Biographies of People Featured on the Video

 

John Wells, Executive Producer and Director

John Wells is one of the most prolific producers, directors and writers for the stage, television and film. In addition to “ER,” he has executive produced such TV series as “The West Wing,” “Third Watch,” “ China Beach” and “The Evidence.” Wells’ motion picture credits include Carroll Ballard’s “Duma,” Peter Kosminsky's “White Oleander,” Neil Jordan's “The Good Thief,” “Far From Heaven,” “The Grey Zone,” “One Hour Photo,” “Camp,” “Party Monster,” Robert Altman’s “The Company,” and “At Home at the End of the World.” Wells' stage work includes productions of “Judgment,” “Balm in Gilead,” “ Battery” and “She Also Dances.”

Wells and his talented team of producers have received many awards including multiple Emmys, Peabody Awards, People's Choice Awards, Producers Guild Awards, Humanitas Prizes and Golden Globe Awards. In addition, Wells was awarded the 2005 David Suskind Achievement Award in Television from the Producers Guild of America. He is also past president of the Writers Guild of America.

Born in Alexandria, Virginia, and raised in Denver, Colorado, Wells graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a bachelor of fine arts and later earned a Masters degree in film and television at the University of Southern California.

Christopher Chulack, Executive Producer and Director

Executive producer and director Christopher Chulack won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Dramatic Series for his work on "ER." He was also the winner of two consecutive Directors Guild of America Awards for his direction of the powerful episodes "Hell and High Water" and "Fear of Flying," for which he also received Emmy nominations.

Chulack is currently Executive Producer and Director of “ER” and is a Consulting Producer and Director on “The Evidence.”

Rick Kerns, Property Master

Property master Rick Kerns obtained a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Hawaii and did work for a Master’s in Fine Arts at the Art Institute of Chicago. He started out as a production assistant for a commercial production house, a position that enabled him to learn about the various departments involved with television production. A property master became his mentor and interested him in props and helped him with his career.

One of his first TV series jobs was on “ China Beach,” where he started as “3rd broom” (someone who helps out with miscellaneous prop tasks) and worked his way up to assistant property master and property master. He has worked in the property department for shows including “Viper,” the miniseries "Sinatra" and “Poor Little Rich Girl.” He has been with “ER” since its beginning.

Rick Ladomade, Property Master

Property master Rick Ladomade is a native Californian; he majored in art while at Los Angeles Valley College, which led to his break in the entertainment field as an assistant art director and assistant prop master on commercials and theatrical plays. His initial goal was to be a pilot in the Air Force after finishing college, but he was soon sidetracked when he began following his passion in the entertainment field. Rick has now been the property master on the NBC series “ER” for the past nine years. He is also highly trained in overall production in both film and TV with numerous credits to his name. Besides being a property master, Rick has many producing credits and is responsible for producing many award-winning short films such as “Shangri-La Café,” which was awarded Best Short Film at the Moondance International Film Festival, and “Harvey’s Speech” to name a few. He is also responsible for directing and producing the much-publicized ER/Cure Autism Now Annual Celebrity Golf Classic to help find a cure.

John Fairchild, Assistant Property Master

Assistant property master John Fairchild started his career in the medical area by being a lifeguard for six years and a paramedic for eight years. While working as a paramedic in the city of Glendale, he would sometimes work in the movie industry as a first-aid medic and was asked to be technical advisor for actors who were portraying paramedics. He aligned himself with a property house that sent him out on media jobs and they arranged for him to have a position on the pilot of “ER.” He has been with the show ever since.

Mark Verduzco, Property Person

Property person Mark Verduzco’s mother worked at the Fox Theater in San Diego and took him with her to work, so his playground was a motion picture theater. He always had an interest in the arts but also excelled at athletics and had a short career playing semi-pro football. He joined the Army and spent a year in Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry. When he returned to San Diego he started college with athletics as a major but took a theater arts class and liked it so much he changed his major to Theater Arts. Some friends submitted his name to work on a movie that was being shot in San Diego and he wound up working with the property mistress, who then asked him to come to Los Angeles, where she and others helped him with his career. He has worked on many TV series and feature films including “Taxi,” “Mork and Mindy,” “Happy Days,” “Raging Bull,” “9 to 5,” and, of course, “ER.”

Rob Lowy, Property Person

Property person Rob Lowy was working as a page and tour guide at NBC when a friend told him Local 44 (the union that handles property people and other similar jobs) was taking permits for new people. Rob left NBC and went to work on a Dick Clark mini-series called “Murder in Texas.” He worked 28 days but needed 30 to get in the union, so someone with higher seniority than him laid himself off so Rob could get his necessary hours. He started at “ER” as a set dresser then, in the early 2000s, switched over to working primarily in the property department.

Roman Mykytyn, Technical Assistant

Technical assistant Roman Mykytyn studied pre-med and worked for awhile in an actual emergency room. He changed his mind about pre-med and decided he wanted to be a filmmaker instead. A friend who was a doctor became involved with “ER” and suggested that Roman apply for a job where he would be a technical assistant in charge of operating some of the medical equipment. He got the job and has been with the program ever since.

Darren Leis, Technical Assistant

Technical assistant Darren Leis won numerous awards in art, music, and filmmaking throughout high school and received his degree in filmmaking from Montana State University-Bozeman. He moved to Los Angeles and continued to hone his craft by making short films and writing feature length screenplays including “Intergalactic Idol,” which was a Star Wars Fan Films contest finalist and “ Four Corners,” which was selected for the 2005 Newport Beach Film Festival. A friend from college, who was a production assistant on “ER,” suggested Darren apply for the technical assistant position.

Michael Goto, Technical Assistant

Technical assistant Michael Goto has been a technical advisor for a number of shows including “Gilmore Girls,” “Without a Trace,” and “E-Ring.” He has also been the project build manager on charge of motion control for the “Terminator 2” 3-D attraction at Universal Studios. He was playing a video game online and “met” one of the “ER” property masters, who invited him onto the set. After being around for several days, he was hired as a technical assistant.

Jerome Johnson, On-set Dresser

On-set dresser Jerome Johnson obtained a B.A. in Mass Media at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1990. He had an internship for the preproduction phase of “A League of Their Own,” working for the property department doing research on equipment used in the era of the script. He moved to Los Angeles and landed a short gig on a Showtime feature “Attack of the 5’2” Women.” He made contacts on this show that resulted in a variety of commercial and music video jobs where he did everything from driving the truck to set dressing. After several years he was hired to do a few days as set dresser on “ Babylon 5.” This eventually led to a full-time position as set dresser for the show. After wrapping that production, he got part-time work on “ER” that eventually led to a full time on-set dresser position.