George McCowan (June 27, 1927 – November 1, 1995) was a Canadian film and television director in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. McCowan began his career working for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

. He worked as an actor and director for several seasons at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

, and moved to the United States in 1967. He directed episodes of '' Charlie's Angels'', ''

S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

'', and '' Starsky and Hutch'', as well as every episode of the popular Canadian series '' Seeing Things''. He also worked on such shows as ''

The Silent Force ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III ...

'', ''

The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ...

'', ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. ...

'', and ''

Hart to Hart ''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset life ...

''. McCowan directed the 1970 TV movie '' Carter's Army'', the 1971 Canadian hockey film ''

Face-Off A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse. During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and t ...

'', the fourth and final Magnificent Seven film, '' The Magnificent Seven Ride!'' in 1972, the cult

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

Frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" '' Triadobatrachus'' is ...

'' in the same year, and the 1976 film ''

Shadow of the Hawk ''Shadow of the Hawk'' is a 1976 American-Canadian horror film directed by George McCowan and written by Norman Thaddeus Vane and Herbert Wright. The film stars Jan-Michael Vincent, Marilyn Hassett, Chief Dan George, Pia Shandel, Marianne Jo ...

''. McCowan also directed the film ''

H. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come ''H. G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come'' is a 1979 Canadian science fiction film directed by George McCowan, and starring Jack Palance, Barry Morse, Nicholas Campbell, Anne-Marie Martin, Carol Lynley, and John Ireland. Although credited as a ...

'' and the 1970 television war movie, '' The Challenge'', but for the latter he chose to be credited as Alan Smithee. McCowan died of emphysema on November 1, 1995, in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCowan, George Canadian film directors Canadian television directors 1927 births 1995 deaths Canadian expatriate film directors in the United States