Cherones was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where his father, Tom Cherones, Sr. operated a radio and television repair shop.[1] His grandfather was a Greek immigrant. His mother was Hazel Belle Hyche. He has a younger brother, Bill Cherones, who also worked in Hollywood.[1]
I had done a lot of work in various jobs before I got to Seinfeld, and they pretty much all looked the same. As a producer and director, I was in a position to make this one look different. Larry and Jerry asked me early on, “Can we do this? Can we do that?” I said, “We can do anything. You write it and I’ll shoot."
Several of Cherones's Seinfeld episodes are considered highlights of the series, including "The Chinese Restaurant," "The Parking Garage," and "The Contest," with the latter featured in rankings of the greatest television episodes of all time.[5] Within Seinfeld, he appears in a cameo as the fictional director in "The Pilot." Cherones left Seinfeld after season five at Jerry Seinfeld's request: "He was tired of the same thing, I guess. We changed writers almost every season, and finally he just wanted somebody else, another presence, to try to keep it fresh," Cherones said.[6]
From 2002 to 2014, Cherones taught a film production course at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he had earned a master's degree in 1976. In 2012, Cherones published his first novel, The Hardly Boys, a parody of the old Hardy Boys books.[8][9]
Personal life
Cherones has two children, Susan and Scott, from his first marriage. He moved to Hollywood in 1975 with his second wife, Joyce Keener, who died in 2006.[10]
