Alvin Ganzer (1911–2009) was an American film and television director.

Early life

Ganzer was born in 1911 in

Cold Spring, Minnesota Cold Spring is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States, at the gateway of the Sauk River Chain of Lakes, an interconnected system of 14 bay-like lakes fed and connected by the Sauk River. Cold Spring is part of the St. Cloud Metropoli ...

Career

As a young man, Ganzer moved to California, and in 1932 was given a job at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

in its casting department. He worked for Paramount as an assistant and second unit director on many feature films from 1934 through 1954. His first directorial feature film credit is for ''

The Girls of Pleasure Island ''The Girls of Pleasure Island'' is a 1953 Technicolor comedy film directed by Alvin Ganzer and F. Hugh Herbert. The screenplay by F. Hugh Herbert is based on the novel ''Pleasure Island'' by former Marine William Maier. The original music score ...

'' (1953); he had been assisting

F. Hugh Herbert Frederick Hugh Herbert (May 29, 1897 - May 17, 1958) was a playwright, screenwriter, novelist, short story writer, and infrequent film director. Biography Born in Vienna, Austria, Herbert was educated at the University of London. He emigrated in ...

, who became ill during production. From 1954–1979 he was a prolific director of episodes for television series, and directed a handful of additional feature films.

Personal life

He was married to Murial Ganzer, and they had a son Alvin, and a daughter, Carolynn Jacobs Finnegan, all of whom survived him. He died on 3 January 2009, in Poʻipū, Hawaii, where he and his wife had moved about six years earlier to be close to their son.

Selected filmography (as director)

* '' Midnight Serenade'' (short, 1947) * '' Tropical Masquerade'' (short, 1948) * '' Big Sister Blues'' (short, 1948) * '' Catalina Interlude'' (short, 1948) * ''

'' (1953) * ''

The Leather Saint ''The Leather Saint'' is a 1956 American drama film noir sport film, directed by Alvin Ganzer in black-and-white VistaVision, about a priest who boxes. It stars John Derek, Paul Douglas and Jody Lawrance. Plot Although he is a minister, the yo ...

'' (1956) * ''

Country Music Holiday ''Country Music Holiday'' is a 1958 American musical film directed by Alvin Ganzer and written by Harry Spalding. The film stars Ferlin Husky, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Rocky Graziano, Faron Young, Al Fisher, Lou Marks and June Carter Cash. The film was ...

'' (1958) * ''

When the Boys Meet the Girls ''When the Boys Meet the Girls'' is a 1965 American musical film directed by Alvin Ganzer and starring Connie Francis and Harve Presnell based on the musical ''Girl Crazy'' and a remake of MGM's 1943 film ''Girl Crazy''. Plot A playboy (Harve ...

'' (1965) * ''

Three Bites of the Apple ''Three Bites of the Apple'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy film directed by Alvin Ganzer. Plot Stanley Thrumm is a British tour guide. An unlikely night of successful casino gambling on the Italian Riviera leaves him wealthy but in a quan ...

'' (1967)

Selected television (as director)

* ''

China Smith ''China Smith'' is a 30-minute American syndicated television adventure series starring Dan Duryea. It is set in Singapore. It was released in the fall of 1952. The program's alternate title was ''The Affairs of China Smith'', and the last 26 epis ...

'' (1952) * ''

Science Fiction Theater ''Science Fiction Theatre'' was an American science fiction anthology television series that was produced by Ivan Tors and Maurice Ziv and originally aired in syndication. It premiered on April 9, 1955 and ended on April 6, 1957, with a total of ...

'' (1955) * ''Highway Patrol'' (1955) * '' Men Into Space'' (1959) * ''

Please Don't Eat the Daisies ''Please Don't Eat the Daisies'' (New York: Doubleday, 1957) is a best-selling collection of humorous essays by American humorist and playwright Jean Kerr about suburban living and raising four boys. The essays do not have a plot or through-sto ...

'' (1965) * ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'' (1965) * ''

Joe Forrester ''Joe Forrester'' is an American crime/drama television series, starring Lloyd Bridges as a uniformed foot patrol officer in a run-down neighborhood of Los Angeles. Patricia Crowley co-starred as Georgia Cameron, Joe's romantic interest. Former ...

'' (1975) * '' The Blue Knight'' (1975) * ''

Quincy, M.E. ''Quincy, M.E.'' (also called ''Quincy'') is an American mystery medical drama television series from Universal Studios that aired on NBC from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983. Jack Klugman starred in the title role as a Los Angeles County med ...

'' (1975) * ''

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries ''The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' (re-titled ''The Hardy Boys'' for season three) is an American television mystery series based on the ''Hardy Boys'' and ''Nancy Drew'' juvenile novels. The series, which ran from January 30, 1977, to Janu ...

'' (1977) * '' The American Girls'' (1978) * '' David Cassidy - Man Undercover'' (1978)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ganzer, Alvin 1911 births 2009 deaths People from Stearns County, Minnesota People from Kauai County, Hawaii Film directors from Hawaii