William Milton Asher (August 8, 1921 – July 16, 2012) was an American television and film producer, film director, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific early television directors, producing or directing over two dozen series.Obituary Los Angeles Times. July 18, 2012.
With television in its infancy, Asher introduced the sitcom Our Miss Brooks, which was adapted from a radio show. He began directing I Love Lucy by 1952. As a result of his early success, Asher was considered an "early wunderkind of TV-land," and was hyperbolically credited in one magazine article with "inventing" the sitcom. In 1964, he began to direct episodes of Bewitched, which starred his wife Elizabeth Montgomery.Boom, B.W. (January 6, 2006) "William Asher – The Man Who Invented the Sitcom", Palm Springs Life He produced the series from the fourth season.
Asher was also crucial to the success of AIP's Beach Party series.
Asher was nominated for an Emmy Award four times, winning once for directing Bewitched in 1966."Bill Asher, famed 'I Love Lucy' and 'Bewitched' director, dies in Palm Desert" My Desert July 16, 2012 He was also nominated for the DGA Award in 1951 for I Love Lucy.
Early life Asher was born in New York City to stage actress Lillian Bonner and producer Ephraim M. Asher (1887–1937), whose movie credits were mostly as an associate producer. His sister, Betty Asher, was an MGM publicist for Judy Garland.Fleming, E. J. (2005) The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling, and the MGM Publicity Machine, Mcfarland p.193 His father was Jewish and his mother was Catholic. Asher's family moved to Los Angeles when he was around 3, where he often accompanied his father to the movie studio.Dixon, Wheeler W. (2005) Lost in the Fifties: Recovering Phantom Hollywood, Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois Press pp.169-76
Asher's parents divorced when he was 11, resulting in a return to New York with his mother. He later recalled that this period of his life was filled with turmoil, because his mother was an abusive alcoholic. As a result of having to live in New York with his mother, he dropped out of school and, after working in the mailroom at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, he joined the Army in 1941. He served in the Army Signal Corps for four years, stationed in Astoria, Queens New York City as a unit photographer.Grady, Denise (July 17, 2012) "William Asher, Director of Classic TV Comedies, Dies at 90" The New York Times
Career Asher returned to California to direct Leather Gloves (1948), a low-budget film. He eventually gravitated to television (then a new medium),"Ashmont" Bob's Bewitching Daughter and gained a job writing short story "fillers" for various programs, which evolved into a series which was titled Little Theatre. From this work, he gained a contract with Columbia Pictures to work on a film musical for Harry Cohn.
From CBS Studios, Asher received an offer to direct Our Miss Brooks, starring Eve Arden, a television version of the radio show. In 1952, Desi Arnaz asked Asher to direct an episode of his series I Love Lucy; by that show's end in 1957, Asher had directed 110 of the series' 179 episodes, Asher later commented that even though the creators knew the show was good, they did not believe it would become an American icon. "When we did the show, we thought, 'That's it, we're done with it.' We never dreamed it would last this long. Lucille Ball, obviously, was one of TV's true pioneers."Karol, Michael (2006) The Comic DNA of Lucille Ball, iUniverse pg.4
Asher was considered an "early wunderkind of TV-land, blazing a path in the new medium" of television. Writer and producer William Froug described Asher as a "hyphenate of a different stripe, a director-producer", commenting that he was one of many "restless Hollywood professionals who, like nomads, drifted from job to job, always delivering competent, if not inspired work".Froug, William (2005) How I Escaped from Gilligan's Island: and other Misadventures of a Hollywood Writer-Producer, Popular Press p.230
In addition to Our Miss Brooks and I Love Lucy, Asher directed episodes of The Colgate Comedy Hour, Make Room for Daddy, The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), The Patty Duke Show, Gidget, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Alice. Asher and Montgomery befriended President John F. Kennedy, and, together with Frank Sinatra, planned Kennedy's 1961 inaugural ceremony.
Asher's best-known work was Bewitched, which he directed regularly over its entire eight-year run, although he was only credited as producer for its last five seasons. At that time, he was married to the show's star Elizabeth Montgomery. They divorced soon after the series' cancellation in 1972.Berard, Jeanette M. and Corwin, Norman (1990) Television Series and Specials Scripts, 1946–1992, McFarland (2009)Uncle John's Third Bathroom Reader, p. 145. Bathroom Reader's Institute. In 1986, he attempted to return to television, this time, with Fred Whitehead, Orion Television executive to set up Asher/Whitehead Productions, but the only television project they produced was Kay O'Brien, which was canceled after only one season.
Asher directed and co-wrote a number of Beach party films, including the original Beach Party, and several others in the series: Muscle Beach Party, Bikini Beach, Beach Blanket Bingo, and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini. Critic Wheeler Winston Dixon later suggested that the Beach Party films were not only "visions of paradise" for the audience, but also for Asher, who used them "to create a fantasy world to replace his own troubled childhood".
Asher also directed movies made for TV. He later recalled his directorial years:
Asher received a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in November 2003.
Personal life In 1951, Asher married Danny Sue Nolan, with whom he had two children; the couple divorced in 1961. Asher then married Elizabeth Montgomery in 1963, just before Bewitched began its run. They had three children and divorced in 1973. His third marriage was to Joyce Bulifant and it lasted from 1976 to 1993. He adopted her son, actor John Mallory Asher. This marriage also ended in divorce. In his later years, Asher lived in Palm Desert, California, with Meredith Coffin Asher, his fourth and final wife."William Asher, 1921-2012" The Desert Sun. September 22, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
Asher counted Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr. as his friends, and sometimes, he caroused with them in Las Vegas, flying there from Hollywood in Sinatra's plane, and then flying back in order to be at work at the studio at 5 AM.
Death Asher died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at age 90 on July 16, 2012.
Television filmography Debut Year Title As director 1950The Colgate Comedy Hour 1951Racket Squad 1951I Love Lucy 1951The Dinah Shore Show 1952Our Miss Brooks 1953Make Room for Daddy 1953The Ray Bolger Show 1954Willy 1954The Lineup 1955The Jane Wyman Show 1957The Thin Man 1958The Donna Reed Show 1959Fibber McGee and Molly 1959The Twilight Zone 1963The Patty Duke Show 1964Bewitched 1965Gidget 1972 Temperatures Rising 1972 The Paul Lynde Show 1976Alice 1977Tabitha 1979The Dukes of Hazzard 1979Flatbush 1979The Bad News Bears 1984Crazy Like a Fox 1986Kay O'BrienAs producer 1955The Jane Wyman Show 1960The Land of Oz 1963The Patty Duke Show 1967Bewitched 1972Temperatures Rising 1972The Paul Lynde Show 1980Here's Boomer 1986Kay O'BrienAs writer 1973The Young and the Restless (1988)
Cinema filmography Year Title Position 1948Leather GlovesDirector 1957The Shadow on the WindowDirector 1957The 27th DayDirector 1963Beach PartyDirector and co-writer 1963Johnny CoolProducer and director 1964Bikini BeachDirector and co-writer 1964Muscle Beach PartyDirector and co-writer 1965Beach Blanket BingoDirector and co-writer 1965How to Stuff a Wild BikiniDirector and co-writer 1966Fireball 500Director and co-writer 1982Night WarningDirector 1985Movers & ShakersCo-producer and director
Source:"William Asher" at AFI Catalog
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(March–April 2000)