| William Asher (born August 8, 1921) is an American television and film producer, film director, and screenwriter. Biography Early life and career Born in New York City, his mother was actress Lillian Bonner and his father was Jewish American producer E.M. Asher (who produced films for Mack Sennett). His most famous works include directing episodes of The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950), I Love Lucy (1951), Our Miss Brooks (1952), General Electric Theater (1953), Make Room for Daddy (1953), December Bride (1954), The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956), Sally (1957), The Twilight Zone (1959), The Patty Duke Show (1963), Bewitched (1964), Gidget (1965), The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), Private Benjamin (1981) and Alice (1976-85). Asher directed 110 out of the 179 episodes of I Love Lucy (1951 - 1957), and produced and directed all 254 episodes of Bewitched, which ran for eight seasons (1964 to 1972). Both series still run in syndication in dozens of languages today. He was married to the star of Bewitched, Elizabeth Montgomery from 1963 until 1973. They had three children. He directed several movies, and wrote and directed the popular beach movies starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon - Muscle Beach Party (1964), Bikini Beach (1964), and Beach Blanket Bingo (1965). Asher received a star in Palm Springs' Walk of Stars - located at 100 North Palm Canyon Drive, and dedicated in November 2003. Personal life Asher resides in California, with his fourth wife, Meredith.[1] His family continues on in show business. Asher's daughter (with Montgomery) Rebecca Asher is a script supervisor. His adopted son (from his marriage to actress Joyce Bulifant), John Mallory Asher starred in the TV series Weird Science (as Gary) and then directed Hilary Swank in Kounterfeit. He continued his directorial endeavors with Diamonds, starring Kirk Douglas, Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall and Jenny McCarthy (John's former wife). References - ^ Cook, B.W. (1999-12). "William Asher - The Man Who Invented the Sitcom". Palm Springs Life. http://www.palmspringslife.com/media/Palm-Springs-Life/Whispering-Palms/William-Asher-The-Man-Who-Invented-the-Sitcom/index.php. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
External links - William Asher at the Internet Movie Database
- William Asher at TV.com
| v • d • e Peter Tewksbury (1959) · Ralph Levy / Bud Yorkin (1960) · Sheldon Leonard (1961) · Nat Hiken (1962) · John Rich (1963) · Jerry Paris (1964) · William Asher (1966) · James Frawley (1967) · Bruce Bilson (1968) · Jay Sandrich (1971) · John Rich (1972) · Jay Sandrich (1973) · Jackie Cooper (1974) · Gene Reynolds / David P. Powers (1975) | | Complete list: (1959–1975) · (1976–2000) · (2001–present) | | | Persondata | | NAME | Asher, William | | ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Asher, Bill | | SHORT DESCRIPTION | Director, producer, screenwriter | | DATE OF BIRTH | August 8, 1921 | | PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City, New York | | DATE OF DEATH | | | PLACE OF DEATH | | |
|
