George Eckstein (May 3, 1928 – September 12, 2009) was an American writer and television producer whose career spanned three decades, from the early 1960s through the late 1980s. Eckstein was a producer of many popular television programs such as ''

The Invaders ''The Invaders'' is an American science-fiction television series created by Larry Cohen that aired on ABC for two seasons, from 1967 to 1968. Roy Thinnes stars as David Vincent, who after stumbling across evidence of an in-progress invasion ...

'' and '' The Name of the Game'' (Robert Stack segment), in addition to penning the scripts of many others, including ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'', and ''

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 ...

''. He co-wrote '' The Fugitive'' final two part episode, "The Judgment" (1967). He was Executive Producer on the series ''

Banacek ''Banacek'' is an American detective TV series starring George Peppard that aired on the NBC network from 1972 to 1974. The series was part of the rotating '' NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie'' anthology. It alternated in its time slot with several o ...

''. From the late 1970s onward, the bulk of Eckstein’s producing work was on several made-for-TV movies and specials, with a year’s stint as executive producer of 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 ...

series ''

Love, Sidney ''Love, Sidney'' is an American sitcom television series which aired two seasons on NBC, from October 28, 1981, to June 6, 1983. It stars Tony Randall as Sidney Shorr (a single, closeted gay man), Swoosie Kurtz as Laurie Morgan (a single mother wi ...

'' in the midst.

Early life

Eckstein was born 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' ...

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 ...

, the son of Ruth (née Wexler) and George Eckstein, a salesman.Filmreference.com
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Personal life

He was married to actress

Ann Morgan Guilbert Ann Morgan Guilbert (October 16, 1928 – June 14, 2016), sometimes credited as Ann Guilbert, was an American television and film actress and comedian who portrayed a number of roles from the 1950s on, most notably as Millie Helper in 61 episode ...

from 1953 until their divorce in 1966, and had two children with her, agent/acting instructor Nora Eckstein and actress

Hallie Todd Hallie Todd (born January 7, 1962) is an American actress. She played Penny Waters on ''Brothers,''Jo McGuire on ''Lizzie McGuire,'' and Rhoda Markowitz, Dennis Stanton's assistant, on ''Murder, She Wrote''. She also made guest-starring appearan ...

. He later married actress Selette Cole, and had one daughter, Jennifer.

Death

He died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

at his home in

Brentwood, Los Angeles Brentwood is a suburban neighborhood in the Los Angeles Westside, Westside region of Los Angeles. History General Modern development began after the establishment of the Sawtelle Veterans Home, Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disab ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eckstein, George 1928 births 2009 deaths Television producers from California American television writers American male television writers Deaths from lung cancer in California People from Brentwood, Los Angeles Screenwriters from California 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American male writers