Jack Bender

Directing

Jack Bender

Born

1949-09-25 (77)

Place of birth

USA

Known for

Directing

Credits

48 titles

Jack Bender is an American television and film director, actor, television producer and also a screenwriter. Bender was an executive producer and lead director on the ABC television series, Lost. He directed the series finale of Lost. Bender has also directed on other popular shows such as The Sopranos, Carnivàle, Alias and Boston Public. He has recently signed to direct Syfy's new pilot Alphas. As an actor, Bender has guest starred on All in the Family, The Bob Newhart Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He has co-starred in The Million Dollar Duck, Savage and McNaughton's Daughter

Known for

Columbo poster
8.1

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.

Columbo

1971

The Mary Tyler Moore Show poster
7.7

30-year-old single Mary Richards moves to Minneapolis to start a new life after a romantic break-up. There she reacquaints with Phyllis who rents her a room, and meets her upstairs neighbor and new best friend Rhoda. Mary unexpectedly lands a job as associate producer at the TV station WJM, where she works alongside her bristly boss, Lou; the comical newswriter, Murray; and the newscast's often-incompetent anchor, Ted.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

1970

All in the Family poster
7.8

Archie Bunker, a working class bigot, constantly squabbles with his family over the important issues of the day.

All in the Family

1971

The Bob Newhart Show poster
7.5

The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers. The show was filmed before a live audience.

The Bob Newhart Show

1972

Child's Play 3 poster
5.9

Eight years after seemingly destroying the killer doll, teen Andy Barclay is placed in a military school, and the spirit of Chucky returns to renew his quest and seek vengeance after being recreated from a mass of melted plastic.

Child's Play 3

1991

Talking Sopranos poster
10.0

Cast members Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa host Talking Sopranos. Michael reviews the Sopranos episode by episode giving inside info, insights and behind the scenes stories.

Talking Sopranos

2020

Film credits

1970s · 7 titles

Now You See Him, Now You Don't poster
6.3

Dexter Riley is a science student at Medfield College who inadvertently invents a liquid capable of rendering objects and people invisible. Before Dexter and his friends, Debbie and Richard Schuyler, can even enjoy their spectacular discovery, corrupt businessman A.J. Arno plots to get his greedy hands on it. Slapstick hijinks ensue as Dexter and his pals try to thwart the evil Arno before he can use the invisibility spray to rob a bank.

Now You See Him, Now You Don't

1972

The Million Dollar Duck poster
5.8

Professor Dooley takes home a duck from his research laboratory as a toy for his son, but soon finds out that it lays golden eggs.

The Million Dollar Duck

1971

Hot Lead & Cold Feet poster
5.9

Twin brothers -- one rough and tough, the other a city-bred milquetoast -- compete for their father's fortune.

Hot Lead & Cold Feet

1978

The Barefoot Executive poster
5.6

In the great Disney tradition of wild family fun, a young Kurt Russell stars as Steven Post - an ambitious mailroom clerk at a second-rate TV network. With his eye on the boardroom, and getting nowhere with the studio's top dog, he makes a career-changing discovery. His girlfriend's lovable pet chimp can pick a hit show every time! His secret for success turns into a madcap monkey business when he makes vice president and jealous rivals want in on the act. Ride along with narrow escapes and a classic cast featuring Joe Flynn and Harry Morgan in a comedic climb up the corporate ladder that will leave you howling for more!

The Barefoot Executive

1971

Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force poster
4.4

The true story of Leonard Matlovich, a U.S. Air Force sergeant who, in 1975, publicly divulged his homosexuality and fought to remain in service.

Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force

1978

Savage! poster
5.5

A television reporter uncovers a compromising photograph of a Supreme Court nominee, only for the woman in the picture to die under mysterious circumstances. As he investigates, he’s drawn into a web of political intrigue and media manipulation. Originally conceived as a TV series pilot, the 1973 thriller aired as a standalone film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Martin Landau.

Savage!

