David Sackeroff Dead: ‘Seinfeld’ Production Designer Was 81

David Sackeroff, an Emmy-nominated production designer and art director known for his work on classic shows like “Seinfeld,” “Alf” and “Carol & Company”, died July 10 on Bainbridge Island, Wash. He was 81.

Sackeroff was born on November 8, 1944. He spent his childhood constructing miniature puppet theaters and developing a fascination for spatial storytelling. In his early career, he worked in live production, designing stages for the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts and across the Off-Broadway circuit. 

Sackeroff’s career is marked by his work on sitcoms and late 20th-century television. From 1989 to 1990, he worked as the production designer for some of the earliest episodes of “Seinfeld,” including its pilot episode and first season. He applied his background in puppetry in primetime network television on NBC’s “Alf,” where he served as art director for 25 episodes.

Sackeroff received a 1991 Primetime Emmy nomination for art direction for “Carol & Company” along with Portia Iversen for their work on the Carol Burnett comedy series. He also worked on shows including “Poison,” “Two Guys and a Girl” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.”

Sackeroff’s set design credits include more than 300 combined episodes on major network series. He served as art director and production designer for shows like “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper,” “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “The Parent ‘Hood,” “Home Improvement,” “Mr. Belvedere” and “Madame’s Place.”

His work in film includes serving as production designer on the short films “Mother, Mother,” “The Krew” and “Brightness.”

Sackeroff is survived by his sister, Dr. Mae Sakharov.