William Asher
Encyclopedia
William Asher is an American
television
and film producer
, film director
, and screenwriter
. He was one of the most prolific early directors in the budding television industry, producing or directing over two dozen of the leading television series.
With television in its infancy, he introduced the early sitcom Our Miss Brooks
, adapted from the radio show, and then became the leading director of I Love Lucy
, in 1952, directing most of the episodes over the next 5 years. In 1964 he produced and directed Bewitched, which became one of the leading shows on television, and starred his wife, Elizabeth Montgomery
. As a result of his early success, he was thought of as an "early wunderkind of TV-land," and is today considered "the man who invented the sitcom."
He was nominated four times for an Emmy, winning once for directing Bewitched in 1964. He was also nominated for the DGA
award in 1951 for I Love Lucy.
, his mother was actress Lillian Bonner and his father was Jewish American producer Ephraim M. Asher, whose film credits include Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931), which he co-produced with Carl Laemmle
. His sister, four years his senior, was Betty Asher, a publicist for Judy Garland
at MGM. Asher's family moved to Los Angeles when he was 10, and he would often spend his free time visiting his father at the studio.
When Asher was 11, his parents divorced, and he moved back to New York to live with his mother. His sister remained in Los Angeles and lived at a friend's home. He remembers his early years as being "a terrible period" in his and his sister's life, however:
As a result of having to live in New York with his mother under those conditions, he dropped out of school.
He served in the Army Signal Corps. His father, then living in Los Angeles, died in 1937 at the age of 49, when Asher was 16. While in the Signal Corp, Asher notes that he was "not a very good worker:"
When the war ended, Asher had by then managed to get a number of his short stories published in leading magazines. He says that "by working at it, I became a pretty good short story writer, which almost nobody knows." He moved back to Southern California with the goal of entering a career in the film industry. In 1948, at the age of 27, he co-wrote, co-produced and co-directed a low budget film, Leather Gloves. However, he was soon drawn away from films by the new medium of television. Asher got a job writing short story "fillers" for various TV shows, and his stories evolved into a series called Little Theatre."This was my debut as a director," he states. The series led to him receiving a contract with Columbia pictures
to work on a musical film with producer Harry Cohn
.
Subsequently, Asher received an offer from CBS Studios, which was looking for new directors for television shows. His first TV pilot turned into a long-running series, Our Miss Brooks, which was a TV version of the popular radio show of the same title, starring Eve Arden
. In 1952, Desi Arnaz
asked him to also direct a few episodes of the recently started series, I Love Lucy
, and the show survived its first season. By the time the show was discontinued in 1957, Asher had directed 110 out of the show's 179 episodes, along with a large portion of Our Miss Brooks, which stayed on the air until 1956. Looking back at the first year of I Love Lucy, Asher says they knew the show was good, but they didn't know it would last:
During his career, with a history of delivering quality television sitcoms, he was considered an "early wunderkind of TV-land, blazing a path in the new medium" of television. Writer and producer William Froug
describes Asher as a "hyphenate of a different stripe, a director-producer." After seeing Asher direct so many different and successful sitcoms, he notes that Asher was one of many "restless Hollywood professionals who, like nomads, drifted from job to job, always delivering competent, if not inspired work." He considers them to have been the "backbone" of the early television industry.
His most famous works include directing episode
s of The Colgate Comedy Hour
(1950), I Love Lucy
(1951), Our Miss Brooks
(1952), General Electric Theater
(1953), Make Room for Daddy (aka The Danny Thomas Show
) (1953), December Bride
(1954), The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
(1956), Sally
(1957), The Twilight Zone
(1959), The Patty Duke Show
(1963), Bewitched
(1964), Gidget
(1965), The Dukes of Hazzard
(1979), Private Benjamin
(1981) and Alice
(1976–85).
He produced all 254 episodes of Bewitched
(1964 to 1972), as well as directing many episodes. Both series still run in syndication in dozens of languages today.
