page](https://film.one/film/say-anything.md)
- *Midnight Run* (1988), Fi1m 88, First Assistant Director — [page](https://film.one/film/midnight-run.md)
- *Scarface* (1983), Fi1m 79, First Assistant Director — [page](https://film.one/film/scarface.md)
- *Apocalypse Now* (1979), Fi1m 92, as Jerry, Civilian — [page](https://film.one/film/apocalypse-now.md)

## Also known for

- *Rocky II* (1979), First Assistant Director
- *Short Circuit* (1986), First Assistant Director
- *History of the World: Part I* (1981), Assistant Director
- *1941* (1979), First Assistant Director
- *Marked for Death* (1990), First Assistant Director
- *Blue Thunder* (1983), First Assistant Director
- *Some Kind of Wonderful* (1987), First Assistant Director
- *Out for Justice* (1991), First Assistant 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/jerry-ziesmer