Bruce Bilson, who won an Emmy Award for directing “Get Smart” and directed hundreds of television episodes, died on January 16 in Los Angeles. He was 97 years old.
Bilson is best known for directing the Secret Agent sitcom parody “Get Smart,” for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1968 for Outstanding Director for a Comedy Series. Throughout his decades-long career, Bilson directed more than 400 television episodes, including episodes of “The Odd Couple,” “Hogan’s Heroes,” “The Patty Duke Show,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” and “MASH.” “Hawaii 5-0,” “The Flash,” “Viper,” and “Dinosaur.”
Bilson graduated from UCLA in 1946 and was part of the university’s first film school graduates. After serving in the Air Force, Bilson became an assistant editor on Groucho Marx’s You Will Die, and later served as an assistant director on Wyatt Earp and The Andy Griffith Show.
Bilson was born on May 19, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York, to Hattie Bilson, a film and magazine writer, and George Bilson, a producer for Warner Bros. and RKO.
Bilson married Mona Whiteman in 1955 and they had two children. In 1984, he married actress Len Jarrett, and they remained married until his death.
He is survived by his wife, children Danny Bilson and Julie Bilson Ahlberg, son-in-law Drew Stauffer (Liz), grandchildren Rachel Bilson, Hattie Bilson, Rosemary Bilson, John Pierce (Courtney), Sydney Sekula and Suki Sekula, Bowie Stauffer, and great-grandchildren Briar Christensen and Everly Pierce.
Bilson’s memorial service will be held at Hillside Memorial Park in Los Angeles on January 25th at 2pm.
Donations in his name can be made to casala.org.
