American Pioneering Television Director and Producer. Born Lela Siwoff, she rose from the secretarial pool at CBS to become a pioneering force for female TV directors, directing nearly 600 episodes of 'Dark Shadows' and winning three Daytime Emmys over 14 years of helming the soap opera 'Ryan's Hope'. She joined CBS in the early 1940s, and was assigned as a researcher to a chief engineer who developed the original technology for color television and the concept of video recording. In 1948, she worked her way up to assistant director on the network's 'Studio One'. As the network expanded, she cracked the boys club of TV directors, going on to helm for such shows as 'Suspense', 'The Web', 'The Dupont Show Of The Week', 'The House On High Street', NBC's 'The Purex Specials For Women' and the documentary 'Years Without Harvest'. In 1966, she joined the production team on the ABC gothic serial 'Dark Shadows'. After a slow start, the show became a big hit, running for five seasons and 1,225 episodes, with Swift directing nearly 600 of them and producing the final two seasons. In 1975, she directed the first episode of the daytime drama, 'Ryan's Hope', which would run for 14 years, with Swift directed most of its hours, more than 825 in all, which would earn her three Emmy awards. She died at her home of natural causes.
American Pioneering Television Director and Producer. Born Lela Siwoff, she rose from the secretarial pool at CBS to become a pioneering force for female TV directors, directing nearly 600 episodes of 'Dark Shadows' and winning three Daytime Emmys over 14 years of helming the soap opera 'Ryan's Hope'. She joined CBS in the early 1940s, and was assigned as a researcher to a chief engineer who developed the original technology for color television and the concept of video recording. In 1948, she worked her way up to assistant director on the network's 'Studio One'. As the network expanded, she cracked the boys club of TV directors, going on to helm for such shows as 'Suspense', 'The Web', 'The Dupont Show Of The Week', 'The House On High Street', NBC's 'The Purex Specials For Women' and the documentary 'Years Without Harvest'. In 1966, she joined the production team on the ABC gothic serial 'Dark Shadows'. After a slow start, the show became a big hit, running for five seasons and 1,225 episodes, with Swift directing nearly 600 of them and producing the final two seasons. In 1975, she directed the first episode of the daytime drama, 'Ryan's Hope', which would run for 14 years, with Swift directed most of its hours, more than 825 in all, which would earn her three Emmy awards. She died at her home of natural causes.
Bio by: Louis du Mort
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