Biography/History

Since 1950, Donald B. Hyatt was involved as a writer, producer, and director in numerous television and motion picture documentaries, among them NBC-TV's Victory at Sea (1952-1953) and Project XX (since 1954). For his outstanding work on Project XX and other documentary specials, he has received over seventy national and international awards. A long-time member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, he serves on its board of governors.

1924 April 22	Born in New Britain, Connecticut to Isaac Robert and Emily (Cone) Hyatt
1943	Graduated from Taft School in nearby Watertown, Connecticut
1943-1945	Served in the U.S. Army Air Force, rising from the ranks to second lieutenant
1946-1950	Attended Dartmouth College and graduated summa cum laude
1950	Wrote, produced, and directed Hanover Hickory, a film about water skiing
1952-1953	Employed as assistant to Henry Salomon, producer and co-author of the NBC television series Victory at Sea. Conceived by Salomon, this series of 26 programs about U.S. Naval Operations in World War II was one of television's early historical compilation documentary series. The score was written by Richard Rodgers, and conducted by Robert Russell Bennett. Victory at Sea received immediate popular and critical acclaim; was nationally and internationally syndicated; and won numerous awards, including a Peabody Award.
1954	Using the Victory at Sea unit, in September 1954 Salomon began producing Project XX for NBC-TV. This was a series of specials examining the social and political turmoils of this century in such programs as “Nightmare in Red” (1955), “Meet Mr. Lincoln” (1959), and “That War in Korea” (1963). Robert Russell Bennett was primarily responsible for composing and arranging the music.
1957	Hyatt directed “The Innocent Years” for Project XX and, after Salomon's death, succeeded him as producer of the series
1958	Appointed director of Special Projects for NBC-TV
1959 March 14	Married Jeanne Hartnett, with whom he had three children: Wendy, Christopher, and Robert
1961	Produced and directed “The Real West,” considered one of the best television theme documentaries. This program illustrates the still-in-motion technique that Hyatt developed in 1958.
1961	Appointed executive producer of The World of... series for NBC-TV, which attempted to reveal the private personalities of such people as Jacqueline Kennedy, Billy Graham, and Bob Hope
1971	The NBC Special Projects unit, which had produced Project XX since its inception, became an independent production arm of NBC Enterprises under Hyatt's direction
2008 May 22	Died in Branford, Connecticut