Search a film or person :
FacebookConnectionRegistration
Paul Wendkos is a Actor, Director and Editor American born on 20 september 1925 at Philadelphia (USA)

Paul Wendkos

Paul Wendkos
If you like this person, let us know!
Nationality USA
Birth 20 september 1925 at Philadelphia (USA)
Death 12 november 2009 (at 84 years) at Malibu (USA)

Paul Wendkos (September 20, 1922; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – November 12, 2009; Malibu, California) was an American television and film director.

Following World War II service in the United States Navy and his education at Columbia University on the GI Bill of Rights, Wendkos made his first feature, a documentary on a school for the blind called Dark Interlude in 1953.

Wendkos' first feature film was The Burglar [1]. His fluid camera technique caught the attention of the head of Columbia Pictures, Harry Cohn, who not only wished to distribute the film but put Wendkos under contract.

A variety of films followed, beginning with the hard-hitting crime drama The Case Against Brooklyn, the suspenseful war dramas Tarawa Beachhead and Battle of the Coral Sea, the youth-oriented Gidget and two sequels, Gidget Goes Hawaiian and Gidget Goes to Rome, as well as Because They're Young.

Wendkos also worked extensively in television, directing many episodes of Playhouse 90, Alcoa Theatre, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, Route 66, The Rifleman, Mr. Novak, Honey West, The Big Valley, I Spy, The Invaders and Hawaii Five-O. When Wendkos worked on I Spy, he was dismissed from the production when the producers deemed the episodes he had filmed to have been too "arty".

In 1968 Wendkos signed a five-picture contract with Mirisch Productions, beginning with the war films Attack on the Iron Coast and Hell Boats, followed by two westerns set in Mexico (but filmed in Spain), Guns of the Magnificent Seven and Cannon for Cordoba. He also made the first feature film for Quinn Martin, The Mephisto Waltz.

From 1970 until his retirement in 1999, Wendkos specialized in made-for-television movies—one of these was The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story (1988), based on a TWA hijacking in 1985. It picked up five Emmy nominations, including one for Wendkos.

Wendkos married Ruth Bernat on March 1, 1953, and had one son, Jordan Elkan Wendkos. Ruth died in June 1978. In 1983, Wendkos married Lin Bolen, former NBC VP and producer; they lived in Malibu, California, until his death.

Wendkos was ill for several years following a stroke. He died on November 12, 2009, in Malibu. He was survived by his son, Jordan, granddaughter, Justine Wendkos, and his wife, Lin Bolen Wendkos.

Usually with

Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Paul Wendkos (39 films)

Display filmography as detailed form
YearNameJobRoles
1998A Wing and a PrayerDirector
1997A Match Made in HeavenDirector
1993Message from NamDirector
1991White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma ToddDirector
1990Blind FaithDirector
1989Cross of FireDirector
1988The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson StoryDirector
1988The Great Escape II: The Untold StoryDirector
1987Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia WifeActor, Director
1987Right to DieDirector
1985The Bad SeedDirector
1983Cocaine: One Man's SeductionDirector
1978A Woman Called MosesDirector
1978BetrayalDirector
1977The Death of RichieDirector
1977Good Against EvilDirector
1976Special DeliveryDirector
1975The Legend of Lizzie BordenDirector
1973The Underground ManDirector
1972Haunts of the Very RichDirector
1971The Mephisto WaltzDirector
1971A Little GameDirector
1970Hell BoatsDirector
1970Cannon for CordobaDirector
1970The Brotherhood of the BellDirector
1969Guns of the Magnificent SevenDirector
1969Fear No EvilDirector
1968Attack on the Iron CoastDirector
1966Johnny TigerDirector
1963Gidget Goes to RomeDirector
1961Gidget Goes HawaiianDirector
1961Angel BabyDirector
1960Because They're YoungDirector
1959Battle of the Coral SeaDirector
1959Face of a FugitiveDirector
1959GidgetDirector
1958The Case Against BrooklynDirector
1958Tarawa BeachheadDirector
1957The BurglarDirector, Editor