Gene Levitt

{{short description|American television writer, producer and director}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Gene Levitt

| birth_name = Eugene Levitt

| birth_date = {{birth date|1920|5|28}}

| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, United States{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HjGCwAAQBAJ&q=Levitt+Gene&pg=PA131 |title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 1999: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture |date=2008-10-24 |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |isbn=9780786452040}}

| death_date = {{death date and age|1999|11|15|1920|5|28}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, United States{{Cite web |date=December 1999 |title=Gene Levitt |url=https://variety.com/1999/scene/people-news/gene-levitt-1117883397/}}

| occupation = Writer, producer, director

}}

Eugene Levitt (May 28, 1920 – November 15, 1999) was an American television writer, producer and director.{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=Gene Levitt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/99543/Gene-Levitt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808192451/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/99543/Gene-Levitt |archive-date=2014-08-08 |website=The New York Times |department=Movies & TV Dept.}}

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.{{citation needed|date=July 2014}} Levitt attended 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.

In the 1940s, Levitt wrote for radio programs, including The Adventures of Philip Marlowe.Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-5149-4}}. p. 13.

Levitt was a writer for many television series in the 1950s and 1960s, including Highway Patrol, Maverick ("Trail West to Fury"), Adventures in Paradise and Combat!. He moved to directing in the 1970s, working on series such as Alias Smith and Jones and McCloud. His most significant achievement was the creation of the television series Fantasy Island, starring Ricardo Montalbán and Herve Villechaize. The show ran for over six years.{{Cite web |date=1999-11-26 |title=Obituary: Gene Levitt |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-gene-levitt-1128688.html |access-date=2019-02-28 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

In addition to Fantasy Island, Levitt assisted in the writing, production, and directing of Hawaii-Five-O, and Alias Smith and Jones.

He died of prostate cancer in Los Angeles, California.{{Cite news |last=Ravo |first=Nick |date=24 November 1999 |title=Gene Levitt, 79, a TV Writer; Created 70's Hit 'Fantasy Island' |at=Section B, p. 9 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/24/arts/gene-levitt-79-a-tv-writer-created-70-s-hit-fantasy-island.html}}

Filmography

=Films=

class="wikitable"
Year	Film	Credit	Notes
rowspan=2\|1956 \|Foreign Intrigue \|Story By \|
Beyond Mombasa \|Written By \|Co-Wrote screenplay with "Richard English"
1957 \|The Night Runner \| rowspan="2" \|Screenplay By \|
1958 \|Underwater Warrior \|
1964 \|The Yellowbird \|Screenplay By, Produced By \|
1968 \|Daring Game \|Produced By \|
rowspan=3\|1969 \|Any Second Now \|Directed By, Produced By, Written By \|
Run a Crooked Mile \|Director \|
Anatomy of a Crime \|Produced By \|
1970 \|The Forty-Eight Hour Mile \|Directed By \|
1974 \|The Phantom of Hollywood \|Directed By, Produced By \|
rowspan=2\|1978 \|Magee and The Lady \|Directed By \|
Barnaby and Me \|Produced By \|

class="wikitable"

Year

Film

Credit

Notes

rowspan=2|1956

|Foreign Intrigue

|Story By

Beyond Mombasa

|Written By

|Co-Wrote screenplay with "Richard English"

1957

|The Night Runner

| rowspan="2" |Screenplay By

1958

|Underwater Warrior

1964

|The Yellowbird

|Screenplay By, Produced By

1968

|Daring Game

|Produced By

rowspan=3|1969

|Any Second Now

|Directed By, Produced By, Written By

Run a Crooked Mile

|Director

Anatomy of a Crime

|Produced By

1970

|The Forty-Eight Hour Mile

|Directed By

1974

|The Phantom of Hollywood

|Directed By, Produced By

rowspan=2|1978

|Magee and The Lady

|Directed By

Barnaby and Me

|Produced By

= Television =

class="wikitable"
Year	TV Series	Credit	Notes
1951-52 \|Front Page Detective \| rowspan="27" \|Writer \|6 Episodes
rowspan=2\|1953-54 \|I Led 3 Lives \|7 Episodes
Your Favorite Story \|6 Episodes
1953-56 \|The Loretta Young Show \|13 Episodes
1954 \|Mr. District Attorney \|1 Episode
1954-55 \|Foreign Intrigue \|9 Episodes
rowspan=3\|1955 \|Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion \|5 Episodes
Highway Patrol \|2 Episodes
Science Fiction Theatre \|1 Episode
1955-56 \|The Ford Television Theater \|2 Episodes
rowspan=5\|1956 \|Celebrity Playhouse \| rowspan="2" \|1 Episode
Climax!
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars \|2 Episodes
The Man Called X \| rowspan="2" \|1 Episode
TV Reader's Digest
1957 \|The Californians \|3 Episodes
rowspan=2\|1957-58 \|Men of Annapolis \|5 Episodes
Tombstone Territory \|3 Episodes
rowspan=2\|1957-59 \|Maverick \|5 Episodes
Richard Diamond, Private Detective \|3 Episodes
rowspan=2\|1958 \|Colt .45 \|1 Episode
Sea Hunt \|2 Episodes
rowspan=2\|1958-60 \|Bat Masterson \|8 Episodes
77 Sunset Strip \|2 Episodes
rowspan=3\|1959 \|The Man and The Challenge \|3 Episodes
The David Niven Show \|1 Episode
This Man Dawson \|
1959-62 \|Adventures In Paradise \|Writer, Producer \|Multiple Episodes
1960 \|The Four Just Men \| rowspan="2" \|Writer \| rowspan="2" \|1 Episode
1961 \|The Aquanauts
1962-66 \|Combat! \|Writer, Producer \|88 Episodes
1968-69 \|The Outsider \|Writer, Director \|Multiple Episodes
rowspan=2\|1970 \|The Name Of The Game \| rowspan="4" \|Director \|2 Episodes
The Bold Ones: The Lawyers \|1 Episode
rowspan=2\|1971 \|Alias Smith and Jones \|2 Episodes
Night Gallery \|1 Episode
1972 \|Cool Million \|Writer, Director, Producer \|2 Episodes
1973 \|Barnaby Jones \|Producer \|12 Episodes
1974 \|McCloud \|Director \| rowspan="3" \|1 Episode
rowspan=3\|1975 \|Get Christie Love! \|Writer
Kolchak: The Night Stalker \|Director
S.W.A.T. \|Director, Producer \| rowspan="2" \|Multiple Episodes
1977-84 \|Fantasy Island \|Writer, Creator
1978-79 \|Project U.F.O. \|Supervising Producer \|8 Episodes
1979-80 \|Hawaii Five-O \|Producer, Supervising Producer \|16 Episodes
1981 \|The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo \| rowspan="2" \|Director \| rowspan="2" \|1 Episode
1983 \|Trauma Center

class="wikitable"

Year

TV Series

Credit

Notes

1951-52

|Front Page Detective

| rowspan="27" |Writer

|6 Episodes

rowspan=2|1953-54

|I Led 3 Lives

|7 Episodes