Robert S. Finkel (March 25, 1918 – April 30, 2012) was an American producer and director. Finkel has notable credits on the TV shows ''

The Eddie Fisher Show ''The Eddie Fisher Show'' is an American musical comedy/variety television series starring Eddie Fisher. The series alternated on Tuesday nights with ''The George Gobel Show'' with episodes running from October 1, 1957 – March 17, 1959 on NB ...

'', ''

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show ''The Dinah Shore Chevy Show'' is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to May 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore ...

'' and ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...

''. Finkel also produced multiple broadcasts of the ''

People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

'', ''

the Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

'' and the ''

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s''. He also produced the televised comeback concert for singer

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

in 1968, the highest rated television show for the week of broadcast, and the highest rated television special of the year.

Early life

Robert S. Finkel was born on March 25, 1918 in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, the only son of William and Esther Finkel. Finkel had two sisters; Margery and Sally. His father owned several

nickelodeon movie theater The Nickelodeon was the first type of indoor exhibition space dedicated to showing projected motion pictures in the United States and Canada. Usually set up in converted storefronts, these small, simple theaters charged five cents for admissi ...

s in and around Philadelphia. He graduated from the

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in drama. After college, Finkel secured several odd jobs including dancing in the Keith Circuit, being the resident director of the Wharf Theater in

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

and as director and lighting manager at the

Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (Pittsburgh CLO) is a nonprofit professional theater company based in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Despite its name, the organization presents musical theatre classics rather than ...

Company. Finkel enlisted and served in the

Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of Ma ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was stationed in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. He was awarded a Citation Medal by the Chinese Government for his services during the war. He came back from the war in 1946.

Career

Finkel's began his professional career in show business as the director of an episode of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

Mysteries of Chinatown ''Mysteries of Chinatown'' is an American crime drama series that aired on the ABC television network from December 4, 1949 to October 23, 1950. Marvin Miller made his television debut in the series. Cast * Marvin Miller as Dr. Yat Fu * Gloria Sau ...

'' in 1950. From there Finkel continued his career becoming well known for producing, directing and even writing credits on such programs as ''

The Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

'', '' Gruen Guild Theater'', ''

City Detective ''City Detective'' is a half-hour syndicated crime drama starring Rod Cameron as Bart Grant, a tough 1950s New York City police lieutenant. The show's title was a bit of a misnomer, as Grant fought crime "from Mexico to the Mojave Desert to New ...

'' and ''The People’s Choice Awards''. Finkel stepped into the producer’s role in 1959 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

'', a series he continued to produce and direct for the next several years. His career as a producer would crest over the next decade and a half, as he produced ''

'' during the mid-1960s. During his latter career, Finkel worked as a writer and producer for several specials for celebrities such as

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Wayne Newton Carson Wayne Newton (born April 3, 1942) is an American singer and actor. One of the most popular singers in the nation from the mid-to-late 20th-century, Newton remains one of the best-known entertainers in Las Vegas. He is known by the nicknam ...

and

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

. During this same time period of the 1970s and 1980s, Finkel directed episodes of ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...

'', ''

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American sitcom television series produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psy ...

'' and ''

Circus of the Stars ''Circus of the Stars'' was an annual television special, broadcast by the CBS network in the United States, in which celebrities performed circus-type acts. With 19 shows in total, the first was broadcast in 1977 and the last was in 1994. Over ...

''. Finkel's last credit was as the director of the 1996

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

movie ''Have You Seen My Son''.

Personal life

Outside of his career as a director and producer, Finkel served as president of the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New media, New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing esta ...

from 1969-1971. In 1994, he became only the fourth PGA member honored with the Charles FitzSimons Lifetime Membership Award for his outstanding service to the Guild. Finkel was also a member of the

Writers Guild of America, West The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 m ...

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...

American Federation of Musicians The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in New York City, ...

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a boo ...

, and the

Stage Directors and Choreographers Society The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), formerly known as Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC), is an independent national labor union established in 1959, representing theatrical directors and choreographer ...

. Finkel also served on staff at the universities of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. He also taught seminars for the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

during the 1980s and 1990s. Finkel was married once and had two daughters; Terry Lee Baldwin and Pamela Ann Lavaf. His wife Jane died on April 3, 1999 in Los Angeles at the age of 77. His daughter Pamela died on October 12, 2006, at the age of 53. Finkel's grandson, Drew Baldwin, is also a member of the Producers Guild.

Death

Finkel died on April 30, 2012 in his

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

home due to age-related illnesses. He was 94. He was preceded in death by his wife Jane Finkel and daughter Pamela Lavaf. Survivors included his daughter Terry Baldwin and other relatives.

Awards and nominations

Finkel has received several honors and awards in his life which include being the recipient of two

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

s for his work on ''

'' and the recipient of the Charles FitzSimons Lifetime Membership Award from the

which he received in 1994. He was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 1965 for ''The Andy Williams Show''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finkel, Bob 1918 births 2012 deaths American television producers American television directors Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni United States Army personnel of World War II