During his career he collaborated with many television writers, directors and actors, including Sidney Sheldon
, Dick Van Dyke
, Jim Backus
, Telly Savalas
, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford
, Joey Bishop
, Blake Edwards
and Judy Garland
. He also befriended President John F. Kennedy
, and together with Frank Sinatra
, planned Kennedy's 1961 Inaugural. However, he considers his "glory days" in television to have been the time he spent producing and directing his "creation," Bewitched
, starring his wife Elizabeth Montgomery
. Montgomery played the part of Samantha, and Bewitched became "the hottest new show of 1964," staying in the top 10 for 5 straight years.
He also directed several movies, and wrote and directed the popular beach movies starring Annette Funicello
and Frankie Avalon
- Muscle Beach Party
(1964), Bikini Beach
(1964), and Beach Blanket Bingo
(1965). Television historian Wheeler Dixon suggests that the Beach Party films were not only "visions of paradise" for the audience, but also for Asher, who used them "to create a fantasy world to replace his own troubled childhood."
Asher recalls the highlights of his years as a director:
Asher received a star in Palm Springs' Walk of Stars - located at 100 North Palm Canyon Drive, and dedicated in November 2003.
, and the following year began producing and directing the new TV series, Bewitched, with Montgomery starring. The show was considered a blockbuster and continued until 1972. They had three children and divorced in 1973.
Asher resides in California
, with his fourth wife, Meredith.
His family continues on in show business. Asher's daughter (with Montgomery) Rebecca Asher is a script supervisor.
John Asher
, his adopted son (from his marriage to actress Joyce Bulifant
), starred in the TV series Weird Science
(as Gary) and then directed Hilary Swank
in Kounterfeit
. He continued his directorial endeavors with Diamonds
, starring Kirk Douglas
, Dan Aykroyd
, Lauren Bacall
and Jenny McCarthy
(John Asher's former wife).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He was one of the most prolific early directors in the budding television industry, producing or directing over two dozen of the leading television series.
With television in its infancy, he introduced the early sitcom Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television , it became one of the medium's earliest hits...
, adapted from the radio show, and then became the leading director of I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, in 1952, directing most of the episodes over the next 5 years. In 1964 he produced and directed Bewitched, which became one of the leading shows on television, and starred his wife, Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery was an American film and television actress whose career spanned five decades. She is perhaps best remembered for her roles as Samantha Stephens in Bewitched, as Ellen Harrod in A Case of Rape and as Lizzie Borden in The Legend of Lizzie Borden.-Early life:Born in Los...
. As a result of his early success, he was thought of as an "early wunderkind of TV-land," and is today considered "the man who invented the sitcom."
He was nominated four times for an Emmy, winning once for directing Bewitched in 1964. He was also nominated for the DGA
DGA
DGA may refer to:* Damned Good Airplane a series of planes, i.e. DGA-15 built by Howard Aircraft Corporation* Dangriga Airport in Dangriga, Belize...
award in 1951 for I Love Lucy.
Early life and career
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, his mother was actress Lillian Bonner and his father was Jewish American producer Ephraim M. Asher, whose film credits include Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931), which he co-produced with Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle , born in Laupheim, Württemberg, Germany, was a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios - Universal...
. His sister, four years his senior, was Betty Asher, a publicist for Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
at MGM. Asher's family moved to Los Angeles when he was 10, and he would often spend his free time visiting his father at the studio.
When Asher was 11, his parents divorced, and he moved back to New York to live with his mother. His sister remained in Los Angeles and lived at a friend's home. He remembers his early years as being "a terrible period" in his and his sister's life, however:
As a result of having to live in New York with his mother under those conditions, he dropped out of school.
He served in the Army Signal Corps. His father, then living in Los Angeles, died in 1937 at the age of 49, when Asher was 16. While in the Signal Corp, Asher notes that he was "not a very good worker:"
When the war ended, Asher had by then managed to get a number of his short stories published in leading magazines. He says that "by working at it, I became a pretty good short story writer, which almost nobody knows." He moved back to Southern California with the goal of entering a career in the film industry. In 1948, at the age of 27, he co-wrote, co-produced and co-directed a low budget film, Leather Gloves. However, he was soon drawn away from films by the new medium of television. Asher got a job writing short story "fillers" for various TV shows, and his stories evolved into a series called Little Theatre."This was my debut as a director," he states. The series led to him receiving a contract with Columbia pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
to work on a musical film with producer Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn was the American president and production director of Columbia Pictures.-Career:Cohn was born to a working-class German-Jewish family in New York City. In later years, he appears to have disparaged his heritage...
