Born in
Providence, Rhode Island, Mackenzie began his professional career as an actor, making his
Broadway debut in 1965 in the original production of the musical
Half a Sixpence. During the original run of
Hello, Dolly!, he stepped into the role of Cornelius Hackl created by
Charles Nelson Reilly, and he also appeared in the plays
Sheep on the Runway by
Art Buchwald and
Scratch by
Archibald MacLeish and a revival of
Much Ado About Nothing.
Off-Broadway he was featured in
As You Like It and directed a revival of
I Do! I Do! with
David Garrison and
Karen Ziemba. On television, Mackenzie made guest appearances in
Route 66,
ABC Stage 67,
That Girl,
The Mod Squad,
Rhoda,
Maude,
Baretta, and
All in the Family, and he had a recurring role in
The Bob Newhart Show. His sole
feature film credit as an actor was in
The Landlord. Mackenzie made his television directorial debut with
The Bob Newhart Show and went on to direct multiple episodes of
The Stockard Channing Show,
Too Close for Comfort,
Bosom Buddies,
WKRP in Cincinnati,
Gimme a Break!,
Newhart,
Moonlighting,
Family Ties,
Day by Day,
Major Dad,
Phenom,
The Boys are Back,
Dharma & Greg,
Everybody Loves Raymond,
Scrubs, and
Reba. Mackenzie has been nominated for the
Emmy Award for Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series five times and the
Emmy Award for Outstanding Direction of a Drama Series once. He won the
Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Direction of a Drama Series twice for
Moonlighting and the
Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series once, for
Family Ties episode "
A, My Name Is Alex". He also directed the 1989 romantic comedy
Worth Winning. ==References==