Bruce Bernard Geller (October 13, 1930 – May 21, 1978) was an American

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

, screenwriter,

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, and

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

Life and education

Geller was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the son of Dorothy (Friedlander) and General Sessions Judge Abraham N. Geller. Geller graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1952, where he had studied psychology and sociology and was involved in many activities including theater."Finding Aid for the Bruce Geller Papers, 1957-1976"
UCLA Performing Arts Special Collection/Online Archive of California (

California Digital Library The California Digital Library (CDL) was founded by the University of California in 1997. Under the leadership of then UC President Richard C. Atkinson, the CDL's original mission was to forge a better system for scholarly information management a ...

)

Career

He pursued a career writing scripts for shows on the DuMont Television Network including ''

Jimmy Hughes, Rookie Cop ''Jimmy Hughes, Rookie Cop'' is an American crime show that aired on the DuMont Television Network from May 8 to July 3, 1953. The show starred William Redfield, later Conrad Janis, in the title role of Jimmy Hughes. The series was written by Bru ...

'' (1953) and others. He also wrote the book and lyrics for musical theatre productions including ''Livin' the Life'' (1957) and ''All in Love'' (1961), but his efforts met with only modest success. Geller left New York for

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, where he was employed writing scripts for episodes of several

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

, including ''

Zane Grey Theater ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'' is an American Western anthology television series that was broadcast on CBS from October 5, 1956, until September 20, 1962. Format Many episodes were based on novels by Zane Grey, to all of which Four Star F ...

'', '' Have Gun, Will Travel'', ''The Rebel'', and ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

''. He also worked as the co-executive producer of the '' Rawhide'' series for the 1964-1965 television season. While producing ''Rawhide'', he developed the idea for a new "cloak-and-dagger" series, '' Mission: Impossible''. In 1966, Geller created, wrote, produced, and directed ''Mission: Impossible'', the accomplishment for which he is best remembered. The show ran on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

from 1966 to 1973 and earned him an Emmy Award in 1966 as producer plus another for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama. During the early seasons, a photograph of Geller was included in the dossier of Impossible Missions Force (IMF) agents that IMF leaders Briggs and Phelps perused each week and was often visible on screen (such as in the episodes "Memory", "Operation Rogosh" and "Operation - Heart"). The series was revived in 1988 and aired until 1990 on

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 ...

. Geller also wrote, produced, and directed for the series '' Mannix'' (1967–1975), which was twice nominated for an Emmy Award. In 1973, he made his only venture into

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s, producing and directing ''

Harry in Your Pocket ''Harry in Your Pocket'' is a 1973 comedy-drama film, about a team of professional pickpockets written by James Buchanan and Ronald Austin and directed by Bruce Geller, starring James Coburn, Michael Sarrazin, Trish Van Devere and Walter Pidge ...

'' starring James Coburn and

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...

Death

A flying enthusiast, Bruce Geller died when the

Cessna Skymaster The Cessna Skymaster is an American twin-engine civil utility aircraft built in a push-pull configuration. Its engines are mounted in the nose and rear of its pod-style fuselage. Twin booms extend aft of the wings to the vertical stabilizers ...

he was piloting ran into fog and crashed into Buena Vista Canyon near

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

. He is interred in

Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery is the largest Jewish cemetery organization in California. History Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries, owned by Sinai Temple of Los Angeles, refers to two Jewish cemeteries in the Los Angeles metrop ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geller, Bruce 1930 births 1978 deaths American male screenwriters Television producers from New York City American musical theatre lyricists Writers from New York City Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Yale University alumni Accidental deaths in California Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery 20th-century American businesspeople Songwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1978 20th-century American screenwriters