John C. Zak (previously credited as John Zak), born in 1954 in Washington D.C., USA, is an American director, producer and film maker as well as a voice over actor. He has worked in network television for over 30 years. After graduating from Canyon High School in Canyon Country California in 1972, Zak studied film and television production at UCLA, graduating Magna cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1976.Upon graduation from UCLA, John became a lighting director with ABC Television in Hollywood, earning an Emmy Award and seven Emmy nominations for work on series including GENERAL HOSPITAL and BENSON. John left ABC after nine years. He worked for Universal Studios as Director of Photography on situation comedies including SILVER SPOONS, FACTS OF LIFE, DOMESTIC LIFE, DIFFR'NT STROKES, and several Universal pilots.Zak directed the first national telecast of the NOSOTROS GOLDEN EAGLE AWARDS honoring Hispanics in the entertainment industry.Zak also directed CAPITOL (CBS), THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS (CBS), DAYS OF OUR LIVES, (NBC), SANTA BARBARA,(NBC) RITUALS, (SYN), and THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, (CBS). Zak remained with THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL for 12 years, advancing to the position of supervising producer while continuing as a director on the series. Zak earned a Directors Guild of America nomination for the series in 1995. Concluding his tenure on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, Zak earned certificates from UCLA's Professional Producing and Screenwriting Programs, followed by a Master's Degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica, awarded in 2003. Zak produced several films on Hawaiian healing and culture, including HAWAIIAN HEALING, HAWAIIAN MEDITATIONS, and PULE WAILELE. These films screened at festivals, including the HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, the BIG ISLAND FILM FESTIVAL and the MAUI FILM FESTIVAL. Zak also directed the series, SPYDER GAMES, for MTV Networks for which he received an Emmy nomination.In 2004 and 2005, Zak was a contract director for ABC on the daytime series, ONE LIFE TO LIVE.Zak is a director member of the Directors Guild of America, a member and former Governor of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and an actor member of SAG-AFTRA.Zak has consulted on production for international companies including, Endemol, RTL 4, and Franz Marx Films. He speaks Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese. He is a narrator - voice actor-producer with multiple credits on audio books. He serves on the audio book committee for SAG-AFTRA.In 2006 Zak was awarded the Gold Medal in the Fine Arts division by the HAWAII FORGIVENESS PROJECT for his photograph, LEI LOKAHI.In 2007, in collaboration with author, Makana Chai, John Zak created photographs for a hard-cover book, HAWAIIAN MASSAGE LOMILOMI, SACRED TOUCH OF ALOHA, which received an award from the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
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