Steve Stafford

Steve Stafford is the President of Studio Wings, Inc. He was born in Darien, Connecticut and raised on a cattle ranch near Helena, Montana. Before beginning a career in the film industry, he served with distinction in the United States Marine Corps, receiving two meritorious citations. After leaving the Marines, he studied acting, landing a three-year contract at Universal Studios. He was fascinated by what went on behind the camera and soon began working as key camera assistant and then A-camera operator under Academy Award-winning cinematographers, Haskell Wexler and Conrad Hall. In less than five years, he was shooting and directing action second units for both feature films and television. His work led to a contract with DDB Needham Worldwide in Chicago, directing national commercial campaigns. Concurrently, he produced and directed The Color of Evening (1990), starring Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn. The AFI award-winning independent film caught the eye of then-CBS president, Jeff Sagansky. As a result, Steve directed a number of long form movies (MOW's) for the CBS network, as well as numerous notable television episodes for CBS and the Paramount network. In the mid-nineties, he launched "Studio Wings", realizing a long-standing desire to combine his film production knowledge with his love of aviation and extensive flight experience. He holds dual Airline Transport Ratings in both airplanes and helicopters and a Masters Degree in Aeronautical Science. He has logged over six thousand hours of pilot in command time and is qualified in numerous airplane and helicopter types. When he isn't directing or flying for the movies, he stays current flying missions for a department of the Federal Government.