Born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana, DeDario moved as a young man to Los Angeles to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. DeDario was hired by ABC as a page and assigned to various variety programs, including The Hollywood Palace. DeDario’s interest in production began while working for ABC’s broadcast operations department, where his assignments included the distribution of daily logs, allowing him to observe the inner workings of the control room. When an associate director position opened, he applied and joined the DGA as an ABC staff associate director in 1969, initially rolling in local commercials until he was assigned to American Bandstand.

Director-producer Don Ohlmeyer asked DeDario to move to New York to join the ascendant ABC Sports division in 1976, having observed and heard about DeDario’s work ethic. DeDario’s credits at ABC Sports include 6 Olympic Games, Monday Night Football, The Super Bowl, NCAA College Football, Major League Baseball and The World Series, The Indianapolis 500, The Tour de France, The Special Olympics and the classic ABC Sports standard, Wide World of Sports. Through his career DeDario worked with venerable sports directors Joe Aceti and John DeLisa, and news director Roger Goodman.

For his work in associate directing, DeDario has received 15 Emmy Awards, the 1988 Clarion Award, and a Gabriel Award. Most recently, DeDario was awarded the DGA’s Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award for his service to the Guild, including serving ten terms as either an alternate or member of the Western AD/SM/PA Council from 1974 to 1977; and of the Eastern AD/SM/PA Council from 2004 to the present, including a term as First Vice Chairperson of the Eastern Council from 2006 to 2008.

DeDario passed away in July 2021.