Berlinger was born in
New York City. He received his
Bachelor of Arts degree at
Dartmouth College. He also graduated from the
University of California San Diego after training in professional theatre directing. During much of the 1980s, Berlinger directed a number of stage productions namely
Desire Under the Elms (1980),
The Voice of the Turtle (1985),
On the Verge, or the Geography of Yearning (1986-1987)
Orphans (1987),
Timon of Athens (1988) and
Another Antigone (1988-1989) He made his television directorial debut with an episode of
Working Girl starring
Sandra Bullock. He was the primary director for the entire four season run of the
Jamie Lee Curtis-
Richard Lewis ABC comedy
Anything But Love from 1989 to 1992. He also directed 13 episodes of NBC's
Cafe Americain starring
Valerie Bertinelli in the 1993-1994 television season. In 2007, Berlinger directed
The Dukes of Hazzard prequel,
The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning. == Television credits ==