.
Subsequently, Asher received an offer from CBS Studios, which was looking for new directors for television shows. His first TV pilot turned into a long-running series, Our Miss Brooks, which was a TV version of the popular radio show of the same title, starring Eve Arden
Eve Arden
Eve Arden was an American actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she may be best-remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging title character, a high school teacher, on Our Miss Brooks, and as the Rydell High School principal in...
. In 1952, Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...
asked him to also direct a few episodes of the recently started series, I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, and the show survived its first season. By the time the show was discontinued in 1957, Asher had directed 110 out of the show's 179 episodes, along with a large portion of Our Miss Brooks, which stayed on the air until 1956. Looking back at the first year of I Love Lucy, Asher says they knew the show was good, but they didn't know it would last:
During his career, with a history of delivering quality television sitcoms, he was considered an "early wunderkind of TV-land, blazing a path in the new medium" of television. Writer and producer William Froug
William Froug
William Froug is an Emmy award-winning American television writer and producer. His producing credits include the series The Twilight Zone, Gilligan's Island, and Bewitched. In addition he wrote teleplays for The Dick Powell Show, Charlie's Angels, and The New Twilight Zone...
describes Asher as a "hyphenate of a different stripe, a director-producer." After seeing Asher direct so many different and successful sitcoms, he notes that Asher was one of many "restless Hollywood professionals who, like nomads, drifted from job to job, always delivering competent, if not inspired work." He considers them to have been the "backbone" of the early television industry.
His most famous works include directing episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
s of The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show stars many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou...
(1950), I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
(1951), Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television , it became one of the medium's earliest hits...
(1952), General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
(1953), Make Room for Daddy (aka The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show is an American sitcom which ran from 1953-1957 on ABC and from 1957-1964 on CBS...
) (1953), December Bride
December Bride
December Bride is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959, adapted from the original CBS radio network series that aired from June 1952 through September 1953.-Overview:...
(1954), The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A...
(1956), Sally
Sally (1957 TV series)
Sally is an American situation comedy which aired on NBC from September 15, 1957 to March 30, 1958. The series is the first filmed television series produced by Paramount Studios.-Synopsis:...
(1957), The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
(1959), The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, until May 4, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke...
(1963), Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
(1964), Gidget
Gidget (TV series)
Gidget is an American sitcom about a surfing, boy-crazy teenager called "Gidget" and her widowed father Russ Lawrence, a UCLA professor. Sally Field stars as Gidget with Don Porter as her father. The series was first broadcast on ABC from September 15, 1965 through April 21, 1966...
(1965), The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
(1979), Private Benjamin
Private Benjamin
Private Benjamin is a 1980 American comedy film starring Goldie Hawn. The film was one of the biggest box office hits of 1980, and also spawned a short-lived television series. The film is ranked 82 on the American Film Institute's "100 Funniest Movies" poll, and 59 on Bravo's "100 Funniest...
(1981) and Alice
Alice (TV series)
Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS. The series was based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job...
(1976–85).
He produced all 254 episodes of Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
(1964 to 1972), as well as directing many episodes. Both series still run in syndication in dozens of languages today.
During his career he collaborated with many television writers, directors and actors, including Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon was an Academy Award-winning American writer. His TV works spanned a 20-year period during which he created The Patty Duke Show , I Dream of Jeannie and Hart to Hart , but he became most famous after he turned 50 and began writing best-selling novels such as Master of the Game ,...
, Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
, Jim Backus
Jim Backus
James Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
, Telly Savalas
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford
Peter Lawford
Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen , better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor.He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to US President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting...
, Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
, Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
and Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
. He also befriended President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, and together with Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, planned Kennedy's 1961 Inaugural. However, he considers his "glory days" in television to have been the time he spent producing and directing his "creation," Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
, starring his wife Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery was an American film and television actress whose career spanned five decades. She is perhaps best remembered for her roles as Samantha Stephens in Bewitched, as Ellen Harrod in A Case of Rape and as Lizzie Borden in The Legend of Lizzie Borden.-Early life:Born in Los...
