# Ron Underwood

Ronald Brian Underwood (born November 6, 1953) is an American film and television director, known for directing such films as Tremors (1990), City Slickers (1991), Heart and Souls (1993), and Mighty Joe Young (1998).

## Early life

Underwood was born November 6, 1953, in Glendale, California. In school he lived in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, as an AFS Intercultural Programs exchange student. After graduating from high school, he briefly attended Occidental College as a pre-med student, but transferred to the USC School of Cinema (now USC School of Cinematic Arts) after deciding to become a filmmaker. Underwood majored in cinema with a minor in anthropology. During a summer break while at USC, he directed the first film produced about the sport of hang gliding. "Hang Gliding: The New Freedom" was distributed by Paramount Communications, a short film division of Paramount Pictures.

## Film career
### Early career (1976–1989)

Upon completion of his fellowship at the American Film Institute, Underwood began working as a staff director for Barr Films, a company specializing in the production of educational films. Underwood directed over one hundred short films, including an adaptation of the Kurt Vonnegut short story, "Deer in the Works", starring Dennis Dugan. While directing and producing short films for the educational market, Underwood pursued work in the motion picture industry. One of the first movies Underwood worked on was Futureworld (1976) as a production assistant. The film starred Blythe Danner and Peter Fonda, actors he would later direct in 2004. During the filming of Futureworld, one of his tasks was to babysit a young Gwyneth Paltrow while her mother, Ms. Danner, was shooting. Soon after Underwood served as the location manager on the Peter Hyams directed motion picture, Capricorn One (1978). Another early job was acting as assistant director to first-time director David Schmoeller on Tourist Trap, a low-budget horror film. After this he continued to direct and produce educational films and children's television for the next several years. In 1986 Underwood established himself as a director when his live action/stop motion film adaptation of Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle won a Peabody Award, which was followed two years later by the sequel Runaway Ralph, for which he received a Daytime Emmy nomination.

### Mainstream breakthrough (1990–present)

Following his critically acclaimed venture into children's television, Underwood moved into directing feature films. His first effort was Tremors starring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Michael Gross, and Reba McEntire in her acting debut. Written and produced by his friends Brent Maddock & S. S. Wilson, it was released by Universal Studios in 1990. The film was well received by the critics and later established itself as a cult classic.
Underwood received his first taste of commercial success with 1991's City Slickers, which starred Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby and Jack Palance, who won an Academy Award for his performance. Billy Crystal was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical in the Golden Globes for his role. The film made $179m worldwide with a budget of only $27m. It was the tenth most successful film released in 1991 (the fifth most successful in the US). His next film, also written by Maddock & Wilson, Heart and Souls (1993), was again well-received by critics but struggled at the box office (making a total of $16m in the US). It starred Robert Downey, Jr., Alfre Woodard, Kyra Sedgwick, Charles Grodin, Tom Sizemore, Elisabeth Shue and David Paymer. He followed this with Speechless (1994), written by Robert King and starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis and Christopher Reeve. Geena Davis was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical in the Golden Globes for her performance.
Given the opportunity to direct a big-budget film by Walt Disney Pictures in 1998, he was asked to direct Mighty Joe Young, a remake of the 1949 RKO film. The film, starring Bill Paxton and Charlize Theron in her first lead role, was nominated for the Academy Award for Visual Effects and featured some of the most sophisticated visual effects seen in film up to that point, paving the way for later ape films like Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005). The special effects drove production costs to around $90m.
Following Mighty Joe Young, Underwood began work on the Eddie Murphy fronted The Adventures of Pluto Nash. The film also starred Rosario Dawson, Joe Pantoliano and Pam Grier. The film was greeted with poor reception and became a major box office disappointment.
Underwood returned to his roots, directing both low-budget films and television. He directed Stealing Sinatra (2003) for Showtime, about the true story of the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra, Jr. for which William H. Macy received an Emmy nomination. He followed that with Back When We Were Grownups (2004) based on the Anne Tyler novel which garnered star Blythe Danner a nomination for an Emmy as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. The film also featured Peter Fonda, Faye Dunaway, and Jack Palance in his last role. This was followed by In the Mix (2005), starring R&B singer Usher and Chazz Palminteri for Lions Gate Entertainment. He has directed many television dramas, including episodes of Monk, Boston Legal, Ugly Betty, Heroes, Grey's Anatomy, Burn Notice, Once Upon a Time, Desperate Housewives, Nashville, Scandal, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Good Fight, Big Shot, Fear the Walking Dead, Evil, Watson and Elsbeth.

