Harold Wesley Kenney, Jr. (January 3, 1926 – January 13, 2015) was an American television producer and director whose career extended from the medium's formative years in the early 1950s, into the 2000s, and included thousands of episodes, both primetime and daytime, as well as five

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

wins and eight nominations. He was frequently billed as Wes Kenney.

Early years

Shortly after graduating from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

’s College of Engineering in 1951, Kenney was hired by the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

. According to the 2004 book ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'', Kenney directed up to twelve different broadcasts each day during his career at the network and its flagship station

WABD WABD (97.5 FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Mobile, Alabama. The station, established in 1973 as WABB-FM, is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. Its studios are on Dauphin Street in Midtown Mobile, and its ...

. This was because most of DuMont's programs were broadcast live, and were often done on small budgets. From 1950 to 1954 he directed many episodes of Rocky King Detective. Kenney continued to direct many programs after DuMont's dissolution in 1956.

Daytime dramas

He is best known for his work on soap operas, producing and directing ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' from 1968 to 1979, and then becoming

Co-Executive Producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

of ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

'', a spot he held from 1982 to 1987. Under Kenney's run as Y&R's Co-Executive Producer, he helped the show win three

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

s for Outstanding Drama Series in 1983, 1985, and 1986. From 1987 to 1989, Kenney replaced the legendary

Gloria Monty Gloria Monty (August 12, 1921 – March 30, 2006) was an American television producer working primarily in the field of daytime drama. Education Born Gloria Montemuro in Allenhurst, New Jersey and raised in the West Allenhurst neighborhood of O ...

as Executive Producer of ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

''. He became ''General Hospital''s

Head Writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...

during the 1988 WGA strike. Kenney's directing credits include ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'', ''

Big John, Little John ''Big John, Little John'' is an American Saturday-morning situation comedy, produced by Sherwood Schwartz, which starred Herbert Edelman as "Big John" and Robert "Robbie" Rist as "Little John." The show first aired on September 11, 1976, on NB ...

'', ''Inside Detective'', and ''

Flo ''Flo'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of ''Alice'' that aired on CBS from March 24, 1980, to June 30, 1981. The series starred Polly Holliday reprising her role as sassy and street-smart waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castl ...

''.

Personal life

He married actress

Heather North Heather May North (December 13, 1945 – November 29, 2017) was an American actress, best known for voicing Daphne Blake in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. Early years North was born in Pasadena, California. Heather was close with actress and v ...

in 1971, after meeting her on the set of ''Days of Our Lives'', where she was playing the part of Sandy Horton. After Kenney retired from directing, he was a professor at the

UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

. He died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

at Saint John's Health Center on January 13 2015, just 10 days after his 89th birthday.

Selected filmography

* ''Filthy Rich'' (1982) TV series * ''Big John, Little John'' (1976) TV series * ''

Far Out Space Nuts ''Far Out Space Nuts'' is a Sid and Marty Krofft children's television series that aired in 1975 for one season, and produced 15 episodes. It was one of only two Krofft series produced exclusively for CBS (the second being 1984's ''Pryor's Plac ...

'' (1975) TV series * ''

'' TV series (6 episodes, 1974–1975) * ''Distant Early Warning'' (1975) (TV Movie) * ''Murder in the First Person Singular'' (1974) (TV Movie) * ''

'' (1965) TV series * ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totaling ...

'' TV series (2 episodes, 1965) * ''

Your First Impression ''Your First Impression'' is an NBC daytime game show which aired from January 2, 1962, to June 26, 1964. A panel of three celebrities tried to guess the identity of mystery guests from clues supplied by the host. Bill Leyden was the MC of the pr ...

'' (1962) TV series * ''

Rocky King, Inside Detective ''Rocky King Detective'' (also known as ''Inside Detective'') is an American action/crime drama series that was broadcast live on the DuMont Television Network on Sundays at 9pm ET for most of its run. The series ran for six seasons, from Januar ...

'' (''The Forgotten Network'' says he directed most of the episodes produced during its 1950-1954 run)

References

Sources

* Weinstein, D. (2004). ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television''. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenney, H. Wesley 1926 births 2015 deaths Soap opera producers American soap opera writers Daytime Emmy Award winners Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering alumni UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television faculty American television directors American television producers Screenwriters from California Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)