American television director
Has three children with his wife Christine Lahti : sons Wilson Lahti Schlamme and Joseph Schlamme; daughter, Emma Lahti.
He has visited the White House several times and, during the Clinton administration, once stayed the night in the Lincoln Bedroom. He drew on observations of White House staffers made during this visit to inspire the visual and behavioral style of the fictional staffers in "The West Wing" , which he co-created with Aaron Sorkin.
Considers his filmmaking breakthrough to have come when he directed a Bette Midler concert film in 1984.
Probably, the way I ended up in this business was because of,air-conditioning. I was a big jock in high school; it was Houston, hot,and humid, and tough to do two-a-day practices in football. The theater,department [in high school] had the only air-conditioned class. I met,someone there, a teacher called Cecil Pickett, who was enormously,influential. And from that point on, I started to formulate what I,wanted to do. .
