Ted Post
Theodore I. Post (March 31, 1918 – August 20, 2013) was an American director of film and television.[1] Highly prolific, Post directed numerous episodes of well-known television series including Rawhide, Gunsmoke, and The Twilight Zone as well as blockbuster films such as Hang 'Em High, Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Magnum Force.
Ted Post | |
|---|---|
| Born | Theodore I. Post March 31, 1918 |
| Died | August 20, 2013 (aged 95) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Film director Television director |
| Spouse | Thelma Fiefel (m. 1940–2013) |
| Children | 2, including Robert C. Post |
Biography
Early life and career
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Post started his career in 1938 working as an usher at Loew's Pitkin Theater.[citation needed] He abandoned plans to become an actor after training with Tamara Daykarhanova, and turned to directing summer theatre, where Post began his lengthy association in the director's chair. Upon returning home from his service with the United States Army Special Services in Italy during World War II,[2] he resumed his experience in theater and when the new medium of television was born, his career took off.
Post taught acting and drama at New York's High School of Performing Arts in 1950. He persuaded his friend Sidney Lumet to do likewise.[citation needed]
Television series
Success in the theater led to directorial work in television from the early 1950s, beginning with The Ford Television Theatre. Post directed episodes of many series, including Gunsmoke, Perry Mason, Wagon Train, Rawhide, The Twilight Zone, Combat!, Columbo and 178 episodes of Peyton Place. He also directed TV films (including the original Cagney & Lacey film-of-the-week).[citation needed]
Films
He also directed feature films, including the second installment of the Planet of the Apes film series, Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), Go Tell the Spartans (1978), Good Guys Wear Black (1978), starring Chuck Norris, and two Clint Eastwood films, Hang 'Em High, the movie which launched Clint Eastwood's career as a leading man in American pictures. and Magnum Force.[3]
Post directed the 2001–02 Festival of the Arts at the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University).[citation needed]
Personal/Family life
Post married the former Thelma Fiefel in 1940. They had two children, one of whom is the law scholar and professor Robert Post.
Death
Post died at the UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, California on August 20, 2013.[4]
Selected filmography
Film
- The Peacemaker (1956)
- The Legend of Tom Dooley (1959)
- Hang 'Em High (1968)
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
- Magnum Force (1973)
- The Harrad Experiment (1973)
- The Baby (1973)
- Whiffs (1975)
- Good Guys Wear Black (1978)
- Go Tell the Spartans (1978)
- Nightkill (1980)
- The Human Shield (1991)
- 4 Faces (1999)
TV movies
- The Great Merlini (1951, pilot)
- Espionage: Far East (1961)
- Night Slaves (1970)
- Dr. Cook's Garden (1971)
- Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate (1971)
- Yuma (1971)
- Five Desperate Women (1971)
- The Bravos (1972)
- Sandcastles (1972)
- The Girls in the Office (1979)
- Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker (1979)
- Cagney & Lacey (1981)
- Stagecoach (1986)
Television
- Armstrong Circle Theatre (1952)
- The Ford Television Theatre (1953)
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1953)
- Gunsmoke (1955)
- Medic (1955)
- Zane Grey Theatre (1956)
- Screen Directors Playhouse (1956)
- The 20th Century Fox Hour (1956)
- Perry Mason (1957)
- Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957)
- West Point (1957)
- Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse (1958)
- The Rifleman (1958)
- Law of the Plainsman (1959)
- The Westerner (1960)
- Checkmate (1960)
- Startime (1960) (The Young Juggler)
- Wagon Train (1960)
- Insight (1960)
- Alcoa Premiere (1961)
- The Defenders (1961)
- Route 66 (1961)
- The Virginian (1962)
- Combat! (1962)
- Empire (1962)
- Thriller (1961–1962)
- General Electric Theater (1962)
- Bus Stop (1962)
- Rawhide (1960–1962)
- Peyton Place (1964)
- The Twilight Zone (1960–1964)
- Bracken's World (1969)
- Monty Nash (1971)
- Baretta (1975)
- Ark II (1976)
- Columbo (1976)
- Future Cop (1977)
- Beyond Westworld (1980)
- B.A.D. Cats (1980)
Short films
- The Return of Phileas Fogg (1957)
References
- ^ . Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14.
- ^ Vitello, Paul (25 August 2013). "Ted Post, Director for Film and Television, Dies at 95". The New York Times.
- ^ Sayre, Nora (1973-12-26). "'Magnum Force': Police Story Is Sequel to 'Dirty Harry'". The New York Times.
- ^ McLellan, Dennis (August 20, 2013). "Ted Post dies at 95; veteran TV and movie director". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
External links
- Ted Post at IMDb
- "Ted Post (1918-2013)". Directors Guild of America.