[Deathwatch] Earl Bellamy, TV director, 86

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Earl Bellamy
Sun Dec 7

TX: Prolific TV director Earl Bellamy died of a heart attack in
Albuquerque, N.M., Sunday. He was 86.

Minneapolis native who moved to Hollywood as a child began his career
as a messenger at Columbia Pictures in 1935. After a stint making
training films for the Navy during World War II, he became assistant
director for George Cukor (news) and Fred Zinneman. He received a
Directors Guild Award for his work on Zinneman's "From Here to
Eternity."

He started directing in 1955 with George Montgomery-starring Western
"Seminole Uprising" and went on to helm about 20 feature films,
including "Incident at Phantom Hill" and the Tony Randall comedy
"Fluffy."

His extensive television work included Westerns "The Adventures of "
Rin Tin Tin," "Wagon Train," "Rawhide" "Daniel Boone" and "The
Virginian."

He received the Golden Boot Award from the Motion Picture and
Television Fund in 2002 for his contributions to the Western film
genre.

He worked in every genre of television, helming episodes of "The Donna
Reed (news) Show," "Lassie," "The Munsters," "Fantasy Island," "CHiPS"
and "Starsky and Hutch."

He was known for his relaxed approach to directing, endearing thesps
with his "no strain" philosophy.

He is survived by wife Gail, three children, five grandchildren and 11
great-grandchildren.

Donations may be made to the Motion Picture and Television Fund.