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John Carl Zak was born in Washington D.C. but spent much of his childhood living in and traveling to various places due to his father’s work with TWA. These early journeys across Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America left a lasting impression on him. After graduating from Canyon High School in Canyon Country, California, Zak pursued film and television studies at UCLA, graduating Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Following graduation, he began his career as a lighting director at ABC Television in Hollywood, where he earned an Emmy Award and six nominations for his work on series such as General Hospital (1963) and Benson (1979).
After nine years at ABC, Zak left to explore freelance opportunities. He worked as Director of Photography at Universal Studios on sitcoms including Silver Spoons (1982) and Diff'rent Strokes (1978), as well as creating visual designs for several Universal pilots. Zak then moved into directing, working on various soap operas during the 1980s before joining The Bold and the Beautiful (1987) as both producer and director. He stayed with the show for 12 years, eventually becoming supervising producer while continuing to direct, earning a Directors Guild of America nomination in 1995.
Following this period, Zak pursued graduate studies, obtaining certificates from UCLA’s Graduate Producing and Screenwriting Programs and later earning a Master’s Degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. During his psychology studies, Zak reconnected with his lifelong passion for Hawaii, a place he had visited frequently since childhood. In 2002, he took a leap of faith and relocated to Hawaii, now dividing his time between Hawaii and Los Angeles. In 2004 and 2005, Zak commuted from Hawaii to New York City to work as a contract director for ABC on the daytime series One Life to Live (1968). While in Hawaii, he has taken up new pursuits like painting but continues directing. His documentary films on Hawaiian subjects have been featured at numerous film festivals and conferences in Hawaii, across the US Mainland, and in Europe. Recently, Zak was hired as a consultant for the Dutch-based company Endemol. He is fluent in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese.
