William Fruet (born January 1, 1933) is a Canadian film and television director, playwright and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with the drama ''

Wedding in White ''Wedding in White'' is a 1972 Canadian drama film written and directed by William Fruet, based on his earlier play. The film stars Carol Kane, Donald Pleasence, Doris Petrie, Doug McGrath, and Paul Bradley. Synopsis Set during World War II, ...

'' (1972), based on a play he had also written. The film won Best Picture at the

Canadian Film Awards The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

in 1973. His later career included several horror films, including ''

Death Weekend ''Death Weekend'' (released in the USA under the title ''The House by the Lake'') is a 1976 Canadian horror/thriller film. It stars Brenda Vaccaro and Don Stroud and was one of the first films from Canadian director William Fruet. The low-budget ...

'' (1972), '' Cries in the Night'' (1980), and ''

Killer Party ''Killer Party'' is a 1986 Canadian comedic supernatural slasher film directed by William Fruet, and starring Martin Hewitt, Ralph Seymour, Elaine Wilkes, Joanna Johnson, Sherry Willis-Burch, and Paul Bartel. It follows a trio of female sorori ...

'' (1986), as well as television series, including ''

Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels by American author R. L. Stine, published by Scholastic Publishing. The protagonists in these stories are tweens or young teens who find themselves in scary circumstances usually i ...

'' and '' Poltergeist: The Legacy''. Other writing credits include the influential Canadian film ''

Goin' Down the Road ''Goin' Down the Road'' is a 1970 Canadian film directed by Donald Shebib, co-written by William Fruet and Donald Shebib. It tells the story of two young men who decide to leave the Maritimes, where jobs and fulfilling lives are hard to find, for ...

'', which he co-wrote with

Donald Shebib Donald Everett "Don" Shebib (born 27 January 1938) is a Canadian film director. Shebib is a central figure in the development of English Canadian cinema who made several short documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada and CBC Televisi ...

Career

Fruet began his career as a writer after attending the Canadian Theatre School. His screenwriting credits include ''Rip-Off'', ''

'', ''

Slipstream A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or mustard) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving fluid, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is churning. The term slip ...

'', ''

'', '' Spasms'' and ''

Imaginary Playmate ''Imaginary Playmate'' is a thriller film which debuted on HBO in 2006. The film stars Dina Meyer, Rick Ravanello, Cassandra Sawtell, and Pablo Coffey. Plot Suzanne (Dina Meyer) and her 7-year-old stepdaughter Molly Driscoll move into a new h ...

'', while his film directing credits include ''

'', ''Death Weekend'', ''Spasms'', ''

Search and Destroy Search and destroy, seek and destroy, or simply S&D is a military strategy best known for its employment in the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War. The strategy consists of inserting ground forces into hostile territory, ''search''ing out ...

'', ''

'', '' Cries in the Night'' and '' Bedroom Eyes''. ''Wedding in White'', his 1972 film debut starring

Carol Kane Carolyn Laurie Kane (born June 18, 1952) is an American actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as '' Hester Street'' (for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress), ''Dog Day Afternoon'', ''Annie ...

and

Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...

, was based on a stage play he had written, and won the

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

for Best Picture in 1973. His television credits include episodes of ''

The Ray Bradbury Theatre ''The Ray Bradbury Theater'' is an anthology series that ran for three seasons on First Choice Superchannel in Canada and HBO in the United States from 1985 to 1986, and then on USA Network, running for four additional seasons from 1988 to 19 ...

'', ''

My Secret Identity ''My Secret Identity'' is a television series starring Jerry O'Connell and Derek McGrath. Originally broadcast from October 9, 1988 to May 25, 1991 on CTV in Canada, the series also aired in syndication in the United States. It was later shown ...

'', ''

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

'', ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...

'', ''

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. ...

'', ''

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'', '' Counterstrike'', '' The Outer Limits'', ''

'', '' Poltergeist: The Legacy'', ''

The Zack Files ''The Zack Files'' is a science fiction television program based on a book series of the same name, written by Dan Greenburg. This series was shot in Toronto, Ontario. In August 2004, Goldhill Home Media released the first season on DVD. Plot The ...

'', ''

Da Vinci's Inquest ''Da Vinci's Inquest'' is a Canadian dramatic television series which originally aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2005. While never a ratings blockbuster, the critically acclaimed show did attract a loyal following, and ultimately seven seaso ...

'', '' Chasing Rainbows'', '' Code Name: Eternity'' and '' Zoe Busiek: Wild Card''. Prior to his career as a writer and director, Fruet also had an acting role in the 1963 film ''

Drylanders ''Drylanders'' is a 1962 Canadian western (genre), Western film directed by Don Haldane and Written by M. Charles Cohen and starring Frances Hyland and James B. Douglas. It was the National Film Board of Canada's first English-language feature fi ...

''.

Filmography

Directing

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fruet, William 1933 births Living people 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Film directors from Alberta Canadian television directors Canadian male screenwriters Canadian television writers Writers from Lethbridge Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male television writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian screenwriters