Gene Reynolds (born April 4, 1923-died February 3, 2020) was a former American actor turned award-winning television writer, television director, and television producer.
Early life[]
Born Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal to Frank Eugene Blumenthal and Maude Evelyn Blumenthal in Cleveland, Ohio, Geme was raised in Detroit, Michigan, where his father Frank was a businessman and entrepreneur.[1]
Acting career[]
He 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), Love Finds Andy Hardy (1937), Captains Courageous (1937), Boys Town (1938), 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.
Behind the Scenes career[]
In 1957, Reynolds joined forces with writer Frank Gruber and James Brooks to create Tales of Wells Fargo for NBC-TV. 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 (TV series), F Troop, Hogan's Heroes, Room 222, and Many Happy Returns (TV series).
As a writer, director, and producer, Reynolds was involved with two highly successful CBS-TV series in the 1970s and early 1980s. Between 1972 and 1983, he produced 121 episodes of M*A*S*H, for which he wrote eleven episodes and directed twenty-four. During that same period, he produced twenty episodes of Lou Grant, for which he wrote (or co-wrote) four episodes and directed eleven.
Reynolds has been nominated for twenty-four Primetime Emmy Award|Emmy Awards and won six times, including Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for M*A*S*H and Primetime Emmy Award for 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 Directing - Drama Series 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.
Personal life[]
Reynolds was married to actress Bonnie Jones (who appeared as Lieutenant Barbara Bannerman in five episodes of M*A*S*H in Season 1) from 1967 until 1976, when the couple divorced. He and his second wife Ann married in 1979 and have one son, Andrew.
References[]
External links[]
Gene Reynolds at the Internet Movie Database- Gene Reynolds article at Wikipedia