1973

Target Risk poster
7.0

A professional courier's girlfriend is abducted, and the kidnappers threaten to kill her unless the courier helps them fake a diamond robbery.

Target Risk

1975

Series credits

Columbo poster
8.1

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.

Columbo

1971

The Mary Tyler Moore Show poster
7.7

30-year-old single Mary Richards moves to Minneapolis to start a new life after a romantic break-up. There she reacquaints with Phyllis who rents her a room, and meets her upstairs neighbor and new best friend Rhoda. Mary unexpectedly lands a job as associate producer at the TV station WJM, where she works alongside her bristly boss, Lou; the comical newswriter, Murray; and the newscast's often-incompetent anchor, Ted.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

1970

All in the Family poster
7.8

Archie Bunker, a working class bigot, constantly squabbles with his family over the important issues of the day.

All in the Family

1971

The Bob Newhart Show poster
7.5

The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers. The show was filmed before a live audience.

The Bob Newhart Show

1972

Talking Sopranos poster
10.0

Cast members Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa host Talking Sopranos. Michael reviews the Sopranos episode by episode giving inside info, insights and behind the scenes stories.

Talking Sopranos

2020

Here We Go Again poster
6.0

Here We Go Again is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from January to April 1973 on Saturday Night at 8:00pm. The show, produced by Metromedia/Bobka Productions, ran for 13 episodes.

Here We Go Again

1973

Behind the camera

Child's Play 3 poster
5.9

Eight years after seemingly destroying the killer doll, teen Andy Barclay is placed in a military school, and the spirit of Chucky returns to renew his quest and seek vengeance after being recreated from a mass of melted plastic.

Child's Play 3

1991

The Dreamer of Oz poster
7.6

The film is the biography of Frank Baum, the children's book author and creator of the fantasy world Oz.

The Dreamer of Oz

1990

The Midnight Hour poster
5.9

Phil, Melissa, Mitch, Mary, and Vinnie are high school friends, who unwittingly raise the dead on Halloween night. Once the dead have returned, Pitchford Cove will never be the same again....or will it?

The Midnight Hour

1985

The Tempest poster
6.2

An adaptation of Shakespeare's classic is set in the Mississippi bayous during the Civil War.

The Tempest

1998

Letting Go poster
7.2

Letting Go stars John Ritter as a widower and Sharon Gless as a lonely unmarried woman. They meet during a group-therapy session. Romance is inevitable, but the road to true happiness is pockmarked by a series of comic complications. Advertised as a straight romantic drama, Letting Go is actually more akin to the screwball comedies of the 1930s, with a strong satirical bent regarding "behavior modification" theories. The made-for-TV film debuted May 11, 1985.

Letting Go

1985

Tricks of the Trade poster
4.0

After her picture perfect husband is murdered in a prostitute's apartment, Beverly Hills homemaker Catherine is devastated. But she doesn't spend too long mourning, because she's soon on a mission to put her husband's killer behind bars. To do so, she forms an unlikely partnership with Marla, the Hollywood hooker who serviced the deceased. Under Marla's guidance, the pair navigate the seedier side of Los Angeles to put this mystery to rest.

Tricks of the Trade

1988

It Came from the Sky poster
5.1

Jarvis and Pepper crash land their small plane on the roof of the Bridges family. Pepper finds herself having a positive effect on the households' autistic son Andy.

It Came from the Sky

1999

It Came from the Sky poster
5.1

Jarvis and Pepper crash land their small plane on the roof of the Bridges family. Pepper finds herself having a positive effect on the households' autistic son Andy.

It Came from the Sky

1999

A Call to Remember poster
6.4

Paula Tobias, a Holocaust survivor who has suffered the ultimate personal tragedy of losing her spouse and children during the Nazi occupation of World War II. Now re-married and living in America during the late 1960's with husband David, they build a new life together with sons Ben and Jake. One evening, Paula receives a phone call which assures her that her son, Alec, is actually alive and in New York. This brings up painful memories from the past for everyone involved, including Ben and Jake, who force their father to talk about the Holocaust. Paula rushes to New York only to find that it was a mistake - Alec was never found. She falls into a dramatic depression, as the family confronts their fears and tries to stay together.

