Gene Reynolds
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gene Reynolds (born Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal, April 4, 1923 - February 3, 2020) was an American actor, television writer, director, and producer. He was one of the producers of the TV series M*A*S*H.
Reynolds made his screen debut in the 1934 Our Gang short Washee Ironee, and for the next three decades made numerous appearances in films such as In Old Chicago (1937), Captains Courageous (1937), Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), Boys Town (1938), They Shall Have Music (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), Adventure in Washington (1941), Eagle Squadron (1942) and The Country Girl (1954), and on television series like I Love Lucy, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Whirlybirds, and Hallmark Hall of Fame. He was contracted to MGM between 1937 and 1940. He was in the U.S. Army during World War II.
In 1957, Reynolds joined forces with Frank Gruber and James Brooks to create Tales of Wells Fargo for NBC. During the program's five-year run he wrote and directed numerous episodes. Additional directing credits include multiple episodes of Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, The Farmer's Daughter, My Three Sons, F Troop, Hogan's Heroes, Room 222, and Many Happy Returns.
As a writer, director, and producer, Reynolds was involved with two highly successful CBS series in the 1970s and early 1980s. Between 1972 and 1983, he produced 120 episodes of M*A*S*H, which he co-created with Larry Gelbart, and for which he also wrote 11 episodes and directed 24. During that same period, he produced 22 episodes of Lou Grant, for which he wrote (or co-wrote) five episodes and directed 11.
Reynolds has been nominated for twenty-four Emmy Awards and won six times, including Outstanding Comedy Series for M*A*S*H and Outstanding Drama Series twice for Lou Grant, which also earned him a Humanitas Prize. He won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series twice for his work on M*A*S*H and the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Direction of a Drama Series once for his work on Lou Grant.
Reynolds was elected President of the Directors Guild of America in 1993, a post he held for four years until 1997.
He died on February 3, 2020 at age 96.
Known for
I Love Lucy
Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the apartment building they share with landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz, who also happen to be their best friends.
Climax!
Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.
Dragnet
Follows the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from the police term "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is an American western television series that ran from 1949 to 1957, starring Clayton Moore with Jay Silverheels as Tonto. The live-action series initially featured Gerald Mohr as the episode narrator. Fred Foy served as both narrator and announcer of the radio series from 1948 to its finish and became announcer of the television version when story narration was dropped there. This was by far the highest-rated television program on the ABC network in the early 1950s and its first true "hit".
Omnibus
Omnibus is an American, commercially sponsored, educational television series.
Highway Patrol
Highway Patrol was a syndicated, fictional police action series produced from 1955 to 1959, concerning the activities of the highway patrol and their leader, Dan Matthews (who held no rank). Although filmed in and around the Los Angeles area, the state setting for the stories was never identified, and city and street names were fictionalized.
The Ford Television Theatre
This show started in New York City, with Broadway actors and actresses. It then moved to Hollywood, California, where Hollywood actors and actresses headed the cast.
Studio 57
Studio 57 is an American anthology series that was broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from September 1954 to September 1955, and in syndication from 1955 to 1956.
Studio 57
Studio 57 is an American anthology series that was broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from September 1954 to September 1955, and in syndication from 1955 to 1956.
Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley was an American Western television series that fictionalized the life of famous sharpshooter Annie Oakley. It ran from January 1954 to February 1957 in syndication, for a total of 81 black and white episodes, each 25 minutes long. ABC showed reruns on Saturday and Sunday daytime from 1959 to 1960 and from 1964 to 1965.
Public Defender
The Public Defender is a half-hour 69-episode television dramatic series starring Reed Hadley as Bart Matthews, an attorney for the indigent. The series aired on CBS from March 11, 1954 to June 23, 1955, a season and a half.
Lux Video Theatre
Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
I Led Three Lives
I Led Three Lives is an American drama series which was syndicated by Ziv Television Programs from October 1, 1953 to January 1, 1956. The series stars Richard Carlson. The show was a companion piece of sorts to the radio drama I Was a Communist for the FBI, which dealt with a similar subject and was also syndicated by Ziv from 1952 to 1954.
Whirlybirds
Whirlybirds is a syndicated American drama/adventure television series, which aired for 111 episodes — broadcast from February 4, 1957, through January 18, 1960. It was produced by Desilu Studios .
The show centered around Chuck Martin (Kenneth Tobey) and Pete (P.T.) Moore (Craig Hill), owners of 'Whirlybirds, Inc', who flew their helicopter (N975B) between Longwood Field and anywhere where they could be of help to someone in trouble.
The Man Behind the Badge
The Man Behind the Badge is the title of a half-hour American television police drama series which aired on the CBS from 1953-1955 starring and hosted by character actor Charles Bickford. Years later, Bickford appeared as one of the owners of Shiloh Ranch in the NBC western series, The Vrginian.
In its first season, The Man Behind the Badge aired on Sundays at 9:30 p.m. EST opposite ABC's Jukebox Jury.