## Filmography

Short film
* Hang Gliding: The New Freedom (1973)
* Courtesy: A Good Eggsample (1976)
* Deer in the Works (1980)
* A Case of Working Smarter, Not Harder (1982)
* Library Report (1983)
* Overcoming Objections (1984)
* Living With Computers (1984)
* Motivation: The Classic Concepts (1985)
* The Meeting Robbers (1986)

### Feature film

Director
* Tremors (1990) (Also story writer)
* City Slickers (1991)
* Heart and Souls (1993)
* Speechless (1994)
* Mighty Joe Young (1998)
* The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
* In the Mix (2005)
Other credits
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1976 | Futureworld | Production assistant |
| 1978 | Capricorn One | Location manager |
| 1979 | Tourist Trap | First assistant director |
| 1986 | Crawlspace | Associate producer |
| 1996 | Tremors 2: Aftershocks | Executive producer |

### Television

| Year | Title | Episode(s) |
| 1986 | ABC Weekend Special | "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" |
| 1986 | ABC Weekend Special | "Runaway Ralph" |
| 2003 | Monk | "Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater" |
| 2003 | Monk | "Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico" |
| 2004 | Boston Legal | "Change of Course" |
| 2004 | Boston Legal | "The Ass Fat Jungle" |
| 2007 | Reaper | "Magic" |
| 2007 | Reaper | "My Brothers's Reaper" |
| 2007 | Reaper | "Dirty Sexy Mongol" |
| 2008 | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | "Falling in Love" |
| 2008 | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | "What Have You Done to Me?" |
| 2008 | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | "I Feel Sick" |
| 2008 | Ugly Betty | "Ugly Berry" |
| 2008 | Ugly Betty | "Zero Worship" |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | "Owner of a Lonely Heart" |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | "One More Try" |
| 2009 | Make It or Break It | "Where's Kaylie?" |
| 2009 | Drop Dead Diva | "The 'F' Word" |
| 2009 | Drop Dead Diva | "Dead Model Walking" |
| 2010 | Heroes | "Chapter Twelve: 'Upon This Rock'" |
| 2010 | Happy Town | "Questions and Antlers" |
| 2010 | No Ordinary Family | "No Ordinary Vigilante" |
| 2010 | Hellcats | "Worried Baby Blues" |
| 2010 | Hellcats | "Finish What We Started" |
| 2010 | Chaos | "Song of the North" |
| 2010 | Chaos | "Love and Rockets" |
| 2010 | Chaos | "Mincemeat" |
| 2011 | Necessary Roughness | "Anchor Management" |
| 2011 | Harry's Law | "American Girl" |
| 2011 | Harry's Law | "The Whole Truth" |
| 2011–2013 | Castle | "Food to Die For" |
| 2011–2013 | "Scared to Death" |
| 2012 | Burn Notice | "Means and Ends" |
| 2012 | Desperate Housewives | "What's the Good of Being Good" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "Red-Handed" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "Into the Deep" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "Lost Girl" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "The New Neverland" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "Snow Drifts" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "White Out" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "Best Laid Plans" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "Mother" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "The Dark Swan" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "Firebird" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "A Bitter Draught" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "Wish You Were Here" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "Ill-Boding Patterns" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "The Song in Your Heart" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "The Garden of Forking Paths" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "Breadcrumbs" |
