Pop Goes The Culture TV · CC BY 3.0

A director who won an Emmy for "The One After the Superbowl," the most-watched episode Friends ever aired, over a run of 24 episodes he directed for the show, and who went on to direct the Santa Clause film sequels and Tooth Fairy. He came to directing from acting, having spent the late 1970s and early 1980s as Max Horvath on One Day at a Time — building a rare career that succeeded on both sides of the camera.