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Jack Bender
Date of Birth	Unknown
Origin	Unknown
Job(s)	Director Artist Executive Producer
IMDb profile

Jack Bender is an Executive Producer and one of the primary "in-house" directors (along with Stephen Williams). Bender has directed the following episodes of Lost:

He also directed all of the mobisodes.

Bender joined the first season production team as a co-executive producer from the episode "Tabula Rasa" onwards. Bender became an executive producer from the second season onwards.

A lifetime painter, he is responsible for creating the Hatch Mural, and Thomas' paintings [1], as well as sculpting Annie's dolls in The Man Behind the Curtain ("Lost: On Location: The Man Behind the Curtain" on Lost: The Complete Third Season (DVD))

Background

Bender is originally from Los Angeles, and studied at the USC School of Theatre. Before working as a director, Bender also worked briefly as an actor. His first directing was in local theater, and later John Houseman started him in his career in television directing. In particular he has directed on Ally McBeal and The Sopranos. [2]

Awards

• Emmy Awards:
  • Won for "Outstanding Drama Series" (exectutive producer), for Lost (2005)
  • Nominated for "Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series" for "Live Together, Die Alone" (2006)
  • Nominated for "Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series" for "Through the Looking Glass" (2007)

DVD appearances

• Lost: The Complete Third Season (DVD)

• "Crew Tribute with Evangeline Lilly"
• "Lost in a Day"
• "Lost: On Location"

Trivia

• Bender also did some acting before he was directing episodes of Lost, The Sopranos, and Alias.
• His daughter Sophie Owens-Bender briefly appeared as one of the few female Santa Rosa patients in the episode "Dave". (Source: Season 2 DVD episode commentary)
• Another of his daughters Hannah Owens-Bender, age 20, and her friend Stephanie Pratt were arrested by Honolulu Police in May 2006 for second-degree theft and drug violations. According to police, the alleged thefts occurred at Neiman Marcus at Ala Moana Shopping Center. (ref 1, ref2)
• In 2006, he directed the opening splash reel for the 2006 Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF). He chose Dann Seki to star as a Japanese tourist. Seki had previously worked with Bender in "Numbers". (Reference: Honolulu Advertiser (2006))

Lulu Bender appears in a promo shot for "The Man from Tallahassee"

• His dog is "Lulu" Bender, short for "Ms. Honolulu".[3] Lulu is often on the set of Lost, and avoided rules restricting animals from sets by being cast in "I Do", although Lulu was not visible in the final cut of that episode.
  • Mary Dang, Bender's assistant, cares for "Lulu" off-set.
  • Appeared May 6, 2005 in the 20/20 "Lost Special" (S26 E1396)

See also

• Jean Higgins - Higgins and Bender the two executive producers who are based in Hawaii with the film crew of Grass Skirt Productions

External links

• ABC Medianet biography
• Jack Bender Found Bender bio at yargerfineart.com, and includes reproductions of Bender's Mural, or "Hatch Painting".
• Honolulu Advertiser - February 25, 2007 - New girl on 'Lost' set 'knows all the secrets' - article about Bender's dog Lulu.
• Wizard Entertainment Q&A with Jack Bender on WizardUniverse.com (3/27/07).