A Call to Remember

1997

High School U.S.A. poster
4.2

Principal of Excelsior High School deals with a rivalry between student groups and his own interest in the new counselor.

High School U.S.A.

1984

Shattered Vows poster
5.1

At the age of 16 Mary becomes a nun. But she never gets used to the strict rules of her new life and when she falls in love with Father Tim, she wants to withdraw her vow.

Shattered Vows

1984

Friends 'Til the End poster
6.0

Heather and Suzanne were childhood friends, both singers, who have always been competing against each other. The insecure Suzanne, who usually lost all the competitions, grows emotionally disturbed and hyper-competitive and carrying a grudge against Heather. The young woman, under a false name, enrolls the same college where Heather goes, with the intention of destroying her life...

Friends 'Til the End

1997

The Gambler: Playing for Keeps poster
6.2

Brady Hawkes has to run to his son's rescue once again in this continuation of the Gambler stories. Jeremiah is now a young man who has become involved with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Brady pursues the gang in order to get Jeremiah out of the gang before he gets in too much trouble with the law.

The Gambler: Playing for Keeps

1994

My Brother's Wife poster
10.0

Barney is a guy who comes home for his father's funeral. Eleanor, his brother's wife who is Barney first love meets him and they go to the club where they first met. And Barney recalls how things kept them apart like his need to act out at his father. And his fear of commitment.

My Brother's Wife

1989

Rewind poster
5.6

Revolves around a team of military field operatives and civilian scientists who must use untested technology to travel back in time to alter past events in order to change the future and avoid a devastating terrorist attack. Feature length pilot for failed tv series, released as a made for TV movie.

Rewind

2013

The Lone Ranger poster
5.6

This version takes a look at the character in the years before he became a legend. It all begins with the introduction of Luke Hartman, a 20-year old Boston law student who witnesses the murder of his brother, a Texas Ranger. He himself is wounded in the midst of the chaos, but is rescued by the Apache Tonto... and subsequently becomes smitten by Tonto's sister Alope. He then devotes his life to avenging the death of his brother and fighting injustice, and in the process becoming a worldwide legend.

The Lone Ranger

2003

A Face to Die For poster
6.5

A scarred, unattractive young woman is conned into helping with a robbery of her employer. As a result, she is sent to prison, gets plastic surgery, and returns to seek revenge on those who wronged her.

A Face to Die For

1996

The Perfect Tribute poster
6.5

A boy risks life and limb to travel across the war-torn southern states of America during the height of hostilities in the Civil War, hoping to visit his wounded brother in a field hospital on the other side of the country. His accidental meeting with Abraham Lincoln helps the disheartened president understand just how important the Gettysburg Address really is.

The Perfect Tribute

1991

My Little Assassin poster
5.7

1981: Marita Lorenz checks into an Havana hotel and, in a flashback, remembers 22 years' before. At 19, visiting Cuba from New York, she comes to the attention of Fidel Castro, the country's rebel president. He invites her to be his secretary and to be part of the making of the new Cuba. She accepts, but soon learns he already has a capable secretary; Marita's duties lie elsewhere. She becomes pregnant. She's also come to the attention of the FBI and the CIA, so when she wakes up in a US hospital after what may have been a botched abortion against her will in Cuba, her government presses her into service as an assassin: her job, to go back to Cuba and kill her former lover.

My Little Assassin

1999

Nothing Lasts Forever poster
6.5

Story of the personal lives and careers of three female doctors, from different backgrounds and walks of life, who work at a San Francisco county hospital.

Nothing Lasts Forever

1995

Armed and Innocent poster
5.0

Based on a true story, an eleven year old boy left home alone, kills two intruders in self defense. He and his family then try to cope with the boy's anguish and the dead intruders' friends who want revenge.

