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Harold "Hal" Cooper (February 23, 1923 – April 11, 2014) was an American television director and executive producer who worked primarily on
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
s. After establishing himself as a pioneer of the
Golden Age of Television The first Golden Age of Television is an era of television in the Television in the United States, United States marked by its large number of live productions. The period is generally recognized as beginning in 1947 with the first episode of th ...
, Cooper became a regular director on many of the popular and enduring shows of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Cooper directed 54 episodes of ''
I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually marrie ...
'' between 1966 and 1969 and 126 of the 141 episodes of '' Maude'', where he also served as executive producer from 1975 through 1978. His work on the latter series earned him two
Emmy Award 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 ...
nominations as well as three nominations from the
Directors Guild of America Award The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards. Catego ...
s.


Early life

Born in
The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, on February 23, 1923, Cooper began his entertainment career at the age of 9, becoming part of the acting troupe on the children's radio show ''Rainbow House''. When he wasn't on microphone, Cooper spent his time in the control room, learning about directing from the show's producer and director, Bob Emery. One day in 1936, Emery fell ill two hours before the show was to go live and he chose Cooper to fill in for him, resulting in Cooper directing his first live broadcast at the age of 13. In 1940, Cooper began attending the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, where he met his first wife, Pat Meikle, whom he married in 1944. His education was interrupted by
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in 1943, when he was commissioned as a lieutenant (junior grade) into the
U.S. Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...
and served in the Pacific Theater of Operations. He returned to the university in 1946 and graduated with a B.A. that same year, after which he set out on a career in live television.


Career

Cooper wrote, produced and acted in the pioneering live daytime children's series ''
Your Television Babysitter ''Your Television Babysitter'', also billed as ''Your TV Babysitter'', was a daytime live television children’s series which debuted November 1, 1948, on the DuMont Television Network, and was hosted by Pat Meikle and created by her husband Hal ...
'' for the
DuMont 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 ...
. This show, which was co-written and hosted by Cooper's wife, Pat Meikle, aired on DuMont's first full day television broadcasting and led to a spin-off, '' The Magic Cottage'', which Cooper also produced. From 1950 to 1957, Cooper directed and produced a number of daytime soap operas, including ''
Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show focu ...
''. He moved to
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 ...
in 1958, where he produced and directed the soap opera '' For Better or Worse'' during 1959-1960. He broke into network television sitcoms in 1962, starting with two episodes of ''
The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Product ...
''. Over the next three decades, he amassed an extensive number of directing credits, which, in addition to ''I Dream of Jeannie'' and ''Maude'', included 38 episodes of ''
Mayberry R.F.D. ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' (abbreviation for Rural Free Delivery) is an American television series produced as a spin-off continuation of ''The Andy Griffith Show''. When star Andy Griffith decided to leave his series, most of the supporting character ...
'', 23 episodes of ''
That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster ...
'', 27 episodes of ''
The Courtship of Eddie's Father ''The Courtship of Eddie's Father'' is an American sitcom based on the 1963 film of the same name, which was based on a novel by Mark Toby (edited by Dorothy Wilson). The series is about a widower, Tom Corbett (played by Bill Bixby), who is a ...
'', 11 episodes of ''
The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...
'', 8 episodes of ''
The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, after ...
'', 81 episodes of ''
Gimme a Break! ''Gimme a Break!'' is an American television sitcom created by Morton Lachman, Mort Lachman and Sy Rosen, that aired on NBC for six seasons from October 29, 1981, to May 12, 1987. The series starred Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed ...
'', 19 episodes of ''
Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to April 29, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Ric ...
'' and 67 episodes of '' Dear John''. He was also an executive producer on the latter three series.


TV movies and pilots

* ''Bobby Jo and the Good Time Band'' (1972 CBS pilot) * ''Jerry'' (1974 CBS pilot) * '' The Rear Guard'' (1976 ABC pilot) * ''
Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...
'' (1976 ABC pilot) * ''McNamara's Band'' (1977 ABC pilot) * ''King of the Road'' (1978 pilot) * ''Snavely'' (1978 ABC pilot) * ''Did You Hear About Josh and Kelly?'' (1980 pilot) * ''Mr. and Mrs. and Mr.'' (1980 TV movie) * ''And They Lived Happily Ever After'' (1981 CBS pilot) * '' Million Dollar Infield'' (1982 TV movie) * ''The Astronauts'' (1982 CBS pilot) * ''A Fine Romance'' (1983 CBS pilot) * ''Never Again'' (1984 NBC pilot) * ''
The Stiller and Meara Show ''The Stiller and Meara Show'' is a 1986 television sitcom pilot featuring the comedy duo Stiller and Meara (Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara) as the deputy mayor of New York (Stiller) and his wife, a TV commercial actress (Meara). Cast *Jerry Stille ...
'' (1986 pilot) * ''Starting Now'' (1989 CBS pilot)


Later years and death

Cooper retired in 1996; his final screen credit as director was a January 1997 episode of '' Something So Right''. He died of heart failure at his home in Beverly Hills on April 11, 2014. He was 91.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Hal 1923 births 2014 deaths American television directors University of Michigan alumni