American director (1935–2021) who directed the third-season original Star Trek episode The Empath early in a career that later brought him awards for television films and miniseries.
John Erman started in casting before becoming a television director in the 1960s. His only Star Trek episode came near the start of that career.
The Empath, written by Joyce Muskat, is one of the most stylised hours of the original series. Kirk, Spock and McCoy are held by the Vians in a black, almost bare underground chamber and tortured so that the mute empath Gem can prove whether her people deserve to be saved from a dying star. The stark staging and Kathryn Hays's wordless performance set it apart from the rest of the third season.
Erman went on to direct parts of Roots and a long line of well-regarded television films, among them An Early Frost.