David Von Ancken(1964-2021)

Executive Producer / Director / Writer David Von Ancken was a prolific television director and executive producer as well as a feature film director. David executive produced and directed, Tut, an epic six hour action-adventure-thriller for Spike starring Ben Kingsley. Spike's first mini-series features King Tut's ascension to power, the chaotic political intrigue of the youngest Pharaoh's rule of ancient Egypt, and the mystery surrounding his death. He executive produced and directed the first season of Salem, the premiere series for cable network, WGN. The show was picked up for a second season. He executive produced and directed the pilot of AMC's series, Hell on Wheels, then continued as executive producer/director for its first two seasons. David has also directed multiple episodes such popular series as Californication, The Shield, CSI:NY and Cold Case. And he directed shows as diverse as Intelligence, The Following, House of Lies, Oz, Numb3rs, Heroes, Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries and Person of Interest. In addition to his work in television, David co-wrote and directed Seraphim Falls, a civil war action-thriller starring Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson. David was nominated for Gotham's Breakthrough Director Award for his work on the film. David's acclaimed debut short film, Bullet in the Brain, won Universal/Hypnotic Films' Million Dollar Film Festival as well as numerous other awards at festivals including Rotterdam, The Silver Bear at Chicago and South By Southwest.