Nancy Littlefield, New York City Film Pioneer, Dies

Nancy Littlefield, Emmy-award-winning former director of the New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, and executive director of Queens Public Television (QPTV), died Thursday, August 30 in Delray Beach, Florida. She was 77 and lived in Manhattan, Fire Island, New York and Delray Beach. The cause of death was cancer.

Littlefield, born and raised in The Bronx, was a trailblazer in the film and television industry. She was the first female assistant director admitted to the Director's Guild of America, East Coast, an organization she served as vice president as well as a national board member.

As director of Mayor Ed Koch's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, she was responsible for bringing film production back to New York City. She insisted that the way to do that was to provide free permits and resources from city agencies to assist production companies while they were shooting on location as well as in the studios that were brought back to life during her tenure as director of that office. From 1978 to 1983 while she was director of the office, film production in New York City increased dramatically. Peter J. Solomon, then Deputy Mayor of Economic Development, said she was one person who got a job completely on merit without any political contacts at all.

Her book, Movies & Television, Getting In, was cited as "required reading for everyone planning to go to film school... I've never encountered a 'How To' book that provides such a useful primer for those just getting started on their production careers," Brian Rose of the Director's Guild said.

In addition, Littlefield was one of the pioneers of New York Women In Film & Television. She served that organization as vice president and was a member of its advisory board at the time of her death. She also was the production manager of "The Waiting Room," in 1973, the first feature film to use an all-woman crew.

After leaving the Mayor's Film Office, she was president of (212) Studios in Queens and then joined Queens Public Television where she served as its executive director for 20 years. QPTV honored her this spring by renaming its television studio the Nancy Littlefield Studio in recognition of her creative leadership of that organization.

Littlefield taught at the film schools of the University of Southern California, New York University, Columbia University and The New School.

In addition to her Emmy Award for the documentary "And Baby Makes Two," she was the recipient of many additional accolades, including the Big Apple Award for Excellence, the Screen Actor's Guild Special Service Medal, the Broadcast Media Award, the San Francisco State University Excellence in Media Award and the Ohio State University Annual Award.

She is survived by her children, Joshua and Amy, their spouses, Kate Littlefield and Michael Norton, and five grandchildren, Molly, Jordan and Henry Littlefield and Zachary and Emma Norton.

A memorial service will be held Monday, September 17 at the Fourth Universalist Church, 160 Central Park West, Manhattan.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to The Hospice of Palm Beach County, Florida.