All photos are the property of Tod Brody and any unauthorized use in any medium whatsoever, without written permission is a violation of US and International copyright laws and is strictly prohibited.
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Tod's lifelong relationship with
photography and film began at a very early age. As a small boy, Tod accompanied his
parents to Cuba where his dad was the cinematographer on a number of
films including Errol Flynn's final film, Cuban Rebel Girls. A few years later,
the family moved to Los Angeles where Tod's dad had accepted an offer to
become a producer at 20th Century Fox. Some of Tod's earliest memories
are of visiting his dad's bungalow office and playing on the back lot
which of course is now Century City!
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| Tod & his parents with Lon Chaney Jr. at La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana |
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| During a break on the set of Terror in the City starring Lee Grant. |
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Tod began shooting stills himself at the age of seven with a variety of cameras, but the most
memorable was his grandfather's twin lens
Rolleiflex which Tod still has today. In 1966, Tod spent time on the
set with his dad at the old Fox Stages in New York (now Sony Music
Studios) during the filming of A Man Called Adam with Sammy Davis, Jr.,
Louie Armstrong, Cicily Tyson, Ozzie Davis, Ruby Dee, and Frank Sinatra,
Jr. Much to his delight, the grips used to give him rides on a Moviola
dolly. A few years later, he accompanied his dad on the first of many
trips to Stockholm, and so began a lifelong relationship with
Scandinavia.
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| Tod on the set with his dad, Steve Brody, in Stockholm |
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Through his teen years, he began to take
stills on movie sets beginning with the work he did on A.W.O.L. in
Stockholm. Back in NY, his mom, who was a script supervisor, helped him
get work as a production assistant for various NYC commercial production
houses. After college, Tod joined the staff at the ad agency, Ted Bates
AB in Stockholm as a studio still photographer, shooting everything from people to product photography. Eventually he
returned to New York where he worked at the In-House Production Company at Ogilvy
& Mather on several accounts most notably, American Express.
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| Tod behind the camera in Rochester, NY |
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From 1979 thru 1984, Tod worked at
several well known production companies in New York, producing commercials for a
wide range of clients including Volkswagon, Canon, Coppertone, Lincoln
Mercury, The U.S. Postal Service, Chemical Bank, Barclay's Bank, Ship n'
Shore, Fayva, Gillette, De Beers, Avon, Oil of Olay, WNBC News, Leggs, 7-Up,
Glaxo, Toni, Coleco, Wella Balsam, Lux Soap, Duncan Hines, Post Fruit & Fiber Cereal, Weight Watchers, Windex, ABC
Television, Fawcett Paperbacks, Keepsake Diamond Engagement Rings, Minute Rice, Goodyear, The American Cancer Society, and Puffs Tissues, as well as Music
Videos for Pat Benatar, Kiss, Zebra, Rachel Sweet, Wire Train, and the Bongos "Number With
Wings" which was nominated for Best Direction at the 1st MTV Music
Awards!
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| Tod in front of the Plaza Hotel in NYC, producing a spot for Volkswagon with the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team the week after they won the Gold Medal! |
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| On the set of Gillette Body Flowers with ATW Creative Director (& advertising legend) Lois Geraci Ernst, and director Juliano Waldman |
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| On a Weight Watchers commercial set with his father, Steve Brody. In a role reversal of days gone by, it was Tod who hired his dad to shoot the spot. |
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| Holding up traffic on the set of a Fayva Shoes spot in Orange, California! |
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| Serving double duty as Producer/AD on a Puffs Tissues spot in 1980 |
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| On Location on St. George Island, FL for Coppertone in 1984 |
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In 1984 Tod left New York to join Cannon
Films in Hollywood as Head of Post Production. Following Cannon, he
worked at MGM in Culver City as a Production Executive. By 1987, Tod had returned to
New York where he opened his own photography studio on 25th Street in
the photo district, catering both to catalog fashion, and the beverage industry. Tod
traveled the country for Beverage World Magazine photographing both ads
and editorial for the leading beverage manufacturers as well as their
suppliers.
Then beginning in April 1989, Tod spent months and months documenting the Exxon Valdez disaster and subsequent cleanup in Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska for Hilton Sucherman Productions in NYC.
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| Tod in his studio on 25th & Lex in NYC |
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In the early 90's, he returned to
film and television working on a wide variety of projects for Miramax, Paramount,
Goldwyn, Fine Line, Warner Bros. Television, and CBS through the end of the decade.
Tod was Executive Producer of the critically acclaimed Marvin's Room with Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, Leo DiCaprio, and Robert DeNiro. He served as Post Production Supervisor on The First Wives Club as well as Line Producer and UPM of the additional photography. He was Line Producer and Editor of Wigstock The Movie, Associate Producer on The Last Good Time, and the Mary Tyler Moore CBS TV series New York News, Post Prod Executive on
Flirting With Disaster, and Robinson Crusoe, Production Consultant on
Spanking the Monkey, and Manny & Lo, and Co-Producer on The Autumn Heart which was an
official selection at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.
Additionally, Tod contributed his post production expertise to projects for 20th Century Fox, PBS, Nova, American Masters, HBO, Nick Jr., Paramount Television, CTW, ESPN, LBS, the Israel Broadcast Authority, Lifetime, Comedy Central, The Comedy Channel, ABC, CNN, Discovery, and Showtime.
1n 1997, Tod received a Christopher Award for his role as Executive Producer of Marvin's Room. The Christophers salute media that “affirm the highest values of the human spirit.” Their goal is to encourage men, women and children to pursue excellence in creative arenas that have the potential to influence a mass audience positively.
At the Christopher Awards event in NYC, Tod met former Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey, who had also won an award for his biography, Fighting For Life. A few days later, Governor Casey called Tod and asked if he'd be interested in producing a film based on the book. While ultimately, other commitments prevented Tod from pursuing the project, he enjoyed a friendship with the Governor and his family, and made many visits to Scranton to spend time with them.
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| With producer, Nan Bernstein in the NY News Production Office |
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Tod has also contributed his time doing pro bono work for the Gay Men's Health Crisis, National Conference of Christians & Jews, Anti-Defamation League, NARAL, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Planned Parenthood Greater Memphis Region, Common Cause, and the National Coalition to Abolish The Death Penalty.
During the last decade, Tod has returned to still photography and photojournalism, while still taking on occasional film projects which have included the indie film, Purity by the Korean American filmmaker, Nahree Ahn, Mr. Bach Comes to Call for Pennsylvania Public Television, the BMX Bike documentary, Joe Kid on a Stingray, produced by Jesse James, Showtime's Sex with Strangers, HBO's Americanos: Latino Life in the United States, and Mark Hartmann's North of Providence. Tod has also contributed his talents to projects for Coco de Mer, Carlsberg, Nivea, Maersk Sealand, The National Football Foundation, Aventis Behring, Siemens Healthcare, Ortho-McNeil, and USSTC.
The many protests and demonstrations Tod has shot in Copenhagen and Malmö include the Ungdomshuset riots, Immigration demonstrations, Gaza protests, Iraq & Afghanistan protests, the Climate Conference, and demonstrations, both pro and con, over the cartoonists Kurt Westergaard and Lars Vilks. Tod has also shot Pride parades in CPH, Stockholm, Hamburg and Paris and many other events throughout the EU.
Tod has been a UPM/1st AD member of the DGA since 1984, and is a past member of IATSE Locals 644, 771, and 161.
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| Tod in Copenhagen with Nørrebro behind him. |
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