Burton Denis Metcalfe (March 19, 1935 – July 27, 2022) was a Canadian-American film and television producer, director, screenwriter, and actor.

Biography

Burton Denis Metcalfe was born in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, but grew up in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and latterly in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He received his bachelor's degree in theater in 1955 from

University of California, Los Angeles 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 ...

. In 1956, he was drafted as an enlisted man into the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, serving two years. He was stationed at Ream Field,

San Ysidro San Ysidro (Spanish for " St. Isidore", ) is a district of the City of San Diego, immediately north of the Mexico–United States border. It neighbors Otay Mesa West to the north, Otay Mesa to the east, and Nestor and the Tijuana River Valley t ...

, California, where he held a public relations position. During this period, Metcalfe acting as the lead, working closely with some of his fellow enlisted comrades created the "Miss Angel" beauty contest. An "Angel" in Navy terms meaning a helicopter that would swoop in saving downed pilots who ditched their aircraft in the sea and in some cases on land. Ream Field at that time was virtually the "helicopter capitol of the world". In 1959, Metcalfe had a small role in the movie ''

Gidget Gidget () is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner (based on his teenaged daughter, Kathy) in his 1957 novel, ''Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas''. The novel follows the adventures of a teenaged girl and her surfing frie ...

'', as Lord Byron, the existentialist surfer, hanging 10 with The Big Kahuna's crew. That same year, he was cast as Tom Easton, a young

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer, in the episode "Indian Emily" on the

syndicated television Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

, ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

''. Metcalfe was cast as Don Martin, one of the neighbors thrown into a panic in a 1960 episode of

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series ' ...

's ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' titled "

The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" is episode 22 in the first season of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone''. The episode was written by Rod Serling, the creator-narrator of the series. It originally aired on March 4, ...

". In 1960–1961, Metcalfe landed an acting role as Joe Brigham in the

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 ...

sitcom ''Happy'', and from 1961 to 1962, starred on the

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 ...

sitcom ''

Father of the Bride The Father of the Bride is commonly one of the wedding ceremony participants. Father of the Bride may also refer to: * ''Father of the Bride'' (novel), 1949, by Edward Streeter ** ''Father of the Bride'' (franchise), media franchise based on the 1 ...

'', based on the 1950 film. Between 1962 and 1965, Metcalfe made three guest appearances on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

'': as Richard Campion in "The Case of the Polka-Dot Pony," murderer John Lathrop in "The Case of the Careless Kidnapper," and Jeffrey Mills in "The Case of the Thermal Thief." His most notable work was as a writer for the hit

series ''

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 ...

'' and he was the only producer to stay with the TV series during its entire run from 1972 to 1983. Originally the series' associate producer, Metcalfe was promoted to line producer in 1976 when

Larry Gelbart Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...

left the series and then to executive producer in 1977, when

Gene Reynolds Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal (April 4, 1923 – February 3, 2020) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He was one of the developers and producers of the TV series ''M*A*S*H''. Early life Reynolds was born on April 4, 1923, ...

moved on. He then moved to

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

in the mid-1980s, until he joined

MTM Enterprises MTM Enterprises (also known as MTM Productions) was an American independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' for CBS. The name for the productio ...

as executive producer-director of various projects/sitcoms on November 24, 1986, where he had joined as an independent production house an in effort to expand MTM's strategy beyond primetime television to include off-net markets and cable/pay cable.

Career achievements

Metcalfe was nominated 13 times for

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 as a writer on the series ''M*A*S*H'' between 1975 and 1983. Metcalfe also served as the executive producer for the ''M*A*S*H 30th Anniversary Reunion Special'', which aired on FOX in September 2002.

Personal life

Metcalfe was married to and divorced from Toby Richman. On December 31, 1979, he married actress Jan Jorden, who is best known for her recurring role as a nurse on ''

''. Metcalfe died from sepsis at a hospital in Los Angeles on July 27, 2022, aged 87.

Partial filmography

*''

The Bridges at Toko-Ri ''The Bridges at Toko-Ri'' is a 1954 American war film about the Korean War and stars William Holden, Grace Kelly, Fredric March, Mickey Rooney, and Robert Strauss. The film, which was directed by Mark Robson, was produced by Paramount Pictur ...

'' (1954) – Military Police Sergeant (uncredited) *''

The Space Children ''The Space Children'' is a 1958 independently made American science-fiction film, produced by William Alland, directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Michel Ray, Jackie Coogan, Russell Johnson, Johnny Crawford, Johnny Washbrook and Richard Shan ...

'' (1958) – Guard (uncredited) *''

'' (1959) – Lord Byron *'' Don't Give Up the Ship'' (1959) – Lt. Bond (uncredited) *''

'' (1960) – Don Martin (season 1 episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street") *'' The Canadians'' (1961) – Constable Springer *'' Diamonds Are Forever'' (1971) – Agent Maxwell (uncredited)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalfe, Burt 1935 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American screenwriters American film producers American male television actors American television producers Businesspeople from Saskatchewan Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian film producers Canadian television producers Deaths from sepsis Film directors from Saskatchewan Infectious disease deaths in California People from Saskatoon Military personnel from California University of California, Los Angeles alumni