Director-Producer Scott Brazil Dies

From Hill Street to The Shield

Scott Brazil

Washington, D.C. – Scott Brazil, an Emmy-winning director and producer whose credits spanned from Hill Street Blues to The Shield, died Monday night. He was 50.

Brazil, who had been battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Lyme disease, died from respiratory failure at Sherman Oaks Hospital. Despite his weakened condition, which necessitated the use of a motorized wheelchair, he continued to work on the FX drama The Shield, on which he served as an executive producer and showrunner.

Brazil had been with The Shield since its debut, and was a key part of the creative team for all five seasons thus far. In addition to his responsibilities as showrunner, he directed 11 of its 65 episodes to date.

In the early 1980s Brazil won two Emmys for outstanding drama series as one of the producers of NBC’s Hill Street Blues. Over the years, he also directed episodes of such series as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, JAG, CSI: Miami and Nip/Tuck.

Brazil, who earned a B.S. from USC’s Annenberg School of Journalism, was a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

He is survived by his wife Marie; daughter Lindsay; son Mark; parents David and Barbara Brazil; and brother Griff Brazil.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 21, at the Television Academy’s Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in North Hollywood.