Eugene Levitt (May 28, 1920 – November 15, 1999) was an American television writer, producer and director.

Life and career

Levitt was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Charles and Teresa Levitt. He had an older sister, Betty Ruth. His mother died when Gene was about 12 years old. Levitt attended the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

. Following graduation he moved to Chicago where he worked as a newspaper reporter until enlisting in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. In the 1940s, Levitt wrote for radio programs, including ''

The Adventures of Philip Marlowe ''The Adventures of Philip Marlowe'' was a radio series featuring Raymond Chandler's private eye, Philip Marlowe. Robert C. Reinehr and Jon D. Swartz, in their book, ''The A to Z of Old Time Radio'', noted that the program differed from most other ...

''.Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960'', 2nd Edition, Volume 1. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 13. Levitt was a writer for many television series in the 1950s and 1960s, including ''

Highway Patrol A highway patrol, or state patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is prima ...

'', ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau ...

'' (" Trail West to Fury"), '' Adventures in Paradise'' and ''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama series that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American sol ...

''. He moved to directing in the 1970s, working on series such as ''

Alias Smith and Jones ''Alias Smith and Jones'' is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, outlaw cousins who are tryin ...

'' and '' McCloud''. His most significant achievement was the creation of the television series ''

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. Gu ...

,'' starring Ricardo Montalban and

Herve Villechaize Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize (; April 23, 1943 – September 4, 1993) was a French actor and painter. He is best known for his roles as the evil henchman Nick Nack in the 1974 James Bond film '' The Man with the Golden Gun'', and as Mr. Roarke ...

. The show ran for over six years. In addition to ''

'', Levitt assisted in the writing, production, and directing of ''Hawaii-Five-O'', and ''Alias Smith and Jones''. He died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

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' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links