On track to earning a PhD in history, Ezra Swerdlow forwent a career in academia when he was offered a summer job at Rollins-Joffe Productions to work as a location scout on Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories. Mentored by Allen’s Rollins-Joffe production team, Swerdlow quickly transitioned from location scout to unit production manager with Arthur, and followed it up with The King of Comedy, Zelig, Broadway Danny Rose, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Heartburn. He has also served as a UPM/Producer on The First Wives Club, Return to Paradise, Little Manhattan, Zombieland, and most recently Southpaw. Additionally, he has had an extensive career as an executive producer with credits ranging from Spaceballs, Waiting to Exhale, and Secret Window to Enchanted, The Smurfs and The Equalizer.
Swerdlow has been a member of the Guild since 1981.
Swerdlow passed away in January 2018.