Don Weis

Award-winning TV director Don Weis studied film at the University of Southern California before he served as a film technician in the Air Force during World War II. Shortly after the war ended, he became a director at MGM Studios, working on projects, including the crime comedy "A Slight Case of Larceny" and Debbie Reynolds musical " The Affairs of Dobie Gillis." He moved on to television, where his work on "Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre" earned him his first Directors Guild of America award in 1956. He'd score the honor again two years later for helming "Schlitz Playhouse." These accolades led to work on the popular family comedy "The Patty Duke Show" and the detective drama "Ironside." Weis went on to helm such classics as the war-set comedy "MASH," the action-packed cop drama "Hawaii Five-O," and the acclaimed cruise ship comedy "The Love Boat." After serving as director on more than 110 productions, Weis retired in 1990. He died ten years later and was survived by his wife, actress Rebecca Welles, and their three children. He was 78 years old.