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1-9 of 9
- Director
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
Milwaukee-born Don Weis began as a director of light-hearted, often youth-oriented entertainment. After graduating in film studies from the University of Southern California in 1942, he got his first job as an errand boy at Warner Brothers. He saw wartime service as a technician with the 1st Motion Picture Unit of the U.S. Army Air Corps, involved in the production of training films at Culver City. After the war he resumed his apprenticeship with Enterprise Productions as a dialogue director and assistant on several pictures produced by Stanley Kramer. In 1951 he was signed by Dore Schary to a two-year contract at MGM, making his directorial feature debut with the newspaper expose Bannerline (1951). This was followed by a string of light comedies and musicals of widely varying quality.
Among the best of the bunch was the cheerful George Wells-scripted and -produced musical I Love Melvin (1953) starring Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor, highlighted by several exuberant dance routines and an engaging dream sequence in which Debbie sings "A Lady Loves". There was also a youthful college comedy, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953), and an enjoyable minor sword-and-sandal outing made for Fox, entitled The Adventures of Hajji Baba (1954). Of considerably less interest were two inane entries in the "beach party" genre aimed specifically at the teen market: the sleep-inducing, apropriately-titled Pajama Party (1964) and the even sillier The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966), which sadly wasted the talents of such excellent screen veterans as Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone. It didn't get any better with the decidely laborious and unamusing farce Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady? (1968). Though conceived by two talented writers (James Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum) who later earned a well-deserved reputation for their rather wittier collaborative effort on M*A*S*H (1972), the humour was as obvious as the title might suggest. The venture, predictably, did not make a screen star out of Phyllis Diller.
In 1954 Weis began to direct episodes for television, a medium to which he found himself eminently suited. In the course of the next 30 years he became one of TV's busiest directors and one of the most accomplished, winning six annual awards from the Directors Guild of America. Ranging across every known genre, he was equally at ease helming the iconic Batman (1966) as he was behind the camera of some 58 episodes of crime-busting, wheelchair-bound Ironside (1967), or guiding four of the best installments of the cult series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974). Weis achieved his greatest success directing a brace of the most enduring episodes of the long-running and much-loved medical comedy "M*A*S*H*". Following his retirement he presided over the Motion Picture Permanent Charities Committee (PCC) and served on the board of the New Mexico Film Council.- Margaret Howell was born on 9 September 1947 in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. She was an actress, known for Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987), Tightrope (1984) and Amazing Stories (1985). She died on 26 July 2000 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Writer
- Producer
Manya Starr was born on 21 January 1921 in New York City, New York, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for The Clear Horizon (1960), Tales of Tomorrow (1951) and Doctor Yes: The Hyannis Affair (1983). She was married to Amram Nowak. She died on 26 July 2000 in New York City, New York, USA.- Soundtrack
June Hershey was born on 27 June 1909 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She died on 26 July 2000.- Composer
- Music Department
Baby López Fürst was born on 27 July 1937. Baby was a composer, known for The Lighthouse (1998), La búsqueda (1985) and En retirada (1984). Baby died on 26 July 2000 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.- T.J. Frasure was born on 15 February 1908 in the USA. He died on 26 July 2000.
- Dorothy Gould was born on 15 January 1910 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Charlatan (1929), A Princess of Destiny (1929) and Ladies in Love (1930). She died on 26 July 2000 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actress
- Music Department
U.R. Jeevarathnam was born in 1927 in Injalpur, India. She was an actress, known for Abhimanyu (1948), Manickavasagar (1939) and Kannagi (1942). She died on 26 July 2000 in Mandaveli, Chennai, India.- June Hodgson was born on 23 June 1941 in England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Avengers (1961). She died on 26 July 2000 in Buckinghamshire, England, UK.