# Asaad Kelada

Asaad Kelada (Arabic: أسعد قلادة; born May 11, 1940) is an Egyptian-American television director of many American television sitcoms.

## Early life

Kelada was born in Cairo, Egypt and he studied drama under Youssef Chahine at the American University in Cairo. In 1961, he emigrated to the United States and studied directing at the Yale School of Drama.

## Career

After directing stage plays and teaching drama in the 1960s and 1970s, he landed his first opportunity to direct for television in 1976, with an episode of the sitcom Rhoda, "Rhoda Questions Her Life and Flies to Paris". Since that time, he has directed episodes of several well-known sitcoms including Benson, WKRP in Cincinnati, The Facts of Life, Family Ties, and Who's the Boss?, where he directed 117 episodes and was also listed as producer on 51 episodes.
Kelada spoke with DGA Magazine and said that good casting is essential to the success of a comedy, because "you cannot make the actor be funny". He said that where drama is "analytical," comedy is "much more technical. It's about rhythm, timing, pace, and energy."

## Filmography

| Year | TV series | Notes |
| 1976 | Phyllis | Directed 2 episodes |
| 1976–1978 | Rhoda | Directed 7 episodes |
| 1977 | Busting Loose | Directed 1 episode |
| 1977 | We've Got Each Other | Directed 1 episode |
| 1977–1978 | The Tony Randall Show | Directed 5 episodes |
| 1978 | Baby, I'm Back | Directed 1 episode |
| 1978–1982 | WKRP in Cincinnati | Directed 15 episodes |
| 1979–1980 | The Last Resort | Directed 15 episodes |
| 1980 | Benson | Directed 2 episodes |
| 1980–1985 | The Facts of Life | Directed 77 episodes |
| 1981 | One Day at a Time | Directed 1 episode |
| 1981 | The Two of Us | Directed 4 episodes |
| 1981 | Park Place | Directed 1 episode |
| 1982 | Report to Murphy | Directed 1 episode |
| 1982 | The Facts of Life Goes to Paris | Director, Television movie |
| 1982–1988 | Family Ties | Directed 8 episodes |
| 1984 | Night Court | Directed 2 episodes |
| 1984–1990 | Who's the Boss? | Directed 117 episodes, producer, 51 episodes |
| 1985 | No Complaints! | Directed 1 episode, executive producer |
| 1986 | Valerie | Directed 5 episodes |
| 1986 | Charmed Lives | Directed 1 episode |
| 1987 | Karen's Song | Directed 3 episodes |
| 1988 | Frank's Place | Directed 1 episode |
| 1988–1989 | Day by Day | Directed 2 episodes |
| 1989 | The Ed Begley Jr. Show | Directed 1 episode |
| 1990 | Married People | Directed 12 episodes |
| 1991 | Designing Women | Directed 1 episode |
| 1991 | The New WKRP in Cincinnati | Directed 10 episode |
| 1992 | Frannie's Turn | Directed 4 episodes |
| 1993–1994 | George | Directed 9 episodes |
| 1995–1996 | In the House | Directed 12 episodes |
| 1996 | The Louie Show | Directed 3 episodes |
| 1996–1997 | Sister, Sister | Directed 16 episodes |
| 1999–2002 | Dharma & Greg | Directed 14 episodes |
| 2000 | The Michael Richards Show | Directed 4 episodes |
| 2000–2001 | Everybody Loves Raymond | Directed 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Sabrina the Teenage Witch | Directed 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Good Morning, Miami | Directed 1 episode |
| 2004 | Still Standing | Directed 1 episode |
| 2005 | Two and a Half Men | Directed 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Courting Alex | Directed 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Happy Hour | Directed 1 episode |
| 2009 | The Office | Directed 1 episode |
| 2009 | Ruby & The Rockits | Directed 2 episodes |
| 2016 | My America | Directed 2 episodes (TV series short) |