Until television director Andrew “Andy” D. Cadiff ’77 took his first science classes at Harvard, he planned to pursue a career in medicine. But a C-minus in Natural Science 3 forced him to reconsider.

“Like everyone else at Harvard, I was pre-med,” Cadiff says. “But I changed my mind and decided to pursue a career in theater instead.”

Since the end of his first year at the College, Cadiff, a native of Newton, has produced and directed at Harvard, on Broadway and in Hollywood.

His most well-known TV projects include “Home Improvement,” “Spin City,” “Growing Pains,” “Quantum Leap” and “The Hughleys.”

During his time as co-executive producer and director of “Home Improvement” and “Spin City,” both Cadiff and the shows received critical acclaim. In 1998, Cadiff won International Monitor Award for “best directing in a film originated from a television series” for an episode of “Spin City.”

Cadiff quips that he has had more nominations for television awards than wins. But, he says, “it was a thrill to be nominated.”

“You get a great party for being nominated and that’s all you need,” Cadiff says.

Theater Jock

After deciding against concentrating in the sciences, Cadiff chose a special concentration in the history and literature of theater arts. He graduated magna cum laude despite a busy theater schedule.

“So much of [college] is a blur. I think I was so busy doing shows that it’s hard for me to remember if I ever went to classes,” Cadiff says. “But I guess I did since I got enough credits to graduate.”

Cadiff says he would generally direct one major production a semester and “put [himself] into a hole for the rest of the year.”

“I’d spend the spring trying to catch up with work,” he says.

By exam time, Cadiff says he was always unprepared.