Rafkin to speak to film students

What do Opie, Barbara Eden's navel, "Charles in Charge" and Brooke Shields have in common? None other than television and one of its most prolific Emmy-winning directors, Alan Rafkin.

Rafkin, a veteran director whose resume includes such landmark comedies as "M*A*S*H," "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Murphy Brown" has been in the television industry for more than four decades. Today, he visits the University to speak about his experiences, much chronicled in his recent autobiography, "Cue the Bunny on the Rainbow."

In "Cue the Bunny," Rafkin hops through numerous backdrop stories from the sets he worked on and describes his disgruntled childhood to his beginnings in live television, pitfalls in film direction, to the present day in which he currently directs episodes for "Suddenly Susan" and "Veronica's Closet."

Courtesy of Joan Lauren Alan Rafkin

The autobiography actually began as an idea ushered in by Rafkin's family after he retired from the industry in 1996. As he wrote the book, Rafkin feels, "It did take me on a different path. I just was doing it. Its taken on a life of its own."

By the end of the book, Rafkin explains that it isn't time for him to retire, which has currently led him to working with actress Brooke Shields and her NBC sitcom "Suddenly Susan." Shields, Rafkin said, "is a fabulous young lady. She's a great boss and a great kid."

"Suddenly Susan" isn't the first show with a headline actor or actress that Rafkin has been at the helm of. Since the '60s, Rafkin directed the likes of such poignant Hollywood talent as Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Donna Reed, Patty Duke, Bob Newhart, Gary Shandling and Andy Griffith.

Working with such a multi-faceted combination of performers has given Rafkin a high respect for the talent. "I think acting is a very noble profession," Rafkin said.

"The Andy Griffith Show," one of the high points of Rafkin's career, boasted a strong ensemble with the likes of Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Jim Nabors and Don Knotts. Rafkin said Knotts is "what you see is what you get. He's just a very sweet man."

Knotts and Rafkin also worked together in the feature films, "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" and "The Shakiest Gun in the West." However, Rafkin's feature film career never took off, though his films did fairly well at the box office. "I have no gripes about it," he added.

Rafkin flourished in the medium of television, winning an Emmy in 1982 for an episode of "One Day at a Time." In the '90s, he has worked on "Coach," "Friends" and "The Jeff Foxworthy Show," along with "Suddenly Susan," which he will continue to direct next season.

As he so aptly put it, Rafkin said, "I'm having a lot of fun doing it."

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