{{Short description|American advertising film director (1933–2026)}} {{Infobox person | name = Joe Sedelmaier | image = Joe Sedelmaier, RIT yearbook 1986 page 36.jpg | alt = | caption = Sedelmaier in 1986 | birth_name = John Josef Sedelmaier | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|05|31}} | birth_place = Orrville, Ohio, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|05|08|1933|05|31}} | death_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | nationality = | other_names = | occupation = Film director and producer | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = | children = 3 }}
'''John Josef Sedelmaier''' (May 31, 1933 – May 8, 2026) was an American film director known for his work in television advertising. His work included FedEx's "Fast Talking Man" and the Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" ads.
Sedelmaier contended, "A commercial is something you watch when you sit down to watch something else—you should at least be entertained."<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=http://adage.com/century/people063.html |title=Adage.com |access-date=2006-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060812175847/http://adage.com/century/people063.html |archive-date=2006-08-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
"Beginning in the 1970s, Sedelmaier, a former art director at Young & Rubicam and J. Walter Thompson, gained notice for fundamentally changing the way television spots were cast and filmed—replacing the actors who seemed like plastic, too perfect mannequins with offbeat people like Clara Peller. He directed them in a manner doing for television advertising what directors like Preston Sturges did for Hollywood comedies."—Stuart Elliott, New York Times <ref>{{cite web |last=Elliott |first=Stuart |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/25/business/the-media-business-advertising-the-director-who-started-a-revolution.html |title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING; The Director Who Started A Revolution |work=The New York Times |date=1992-03-25 |accessdate=2019-04-20}}</ref>
Sedelmaier was profiled in a cover story in ''Esquire'' magazine in 1983 and featured in a segment on "60 Minutes" in 1984.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sandomir |first=Richard |date=2026-05-15 |title=Joe Sedelmaier, Auteur Behind ‘Where’s the Beef?’ Ad, Dies at 92 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/business/media/joe-sedelmaier-dead.html |access-date=2026-05-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
His commercial work garnered multiple Clio awards, Cannes Golden Lion Awards, and numerous awards for the One Show, the Art Directors Club of New York, Communication Arts, Britain's D&AD, and the Hollywood MBA. In 2000 he was inducted into the Art Directors Club of New York Hall of Fame. In 2016 he was inducted into the American Advertising Federation ''Advertising Hall of Fame''. His film "OpenMinds" was an official selection at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.<ref name="auto"/>
Sedelmaier was born in Ohio, but moved to Chicago, Illinois for school.<ref>https://www.npr.org/2026/05/15/nx-s1-5823646/remembering-joe-sedelmaier-director-of-iconic-1970s-and-80s-tv-ads</ref> He married twice and had three children: two sons, including animator J. J. Sedelmaier, and a daughter.<ref name="nyt" /><ref>https://deadline.com/2026/05/joe-sedelmaier-dead-wheres-the-beef-1236906208/</ref> He died in Chicago on May 8, 2026, at the age of 92.<ref name="nyt">{{cite web|title=Joe Sedelmaier, Auteur Behind ‘Where’s the Beef?’ Ad, Dies at 92|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/business/media/joe-sedelmaier-dead.html|date=May 15, 2026|last=Sandomir|first=Richard|access-date=May 15, 2026}}</ref><ref>[https://adage.com/creativity/aa-joe-sedelmaier-obituary/ Joe Sedelmaier, director of classic comedy ads, dies at 92]</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons-inline}} * {{IMDb name|id=1286064}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sedelmaier, Joe}} Category:1933 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Artists from Chicago Category:American advertising directors Category:People from Orrville, Ohio