TV Legend Gene Reynolds Dies

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You may be perplexed by the title of this discussion. “Gene Reynolds? A legend? I’ve never heard of him!” Oh, was he ever a legend. The one-time actor who became one of the most prolific directors in the 60s through 80s died Monday (2/3) of heart failure. After a few roles as a child (such as Captains Courageous) and a stint in the Navy, Reynolds found his acting career floundering. Jackie Cooper gave Reynolds his first direction role in 1957, and from there Reynolds never looked back. His directing credits read like a list of classic TV series: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Peter Gunn, Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, My Three Sons, Hogan’s Heroes, F Troop, and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir were just some of the series where Reynolds directed episodes. He branched out into helping create TV series in 1969 when he served as executive producer (as well as director) on the groundbreaking comedy-drama Room 222. That series earned Reynolds his first Emmy award, in 1970. Reynolds’ lasting legacy came in 1972, when he and Larry Gelbart teamed up to develop the 1970 movie M*A*S*H for television. Reynolds won two Emmy awards for directing episodes of the legendary show, and worked as executive director, executive producer, and creative consultant. Another lasting legacy for Reynolds was creating the Mary Tyler Moore Show spinoff drama Lou Grant in 1977. He moved Ed Asner’s character from the Minneapolis TV station sitcom to the drama of a Los Angeles newspaper, with successful results. The series earned him two more Emmy awards. Additionally, Reynolds served as president of the Directors Guild of America (DGA). Watch some classic TV shows and you’re likely to see the name of Gene Reynolds pop up as the director. Reynolds was 96. A video of Gene Reynolds accepting a TCA Heritage award for M*A*S*H