| 2012–2018 | Once Upon a Time | "Is This Henry Mills?" |
| 2012–2013 | Scandal | "Hunting Season" |
| 2012–2013 | Scandal | "Snake in the Garden" |
| 2012–2015 | Grey's Anatomy | "Suddenly" |
| 2012–2015 | Grey's Anatomy | "The Girl With No Name" |
| 2012–2015 | Grey's Anatomy | "Things We Said Today" |
| 2012–2015 | Grey's Anatomy | "You Got To Hide Your Love Away" |
| 2012–2015 | Grey's Anatomy | "All I Could Do Is Cry" |
| 2013 | The Glades | "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves" |
| 2013 | The Glades | "Fast Ball" |
| 2014–2015 | Nashville | "We've Got Things To Do" |
| 2014–2015 | Nashville | "Unguarded Moments" |
| 2014 | Resurrection | "Us Against the World" |
| 2014 | Resurrection | "Multiple" |
| 2014–2016 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | "A Fractured House" |
| 2014–2016 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | "Devils You Know" |
| 2014–2016 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | "Bouncing Back" |
| 2016 | Quantico | "Drive" |
| 2016 | Dead of Summer | "Barney Rubble Eyes" |
| 2016 | BrainDead | "Taking on Water: How Leaks in D.C. Are Discovered and Patched" |
| 2016 | No Tomorrow | "No Regrets" |
| 2016–2019 | Hawaii Five-0 | "Ka hale ho 'okauweli" |
| 2016–2019 | Hawaii Five-0 | "He kaha lu'u ke ala, mai kolo aku" |
| 2016–2019 | Hawaii Five-0 | "A'ohe kio pohaku nalo i ke alo pali" |
| 2016–2019 | Hawaii Five-0 | "Ka la 'au kumu 'ole o Kahilikolo" |
| 2017–2018 | The Good Fight | "Stoppable: Requiem for an Airdate" |
| 2017–2018 | The Good Fight | "Day 429" |
| 2017–2018 | The Good Fight | "Day 485" |
| 2017 | Kevin (Probably) Saves the World | "Dave" |
| 2018–2019 | MacGyver | "Mac + Jack" |
| 2018–2019 | MacGyver | "Fence + Suitcase + Americium-241" |
| 2018–2019 | Magnum P.I. | "The Ties That Bind" |
| 2018–2019 | Magnum P.I. | "Lie, Cheat, Steal, Kill" |
| 2019–2023 | Fear the Walking Dead | "210 Words Per Minute" |
| 2019–2023 | Fear the Walking Dead | "The Key" |
| 2019–2023 | Fear the Walking Dead | "Cindy Hawkins" |
| 2019–2023 | Fear the Walking Dead | "Sonny Boy" |
| 2019–2023 | Fear the Walking Dead | "Odessa" |
| 2019 | Grand Hotel | "Smokeshow" |
| 2019 | Evil | "177 Minutes" |
| 2021–2022 | Big Shot | "TCKS" |
| 2021–2022 | Big Shot | "Carlsbad Crazies" |
| 2021–2022 | Big Shot | "Everything to Me" |
| 2021–2022 | Big Shot | "BOYS!" |
| 2021 | Evil | "C Is for Cop" |
| 2022 | Tales of the Walking Dead | "Evie / Joe" |
| 2022–2024 | La Brea | "The Fog" |
| 2022–2024 | La Brea | "Sierra" |
| 2022–2024 | La Brea | "Don't Look Up" |
| 2024 | Elsbeth | "Reality Shock" |
| 2024 | Elsbeth | "Elsbeth Flips The Bird" |
| 2025 | Watson | "Patient Question Mark" |
TV movies
* Stealing Sinatra (2003)
* Back When We Were Grownups (2004)
* Santa Baby (2006)
* The Year Without A Santa Claus (2006)
* Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)
* Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe (2009)
* Deck the Halls (2011)

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result | Notes |
| 1989 | Daytime Emmy Award | Special Class Directing | ABC Weekend Special | Nominated | Episode Runaway Ralph Shared with John Clark Matthews |
| 1994 | Saturn Award | Best Director | Heart and Souls | Nominated | |
| 2002 | Stinkers Bad Movie Award | Worst Sense of Direction | The Adventures of Pluto Nash | Nominated | |
| 2003 | Razzie Award | Worst Director | The Adventures of Pluto Nash | Nominated | |
| 2007 | DGA Award | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs | The Year Without a Santa Claus | Nominated | |