Armed and Innocent

1994

The David Cassidy Story poster
5.2

The life story of teen actor and singer David Cassidy, best remembered for the TV show hit "The Partridge Family", is presented with his up's and down's, the rise to fame, personal relationships and his conflicting relationship with his father, also an actor of his own.

The David Cassidy Story

2000

Deadly Messages poster
5.8

When Laura unearths an old Ouija board in her closet, her roommate, Cindy, uses it and encounters the spirit of a man that had been murdered in their apartment. After Laura later witnesses Cindy being strangled to death, the authorities arrive to find Cindy missing and no evidence of a crime. Laura sets out to convince everyone that the murder was real while evading the man she feels is Cindy's killer.

Deadly Messages

1985

Killing Mr. Griffin poster
4.8

After being humiliated in English class by his teacher Mr. Griffin, High School student Mark Kinney and his friends plot their revenge. The prank goes wrong when Mr. Griffin dies from heart failure. Now, Mark and his friends must cover their tracks before they are accused of murder.

Killing Mr. Griffin

1997

John Ritter: Being of Sound Mind and Body poster
7.0

John Ritter shows off his comedic talent with a collection of comedy sketches.

John Ritter: Being of Sound Mind and Body

1980

Two Kinds of Love poster
7.5

Two kinds of love are experienced by young Ricky Schroder in this made-for-TV drama. One kind is the tenuous affection he extends to his estranged father when Schroder's mother unexpectedly dies. The other kind consists of the teasing sensations felt by Schroder whenever he approaches a girl his own age.

Two Kinds of Love

1983

In Love with an Older Woman poster
6.0

Robert (John Ritter) is a lawyer who takes more than professional interest in the new investigator hired by his firm, Isobel (Karen Carlson). As the two start working together, a romantic relationship gradually develops between them. But there's one slight problem: Isobel is 43 years old, while Robert is 29. The difference in age increasingly becomes a barrier to their romance -- especially when Robert discovers that Isobel has a 24-year-old daughter.

In Love with an Older Woman

1982

Side by Side poster
5.5

Three men who have just been forced to retire convince their bank to finance their dream: To produce a line of clothing for senior citizens.

Side by Side

1988

Sweet Dreams poster
5.5

A girl awakes from a coma to find her world has collapsed around her and she remembers nothing. But as she does remember she finds out all is not how it should be and someone is out to get her.

Sweet Dreams

1996

No artwork available
NR

A modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet set in Detroit.

The Prince of Motor City

2008

Weekends at Bellevue poster
NR

Centers on Ellie, the psychiatrist in charge of the weekend shift of Bellevue Hospital psychiatric unit.

Weekends at Bellevue

2011

Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen poster
10.0

A star-studded musical celebration in tribute to Leonard Cohen—the Montreal-born writer, composer, performer and man of letters—that took place in November 2017 at the Bell Centre.

Tower of Song: A Memorial Tribute to Leonard Cohen

2018

Lone Justice 2 poster
8.0

After a six-year absence, Ned Blessing returns to his hometown with his sidekick, Crecencio. There he finds a lawless hell-hole governed only by six-shooters and fists. No one in town is willing to stand up to the Borgers, a despicable clan that rules the town with brutality and bullets. Into this charged atmosphere ride Ned and Crecencio to take on the Borgers with only the help of a mysterious Indian and the town coward.

Lone Justice 2

1995

Love Can Be Murder poster
7.0

Elizabeth Bentley is a successful lawyer who suddenly has some "punkish" daydreams of being "Rambo" right around the time her clueless boyfriend Brad asks her to marry him. After a therapy session, she quits her job to the surprise of her family and Brad, and goes into the detective business, opening her own private-eye office. Unfortunately, the ghost of the private-eye who owned the office still lingers and Elizabeth's the only one who can see or hear him. At first, she becomes an unwilling partner in Nick Peyton's unfinished investigation, but then she finds herself falling for the salty, but dead, guy.

Love Can Be Murder

1992