William Wiard (3 December 1927 - 3 July 1987) was an American film and television director. He directed over 150 episodes of television, several TV films, and the theatrical film ''

Tom Horn Thomas Horn Jr., (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committed 17 killings as a ...

''.

Life and work

William Orphie Wiard was born in Los Angeles and began his film career in 1955 as a sound editor for '' Dragnet''. In the mid-1960s he moved on to directing. Wiard was best known as a director of television westerns and detective shows, such as '' Mister Roberts'', ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, an ...

'', ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

'', ''

The High Chaparral ''The High Chaparral'' television series, which was broadcast on NBC from 1967 to 1971, is an American Western action adventure drama set in the 1870s. It stars Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell. The series was made by Xanadu Productions in ...

'', ''

Room 222 ''Room 222'' is an American comedy-drama television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television that aired on ABC for 112 episodes, from September 17, 1969 until January 11, 1974. The show was broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 8:30 ( EST) fo ...

'', ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

'', ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. The ...

'', ''

The F.B.I. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

'', ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was or ...

'', ''

Cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

'', ''

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, Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the ...

'', ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator ...

'', ''

Bret Maverick ''Bret Maverick'' is an American Western television series that starred James Garner in the title role, a professional poker player in the Old West. The series aired on NBC from December 1, 1981 to May 4, 1982. It is a sequel series to the 1957- ...

'', ''

Scarecrow and Mrs. King ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King'' is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to September 10, 1987, on CBS. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner, as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative ...

'', and '' Spenser: For Hire''. From 1976 to 1986 he directed several television films in the horror and thriller genres, including ''Scott Free'' (1976) with

Michael Brandon Michael Brandon (born Michael Feldman; April 20, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as James Dempsey in the British drama series ''Dempsey and Makepeace'' (1985–1986). His theatre credits include the original Broadway (theat ...

, ''When Walls Kill'' (1981) with

Parker Stevenson Richard Stevenson Parker Jr. (born June 4, 1952), known professionally as Parker Stevenson, is an American actor best known for playing Frank Hardy in the 1970s TV series ''The Hardy Boys'' and Craig Pomeroy on the 1990s TV series ''Baywatch''. ...

, ''Help Wanted: Male'' (1982) with

Suzanne Pleshette Suzanne Pleshette (January 31, 1937 – January 19, 2008) was an American theatre, film, television, and voice actress. Pleshette started her career in the theatre and began appearing in films in the late 1950s and later appeared in prominent ...

and

Gil Gerard Gil Gerard (born January 23, 1943) is an American actor, whose roles include Captain William "Buck" Rogers in the 1979–81 television series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century''. Early life Gerard was born January 23, 1943, in Little Rock, Arkan ...

, ''High School Killer'' (1983) with

Diane Franklin Diane Franklin is an American actress, producer, and model. Education Franklin attended New York University for one year in 1981–1982 before dropping out to become a professional actress. She continued her education thirty years later when ...

, and ''Kicks'' (1985) with

Anthony Geary Anthony Geary (born May 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for playing the role of Luke Spencer on the ABC daytime drama ''General Hospital''. He originated the role of Luke in 1978 and received a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for O ...

and

Shelley Hack Shelley Marie Hack (born July 6, 1947) is an American actress, model and producer. She is best known as the face of Revlon's Charlie perfume from the mid-1970s until the early 1980s, and for her role as Tiffany Welles in the fourth season of '' ...

. Though he worked mainly in television, Wiard also directed the theatrical film ''

'', starring

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

in one of his last roles. Wiard was married to Georgiana Sherman and had three children. He died in Los Angeles of cancer at the age of 59.

Selected filmography

Film

* 1980: ''

TV films

* 1976: ''Scott Free'' * 1978: ''Ski Lift to Death'' * 1980: ''The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything'' * 1981: ''This House Possessed'' * 1981: ''The Seal'' * 1982: ''Help Wanted: Male'' * 1982: ''Fantasies'' * 1983: ''Deadly Lessons'' * 1985: ''Kicks''

References

External links

*
Filmography of William Wiard in The New York Times
1927 births 1987 deaths American film directors American television directors {{tv-director-stub