ARTIST, PRODUCER, ART DIRECTOR

Robert Joseph Markell (April 12, 1924 -January 25, 2020) was a five-time Emmy Award winning producer, designer, network executive, and artist whose career spanned over 50 years. As a producer and art director, he was integral to the production of dozens of theatrical performances, classic films, and television shows, including the first televised production of  The Nutcracker (staged by George Balanchine on  Seven Lively Arts, 1957),  12 Angry Men with Henry Fonda (1957),  The Defenders (1961-1965),  Playhouse 90  (1956-1961), and  N.Y.P.D. (1967-1969). 

Robert Markell was born in 1924 and raised in Boston, Massachusetts.

Although he always possessed a passion for art and design, his parents encouraged him to further his education in the field of civil engineering. After earning his degree from Northeastern University in Boston, he relocated to Bethpage, New York, where he was employed by Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation as a designer of airplanes. He subsequently pursued a position with the American National Theater Association as an assistant set designer for summer stock in the Catskills (New York). When the chief set designer failed to report for work, Mr. Markell assumed the duties. Although primarily a self-taught artist, he studied that summer with stage manager Phil Stein, who mentored him in the intricacies of set design. In 1949, he was offered his first position in television, when CBS hired him to work on live broadcast shows. This marked the beginning of his career in television and film. 

In 1954, Robert Markell received the first of five Emmy Awards for his set design work on the television series  You Are There. He also became a successful producer with the series  Playhouse 90 and  The Defenders. Many successful actors and artists have worked with Markell including Noel Coward, Mary Martin, Jackie Gleason, Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, George Balanchine, Dustin Hoffman, E.G. Marshall, Robert Reed, William Shatner, Jack Warden, Al Pacino, James Earl Jones, and Harvey Keitel. 

Later in life, Markell became a full-time print-maker and painter.

His works of art are represented in private and public collections throughout the United States. 

Source: Robert J. Markell Collection, Stony Brook University