Christian Nyby

Who was Christian Nyby?

Christian Nyby was an American television and film director and editor. As an editor, he had seventeen feature film credits from 1943 – 1952, including The Big Sleep and Red River. From 1953–1975 he was a prolific director of episodes in many television series, including Gunsmoke and Wagon Train. As a feature film director, he is likely best known for The Thing from Another World.

Born in Los Angeles, California, he started his career as a film editor in the 1940s. He edited four films directed by Howard Hawks. Nyby was nominated for the Academy Award for Red River. He had began his career in the carpentry division at the studios, worked his way up to editor, then received his first directing credit on Hawks' 1951 production of The Thing from Another World, which was an instant success.

Nyby went on to have a prolific television and movie directing career from the 1950s to the 1970s. Dick Vosburgh wrote in his obituary that "After editing Hawks's next film The Big Sky, Nyby turned to television, directing Ann Sothern's sitcom Private Secretary, which ran for four years. He also directed episodes of The Twilight Zone, I Spy, Lassie, Perry Mason, The Rockford Files, The Six Million Dollar Man, Ironside, and Kojak. He did especially impressive work on such western series as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Wagon Train and Rawhide." He also directed four more feature films Hell on Devil's Island, Young Fury, Operation C.I.A., and First to Fight.