NIKKI NASH

Born in Hollywood to a musician father and a political revolutionary mother—where education was more autodidactic than academic—Nikki Nash studied acting, took piano lessons, and wore a nun’s habit to buy alcohol so she wouldn’t get carded. Like most teenagers, Nash was given a bootlegged copy of the Zapruder film and spent hours alone in her bedroom watching Kennedy get shot—over and over—while the conspiracy theorists in the living room discussed how the FBI had pulled the trigger.

Her brother Ted, who inherited their father’s genius for jazz, is a Grammy-winning saxophone player. Her brother Bill, who inherited their mother’s creativity and appreciation for music, makes high-end guitars.

But Nash, having no idea what to do with her life, went to college for lack of a better idea, and then quickly dropped out. Having to support herself while entertaining her delusions of grandeur and her unlikely dream of a life-long love with a famous stranger (Warren Beatty), she got a job as a gofer on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman working her way up the production ladder, which led to a forty-five-year career as an associate director on shows such as The Academy Awards, Soul Train, The Chevy Chase Show (all twenty-nine days,) Jimmy Kimmel, The Kennedy Center Honors, Love Connection and twelve years with Conan O’Brien.

When she wasn’t working or napping, she tried skydiving, playwriting, screenwriting, stand-up comedy, swing-dancing, poker, and painting.

She still watches a lot of TV and will probably never understand poetry.