Lela Swift Biography

Fast Facts

• Became the assistant director of "Studio One" under Worthington Miner in 1948
• Got her start as a gofer for CBS in the mid-1940s, quickly rising through the ranks to assistant stage manager as a protégé of Frances Buss, one of the first female television pioneers
• Best known as the director of the TV series "Ryan's Hope" and "Dark Shadows․"
• Gave a young James Dean his first big break when she directed him in "The Web․"
• When she was told that she would "only be doing cooking shows" during her early days as an aspiring director, she replied, "I'll take my chances;" she never did a cooking show