Born Julius Deutser Feigelson to Julius and Marian (nee Deutser) Feigelson,  J.D. as he is known, went through the Beaumont Texas School System.  While in his senior year in high school, J.D. worked as a production assistant on Port Arthur's KPAC-TV "Shock Theater" series.  After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Lamar College in the school of Electrical Engineering.  Dissatisfied with his choice, J. D. changed his major, graduating in 1963 with a Bachelor's degree in Speech and Drama. During his college years, J.D. worked at local CBS affiliate KFDM -TV, and after graduation, he worked for a short time at a production company in Houston servicing the film requirements of newly established NASA.

 

He then left to take a summer job with David L. Wolper Productions in Hollywood, producing documentaries for the networks.  With his newly gained experience, J.D. returned to Beaumont in late 1964 to begin producing local television commercials, and with many clients in Houston, in 1969, he relocated to the larger market.  Once established, he and two partners formed the film studio of Feigelson, Giertz and Hall, absorbing several other production companies. FGH, as it was known, produced commercials and corporate films for Texaco, Pennzoil, Exxon, and the governor of Texas election campaign, among others.  The FGH facilities we also used by several Hollywood production companies while filming in Houston.

 

Just before his relocation to Houston, J.D. produced a Civil War drama adapted from a short story by author Ambrose Bierce entitled One of the Missing.   A mutual friend had introduced J.D. to science fiction writer Ray Bradbury.  Being a Bierce fan, Bradbury asked to see the film, and impressed by the work, he offered to mentor J.D. in screenwriting.

 

One of the Missing aired on PBS in 1979, which led J.D. to Los Angeles in 1981.  He had also written a screenplay entitled  Dark Night of the Scarecrow, which he intended for an independent theatrical feature.  However, in 1981 CBS bought the rights and made it for TV.  As it turns out, it was the very first horror movie with a scarecrow as its centerpiece and has since become a cult classic.

 

J.D. had a Hollywood career that lasted twenty-five years. He wrote, produced, and/or directed many TV movies, including:  Dark Night of the Scarecrow,  Wes Craven's Chiller, The Twilight Zone (1985 - 1986), and Sam Elliott in Gone to Texas.

 

J.D. left Los Angeles and retired to a small community in Kentucky.  As he recalls, "I suddenly realized I was actually in scarecrow country.  Everywhere were cornfields, old barns, farmhouses, windmills, you name it.  "So, with a script he had already written, J.D. began to put together Dark Night of the Scarecrow- 2.  On May 10, 2022, the movie was released and having been entered in WorldFest Houston, it won the Special Jury Award in the Horror category, although J.D. considers the work a Supernatural Thriller.

 

J.D. is a current member of the Directors' Guild, the Writers  Guild, and is a past member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.