Born in Chicago and raised in East Los Angeles, Howard Zieff dropped out of Los Angeles City College in 1946 to join the United States Navy, where he trained to be a photographer at the naval photography school. Later enrolling at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, he was advised by instructors to seek out his fame and fortune in advertising.
Starting as a photographer’s assistant, Zieff quickly rose through ranks of the advertising world of the 1960’s and owned and operated his production company at the age 25. As a print photographer, he is best remembered for his “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s” campaign for Levy’s Real Jewish Rye Bread, photographing New Yorkers from all walks of life that he often cast off the street.
Carrying his unique comic style to commercials, Time magazine in 1967 dubbed Zieff the “Master of the Mini-Ha-Ha” for his ability to craft fully told stories and jokes into 60 second commercials. His commercial work seeped into the American consciousness with his spot for Alka-Seltzer that coined the phrase, “Mamma Mia, that’s a spicy meatball!”
Zieff transitioned again to feature films with Slither (1973), a comedy starring James Caan, Peter Boyle and Sally Kellerman. This was followed by other comedies including House Calls (1978) starring Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson and Art Carney; Private Benjamin (1980) starring Goldie Hawn; Unfaithfully Yours (1984) starring Dudley Moore; and My Girl (1991) starring Anna Chlumsky, Macaulay Culkin and Dan Aykroyd.