Paul Wendkos

Directing·Sep 20, 1925·Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Paul Wendkos (September 20, 1922; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – November 12, 2009; Malibu, California) was an American television and film director. Following wartime service in the US Navy and attending Columbia University on the GI Bill Wendkos made his first feature, a documentary on a school for the blind called Dark Interlude in 1953. Wendkos's first feature film was The Burglar . Wendkos's fluid camera technique caught the attention of the head of Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn who not only wished to distribute the film, but put Wendkos on a contract. A variety of films followed for Columbia beginning with the hard-hitting crime drama The Case Against Brooklyn, two suspenseful war dramas Tarawa Beachhead and Battle of the Coral Sea, the youth-oriented Gidget and two sequels Gidget Goes Hawaiian, Gidget Goes to Rome as well as Because They're Young. Wendkos also directed many episodes of Playhouse 90, Alcoa Theatre, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, Route 66, The Rifleman, Mr. Novak, Honey West, The Big Valley, I Spy, The Invaders and Hawaii Five-O. With I Spy, Wendkos filmed several interesting episodes but was deemed too "arty" by the producers and let go. In 1968 Wendkos signed a five picture contract with Mirisch Productions beginning with the war films Attack on the Iron Coast and Hell Boats followed by Westerns set in Mexico but filmed in SpainGuns of the Magnificent Seven and Cannon for Cordoba. He also made the first feature film for Quinn Martin, The Mephisto Waltz. From 1970 until his retirement in 1999, Wendkos specialized in made-for-television movies. One of these was The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story (1988), based on a TWA hijacking in 1985, picked up five Emmy nominations, including one for Wendkos. Wendkos was cited by film critic Andrew Sarris in his book The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968. He is also cited, along with many other directors, in The American Vein: Directors and Directions in Television by Christopher Wicking and Tise Vahimagi, Talisman Books (England), 1979, and E.P. Dutton (United States), 1979; Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 79-52675. Wendkos married Ruth Bernat on March 1, 1953 and had one son, Jordan Elkan Wendkos. Ruth died in June, 1978. Wendkos married Lin Bolen, Former NBC VP & Producer in 1983 and they lived together happily in Malibu, California until his death. He is survived by his son, Jordan, granddaughter, Justine Wendkos, and his wife Lin Bolen Wendkos. Wendkos was ill for several years following a stroke. He died on November 12, 2009 in Malibu, California. Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul Wendkos, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Film	Credit
A Man of Potential: Visions of Paul Wendkos, the Godard of Gidget2026 · Self	Self
Different1999 · Director	Director
A Wing and a Prayer1998 · Director	Director
Nobody Lives Forever1998 · Director	Director
A Match Made in Heaven1997 · Director	Director
Message from Nam1993 · Director	Director
Bloodlines: Murder in the Family1993 · Director	Director
Trial: The Price of Passion1992 · Director	Director
Guilty Until Proven Innocent1991 · Director	Director
White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd1991 · Director	Director
The Chase1991 · Director, Producer	Director, Producer
Good Cops, Bad Cops1990 · Director	Director
From the Dead of Night1989 · Director	Director
The Great Escape II: The Untold Story1988 · Director	Director
TThe Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story1988 · Director	Director
Right to Die1987 · Director	Director
Six Against the Rock1987 · Director	Director
Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife1987 · Director	Director
Sister Margaret and the Saturday Night Ladies1987 · Director	Director
Rage of Angels: The Story Continues1986 · Director	Director
Picking Up the Pieces1985 · Director	Director
The Bad Seed1985 · Director	Director
The Execution1985 · Director	Director
Scorned and Swindled1984 · Director	Director
The Awakening of Candra1983 · Director	Director
Intimate Agony1983 · Director	Director
Cocaine: One Man's Seduction1983 · Director	Director
Farrell: For the People1982 · Director	Director
Golden Gate1981 · Director	Director
The Five of Me1981 · Director	Director
AA Cry for Love1980 · Director	Director
The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd1980 · Director	Director
Act of Violence1979 · Director	Director
The Ordeal of Patty Hearst1979 · Director	Director
Betrayal1978 · Director	Director
A Little Game1977 · Director	Director
Good Against Evil1977 · Director	Director
Secrets1977 · Director	Director
The Death of Richie1977 · Director	Director
Stalk the Wild Child1976 · Producer	Producer
Special Delivery1976 · Director	Director
Death Among Friends1975 · Director	Director
The Legend of Lizzie Borden1975 · Director	Director
The Underground Man1974 · Director	Director
Terror on the Beach1973 · Director	Director
Honor Thy Father1973 · Director	Director
The Strangers in 7A1972 · Director	Director
Footsteps1972 · Director	Director