Sam Haskell

Sam Haskell was born in 1955 in the small town of Armory, Mississippi, population 7,000. He got his first taste of showbiz as a boy in a television studio mailroom. He became a great producer and director of some of the best, most popular prime time shows ever to hit television, helping to produce and direct shows like “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and that legendary favorite “The Cosby Show.”

Those are stellar achievements to be sure, but the greater story of Sam Haskell is how this devoted husband, friend, and father, has amassed such an impressive body of work while living as something of a Hollywood anomaly. Far from being the stereotypical ruthless agent, Sam has agented, produced, and directed in the shark infested, often decadent world of Hollywood, without compromise. He has a reputation of being a stand-up fellow living a clean and decent life, a good friend and dependable colleague who respects his clients and lives by the Golden Rule. Sam Haskell credits this strong moral compass to his mother who instilled in him the values of character, faith, and honor all those years ago and the promise she secured from him to live his life according to those time-honored principles.

In 2009 Sam Haskell released a touching memoir, “Promises I Made My Mother” aided by co-author, David Briskin. It’s an engaging read full of amusing and inspiring anecdotes. In it, Sam offers his unique perspective on life and thoughts on how he’s managed to hold onto the lessons of his Mississippi boyhood. It’s also a testament and an encouragement to parents everywhere striving to instill lasting values in their own children.

In today’s Southern Quote we honor Mississippian Sam Haskell who has often said that every day he has an opportunity to ask himself the same question, “What would my mother say?”