| |
|---|---|
| William D. Russell | |
| Credits | |
| Position | Director |
| Biographical Information | |
| Full Name | William Dickey Russell |
| Birthdate | April 30, 1908 |
| Birthplace | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Death Date | April 1, 1968 (age 59) |
| Death Place | Los Angeles, California, United States |
William D. Russell was a director on Bewitched. He directed three episodes for the series (1965).
Biography[]
William D. Russell was an American director. He was born William Dickey Russell on December 22, 1925 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
He settled in California where he began his Hollywood career in 1940 as a dialogue director. In 1945 he was hired as a director for Paramount studios and directed his first film (a short) Hollywood Victory Caravan. He guided seven films, including Ladies' Man (1947), starring Eddie Bracken, and Dear Ruth (1947), starring Joan Caulfield and William Holden, and Bride for Sale (1949), starring Claudette Colbert and Robert Young. His career in film ended with his last film, Best of the Badmen (1951), starring Robert Ryan and Claire Trevor. The following year, he began working only in television and he was subsequently hired by Screen Gems.
As a television director, William D. Russell guided episodes of numerous television series, including Boss Lady (four episodes), The Halls of Ivy (three episodes), Damon Runyon Theater (two episodes) , The Star and the Story (two episodes), You Are There (eleven episodes), Gunsmoke (four episodes), The Eve Arden Show (ten episodes, starring Bewitched guest star Eve Arden), Father Knows Best (sixty-four episodes), Perry Mason (twenty-eight episodes), Dennis the Menace (forty-eight episodes), Grindl (three episodes), The Farmer's Daughter (twenty episodes), and Family Affair (thirty-one episodes).
He was best known for directing 136 episodes of the series Hazel between 1961 and 1966.
He was nominated for three Emmys: first, in 1957, for Best Direction - Half Hour or Less for the episode "First Moscow Purge Trial" (season five, episode three) of the series You Are There; second and third times, in 1964 and 1967, for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy for the series The Farmer's Daughter and Family Affair, respectively.
William D. Russell married Mota Maye Shaw on October 19, 1935. They had two sons, Stephen William Russell and John Shaw Russell.
William D. Russell died of a heart attack on April 1, 1986 in Los Angeles, California, four weeks before his birthday. He was 59.
Episodes[]
Sources[]
- William D. Russell on the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on November 27, 2019. Updated on January 20, 2025.
- William D. Russell on Wikipedia. Retrieved on December 13, 2024. Updated on January 20, 2025.
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