Iranian film director, Reza Badiyi, who became a prolific television director in the U.S., died Saturday night from medical complications at the age of 81 in California.
Badiyi launched his career making documentaries in Iran and emigrated to the U.S. in 1955. He became a prominent director, with credits in prime time television series such as “Mission Impossible”, “The Rockford Files”, “Baretta”, “Get Smart”, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and dozens more.
In 1998, the Directors Guild of America acknowledged Badiyi’s achievements in directing the most hours of episodic television series than anyone else, after he completed his 400th TV episode, for the sci-fi series “Sliders.”
His last feature film, “The Way Back Home,” was completed in 2006. In 2009, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Badiyi was born on April 27, 1930, in Arak, Iran and graduated from the Academy of Drama in Tehran. He made 10 documentaries in Iran, and his documentary “Flood in Khuzestan” achieved international distribution through the Red Cross, which in turn led to an invitation from the U.S. State Department to continue film studies in the U.S.
