Motion Picture, Television Director. He directed more than 100 television programs and feature films, most notably the "Gidget" picture series. Born in Philadelphia, he studied film at Columbia University and began his career making documentaries. He made his big screen directorial debut with "The Burglar" (1957) and caught the attention of critics who praised his artistic enhancement of the low-budget project. During the 1960s Wendkos alternated between television and films, directing multiple episodes of the series "The Untouchables", "Dr. Kildare", "Mr. Novak", "The F.B.I.", "I Spy", "The Invaders", and the routine features "Johnny Tiger" (1966), "Guns of the Magnificent Seven" (1969) and "The Mephisto Waltz" (1971). By the 1970s, he focused mainly on small screen efforts with the television-movies "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (1975), "Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue" (1977, which he also produced), "A Woman Called Moses" (1978) and "The Ordeal of Patty Hearst" (1979). He received an Emmy Award nomination for "The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story" (1988). He died from a lung infection following a stroke.
Motion Picture, Television Director. He directed more than 100 television programs and feature films, most notably the "Gidget" picture series. Born in Philadelphia, he studied film at Columbia University and began his career making documentaries. He made his big screen directorial debut with "The Burglar" (1957) and caught the attention of critics who praised his artistic enhancement of the low-budget project. During the 1960s Wendkos alternated between television and films, directing multiple episodes of the series "The Untouchables", "Dr. Kildare", "Mr. Novak", "The F.B.I.", "I Spy", "The Invaders", and the routine features "Johnny Tiger" (1966), "Guns of the Magnificent Seven" (1969) and "The Mephisto Waltz" (1971). By the 1970s, he focused mainly on small screen efforts with the television-movies "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (1975), "Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue" (1977, which he also produced), "A Woman Called Moses" (1978) and "The Ordeal of Patty Hearst" (1979). He received an Emmy Award nomination for "The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story" (1988). He died from a lung infection following a stroke.
Bio by: C.S.
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