. Montgomery played the part of Samantha, and Bewitched became "the hottest new show of 1964," staying in the top 10 for 5 straight years.
He also directed several movies, and wrote and directed the popular beach movies starring Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
and Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
- Muscle Beach Party
Muscle Beach Party
Muscle Beach Party is the second of seven beach party films produced by American International Pictures. It was made in 1964 and was directed by William Asher, who also directed four other films in this series...
(1964), Bikini Beach
Bikini Beach
Bikini Beach is a 1964 teen film directed by William Asher and starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. The film belongs to the beach party genre of movies, popular in the 1960s. This is the third in a series of seven films produced by American International Pictures .-Plot:School is out and...
(1964), and Beach Blanket Bingo
Beach Blanket Bingo
Beach Blanket Bingo is an American International Pictures beach party film, released in 1965 and was directed by William Asher. It is the fifth film in the beach party film series...
(1965). Television historian Wheeler Dixon suggests that the Beach Party films were not only "visions of paradise" for the audience, but also for Asher, who used them "to create a fantasy world to replace his own troubled childhood."
Asher recalls the highlights of his years as a director:
Asher received a star in Palm Springs' Walk of Stars - located at 100 North Palm Canyon Drive, and dedicated in November 2003.
Personal life
In 1963 Asher married actress Elizabeth MontgomeryElizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery was an American film and television actress whose career spanned five decades. She is perhaps best remembered for her roles as Samantha Stephens in Bewitched, as Ellen Harrod in A Case of Rape and as Lizzie Borden in The Legend of Lizzie Borden.-Early life:Born in Los...
, and the following year began producing and directing the new TV series, Bewitched, with Montgomery starring. The show was considered a blockbuster and continued until 1972. They had three children and divorced in 1973.
Asher resides in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, with his fourth wife, Meredith.
His family continues on in show business. Asher's daughter (with Montgomery) Rebecca Asher is a script supervisor.
John Asher
John Mallory Asher
John Mallory Asher is an American actor, director, writer and cinematographer.He is perhaps best known for his performance as Gary, on the USA Networks' series spinoff of the movie Weird Science.-Biography:...
, his adopted son (from his marriage to actress Joyce Bulifant
Joyce Bulifant
Joyce Bulifant is an American television actress, notable for her sunny "little girl"-like Southern lilt of a voice. She was a frequent panelist on the television game show Match Game, more often than not giving bizarre answers that seldom matched the contestants.-Life and career:Bulifant was born...
), starred in the TV series Weird Science
Weird Science (TV series)
Weird Science is a mid-1990s American comedy series made for television, based on the 1985 film of the same name.-Plot:The series follows the adventures of Gary Wallace and Wyatt Donnelly , two socially inept high school students in an unspecified town in California...
(as Gary) and then directed Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank
Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress. Swank's film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid , as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei Mr. Miyagi...
in Kounterfeit
Kounterfeit
Kounterfeit is a 1996 American crime/thriller film starring Bruce Payne and Hilary Swank. Kounterfeit was directed by John Mallory Asher and written by David Chase, Katherine Fugate and Jay Irwin.-Plot summary:...
. He continued his directorial endeavors with Diamonds
Diamonds (1999 film)
Diamonds is a 1999 comedy film directed by John Mallory Asher and written by Allan Aaron Katz. The film stars Kirk Douglas, Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, Jenny McCarthy, and Corbin Allred.-Plot:...
, starring Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
, Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
, Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
and Jenny McCarthy
Jenny McCarthy
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy is an American model, comedian, actress, author, activist, and game show host. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a successful television and...
(John Asher's former wife).
