Linda Day

Linda Day was the daughter of Roy Brickner, a film editor of Hollywood's Golden Age. Day first entered show business as a script supervisor on the made-for-TV movie "Victory at Entebbe" in 1976. The following year, she joined the crew of the soap opera parody series "Soap," on which she worked as a script supervisor and an assistant to the producers. By 1978, she'd made her way to associate director on "WKRP in Cincinnati." By 1980, Day stepped up to the director's chair on "WKRP in Cincinnati." The following year she earned an Emmy nod for her work on "Archie Bunker's Place." She built a reputation for excellence in short order, and went on to work on a number of iconic '80s sitcoms like "The Facts of Life," "Diff'rent Strokes," "St. Elsewhere," "Who's the Boss?," "Dallas," "Knots Landing," "Married With Children," and "Gimme a Break!" She continued working steadily through the '90s, and was awarded a Humanitas prize and was honored by the Directors Guild of America for paving the way for women in television. In 2002, she reconnected with her childhood sweetheart, and the pair married 50 years after their initial romance. In 2003, Day retired at the age of 65, having worked on more than 350 episodes of 50 different series. Linda Day died on October 23, 2009; she was survived by her husband, L. Steve Varnum; her daughter, Heidi Gutman; and her sister, Nancy Riley.