Howard Storm, 1931 – 2026

Comedian turned director Howard Storm, 94, died on May 24. The son of comic Jack Sobel, he started his career in burlesque, but by the 1950s was acting in movies and TV: The Untouchables, Love American Style, That Girl, Funny Face, Sanford and Son, Rhoda, American Hot Wax, Broadway Danny Rose (as himself). Like so many sitcom actors, he segued into sitcom directing (“I felt my career as a comic would not go very far. I thought I would be an opening act for a singer for the rest of my life, and that’s not what I wanted.”). He helmed episodes of Rhoda, Doc, Fish, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, Taxi, Perfect Strangers, Valerie, Major Dad, and others. He also assisted Woody Allen on Bananas and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask. “I knew from the age of two that I wanted to be in show business,” Storm said. “My other friends wanted to be policemen, firemen, gangsters, and they all succeeded.” He published his memoirs, The (Im)Perfect Storm: From Henry Street to Hollywood, in 2019.