William Asher
| William Asher | |
|---|---|
 Asher with second wife Elizabeth Montgomery in 1964 |
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| Born | William Milton Asher August 8, 1921 New York City, New York, USA |
| Died | July 16, 2012 (aged 90) Palm Desert, California, USA |
| Occupation | director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1948-1990 |
| Spouse(s) | Danny Sue Nolan (m. 1951–1961) Elizabeth Montgomery (m. 1963–1973) Joyce Bulifant (m. 1976–1993) Meredith Asher (m. 1998–2012)(his death) |
| Children | 7 |
William Milton Asher[1] (August 8, 1921 – July 16, 2012) was an American television and film producer, film director, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific early television directors, producing or directing over two dozen series.[2]
With television in its infancy, Asher introduced the sitcom Our Miss Brooks, which was adapted from a radio show. He began directing I Love Lucy by 1952. In 1964, he produced and directed Bewitched, which starred his then-wife Elizabeth Montgomery. As a result of his early success, Asher was considered an "early wunderkind of TV-land," and is hyperbolically credited in one magazine article for 'inventing' the sitcom[3] -- although sitcoms were well-established on both radio and television years before Asher's involvement with the form.
Asher was nominated for an Emmy four times, winning once for directing Bewitched in 1966. He was also nominated for the DGA award in 1951 for I Love Lucy.[4]
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Early life[edit]
Asher was born in New York City to stage actress Lillian Bonner and producer Ephraim M. Asher (1887-1937), whose movie credits were mostly as an associate producer. Sister Betty Asher was an MGM publicist for Judy Garland.[5] His father was Jewish and his mother was Catholic.[6] Asher's family moved to Los Angeles when he was 10, where he often accompanied his father to the movie studio.[7]
Asher's parents divorced when he was 11, resulting in him returning to New York with his mother. He later recalled that this period was filled with turmoil, as his mother was abusive and an alcoholic.[7] As a result of having to live in New York with his mother, he dropped out of school and served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II.[3]
Career[edit]
Asher returned to California in 1948 to direct Leather Gloves, a low-budget film. He eventually gravitated to television (then a new medium),[8] and got a job writing short story "fillers" for various programs, which evolved into a series called Little Theatre. This resulted is his receiving a contract with Columbia Pictures to work on a musical film for Harry Cohn.[7]
Asher received an offer from CBS Studios to direct Our Miss Brooks starring Eve Arden, a television version of the popular radio show. In 1952, Desi Arnaz asked Asher to direct an episode of his series I Love Lucy. By the show's end in 1957, Asher had directed 110 of the show's 179 episodes,[3] Asher later commented that even though the creators knew the show was good, they did not believe it would become an American icon. "When we did the show, we thought, 'That's it, we're done with it.' We never dreamed it would last this long. Lucille Ball, obviously, was one of TV's true pioneers."[9]
Asher was considered an "early wunderkind of TV-land, blazing a path in the new medium" of television.[3] Writer and producer William Froug described Asher as a "hyphenate of a different stripe, a director-producer," commenting that he was one of many "restless Hollywood professionals who, like nomads, drifted from job to job, always delivering competent, if not inspired work."[10]
In addition to I Love Lucy, Asher also directed episodes of The Colgate Comedy Hour, Make Room for Daddy, The Twilight Zone, The Patty Duke Show, Gidget, The Dukes of Hazzard and Alice. Asher had also befriended President John F. Kennedy, and together with Frank Sinatra, planned Kennedy's 1961 Inaugural.[3]
Asher's best known work was Bewitched, which he produced for its entire eight-year run. At that time, he was married to the show's star Elizabeth Montgomery. They divorced soon after the series' cancellation in 1972.[11][3][12]
Asher also directed several movies several films, including Muscle Beach Party, Bikini Beach and Beach Blanket Bingo. Television historian Wheeler Dixon later suggested 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."[7]
Asher later recalled his directorial years:
When I look back at my own work, Bewitched stays with me the most, and Lucy, and the Beach Party pictures. The scripts of the Beach Party films were sheer nonsense, but they were fun and positive. . . . When kids see the films now, they can get some idea of what the '60s were like. The whole thing was a dream, of course. But it was a nice dream.[7]
Later years and death[edit]
Asher received a star in Palm Springs' Walk of Stars in November 2003
Asher died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at age 90 on July 16, 2012.[13] At the time of his death, Asher resided in Palm Desert, California with his fourth wife, the former Meredith Coffin McMachen [14][15]
Personal life[edit]
Asher married Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery in 1963. They had three children and divorced in 1973. Asher's daughter (with Montgomery) Rebecca Asher is a script supervisor, and his adopted son John Asher, from his marriage to actress Joyce Bulifant), is an actor and director. Asher was also previously married to Danni Sue Nolan from 1951-1961 with whom he had 2 children.
Television filmography[edit]
| Year series began | TV Series |
|---|---|
| As director | |
| 1950 | The Colgate Comedy Hour |
| 1951 | Racket Squad |
| 1951 | I Love Lucy |
| 1951 | The Dinah Shore Show |
| 1952 | Our Miss Brooks |
| 1953 | Make Room For Daddy |
| 1953 | The Ray Bolger Show |
| 1954 | Willy |
| 1954 | The Lineup |
| 1957 | The Thin Man |
| 1958 | The Donna Reed Show |
| 1959 | Fibber McGee and Molly |
| 1959 | The Twilight Zone |
| 1963 | The Patty Duke Show |
| 1964 | Bewitched |
| 1965 | Gidget |
| 1972 | Temperatures Rising |
| 1972 | The Paul Lynde Show |
| 1976 | Alice |
| 1977 | Tabitha |
| 1979 | The Dukes of Hazzard |
| 1979 | Flatbush |
| 1979 | The Bad News Bears |
| 1984 | Crazy Like a Fox |
| 1986 | Kay O'Brien |
| 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 |
References[edit]
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WHBkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nn0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3095,1913880&dq=william-milton-asher&hl=en
- ^ Obituary Los Angeles Times, July 18, 2012; page AA5.
- ^ a b c d e f "William Asher - The Man Who Invented the Sitcom", Palm Springs Life Dec. 1999
- ^ "Bill Asher, famed 'I Love Lucy' and 'Bewitched' director, dies in Palm Desert" My Desert, July 16, 2012
- ^ Fleming, E. J. The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling, and the MGM Publicity Machine, Mcfarland (2005) p. 193
- ^ "Palm Springs Celebrities | William Asher | History". Palm Springs Life. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
- ^ a b c d e Dixon, Wheeler W. Lost in the Fifties: Recovering Phantom Hollywood, Southern Illinois Press (2005) pp. 169-176
- ^ Ashmont
- ^ Karol, Michael. The Comic DNA of Lucille Ball, iUniverse (2006) p. 4
- ^ Froug, William. How I Escaped from Gilligan's Island: and other Misadventures of a Hollywood Writer-Producer, Popular Press (2005) p. 230
- ^ Berard, Jeanette M., Corwin, Norman. Television Series and Specials Scripts, 1946-1992, McFarland (2009)
- ^ Bathroom Reader's Institute. Uncle John's Third Bathroom Reader, (1990) p. 145
- ^ Deadline, The. "R.I.P. William Asher". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
- ^ see The New York Times "William Asher, Director of Classic TV Comedies, Dies at 90", July 17, 2012.[1]
- ^ "William Asher - The Man Who Invented the Sitcom" Palm Springs Life, Dec. 1999
External links[edit]
- William Asher at the Internet Movie Database
- William Asher Interview at Archive of American Television, March–April, 2000]
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