Television filmography
| Year series began | TV Series |
|---|---|
| As director | |
| 1950 | The Colgate Comedy Hour The Colgate Comedy Hour The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show stars many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou... |
| 1951 | Racket Squad Racket Squad Racket Squad is an American TV crime drama series starring Reed Hadley as Captain John Braddock, a fictional detective working for the San Francisco, California Police Department.... |
| 1951 | I Love Lucy I Love Lucy I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System... |
| 1951 | The Dinah Shore Show The Dinah Shore Show The Dinah Shore Show is an American variety show which was broadcast by NBC from November 1951 to January 1956, sponsored by General Motors' Chevrolet division... |
| 1952 | Our Miss Brooks Our Miss Brooks Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television , it became one of the medium's earliest hits... |
| 1953 | Make Room For Daddy |
| 1953 | The Ray Bolger Show Where's Raymond? Where's Raymond? is a 1953-1954 ABC situation comedy television series starring Ray Bolger as Raymond Wallace, a song-and-dance man who is consistently barely on time for his performances... |
| December Bride December Bride December Bride is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS television network from 1954 to 1959, adapted from the original CBS radio network series that aired from June 1952 through September 1953.-Overview:... |
|
| 1954 | Willy Willy (TV series) Not to be confused with Free Willy Willy is a 1954-1955 situation comedy which aired on CBS with June Havoc in the role of Wilma "Willy" Dodger, an unlikely name for a lawyer from rural New Hampshire who because of the lack of clientele relocates to New York City to represent a vaudeville troupe... |
| 1954 | The Lineup The Lineup (TV series) The Lineup is an American police drama which aired on CBS radio from 1950 to 1953 and on CBS television from 1954 to 1960, possibly in response to NBC's hit Dragnet.... |
| 1957 | The Thin Man The Thin Man The Thin Man is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in Redbook. Although he never wrote a sequel, the book became the basis for a successful six-part film series which also began in 1934 with The Thin Man and starred William Powell and Myrna Loy... |
| 1958 | The Donna Reed Show The Donna Reed Show The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September... |
| 1959 | Fibber McGee and Molly |
| 1959 | The Twilight Zone The Twilight Zone The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist... |
| 1963 | The Patty Duke Show The Patty Duke Show The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, until May 4, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke... |
| 1964 | Bewitched Bewitched Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban... |
| 1965 | Gidget Gidget (TV series) Gidget is an American sitcom about a surfing, boy-crazy teenager called "Gidget" and her widowed father Russ Lawrence, a UCLA professor. Sally Field stars as Gidget with Don Porter as her father. The series was first broadcast on ABC from September 15, 1965 through April 21, 1966... |
| 1972 | Temperatures Rising Temperatures Rising Temperatures Rising is an American television situation comedy that ran from September 12, 1972 to August 29, 1974 on the ABC network.The network had a good deal of faith in the low-rated series, which went through three cast changes, two different formats, and two time slots during its... |
| 1976 | Alice Alice (TV series) Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS. The series was based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job... |
| 1977 | Tabitha Tabitha (TV series) Tabitha is an American fantasy sitcom that aired during the 1977-1978 season on ABC. It is a spin-off of Bewitched, which had ended its run several years earlier... |
| 1979 | The Dukes of Hazzard The Dukes of Hazzard The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard... |
| 1979 | Flatbush Flatbush (TV series) Flatbush is an American sitcom that aired on CBS for three weeks from February 26, 1979 to March 12, 1979.-Plot:The series followed five recent high school graduates living in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, Presto, a cab driver, Socks, who worked in a clothing store, Figgy, a supermarket... |
| 1979 | The Bad News Bears |
| 1984 | Crazy Like a Fox Crazy Like a Fox (TV series) Crazy Like a Fox is an American television series set in San Francisco, California, that aired on CBS from December 30, 1984 to May 3, 1986.-Overview:... |
| 1986 | Kay O'Brien Kay O'Brien Kay O'Brien is an American television series set at fictional Manhattan General Hospital, that aired for one season on CBS during the 1986-87 television season.-Overview:... |
| As producer | |
| 1960 | The Land of Oz |
| 1963 | The Patty Duke Show |
| 1964 | Bewitched |
| 1972 | The Paul Lynde Show |
| 1980 | Here's Boomer |
| 1986 | Kay O'Brien |
External links
- William Asher Interview at Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....
, March–April, 2000]