Paul Wendkos, Rest In Peace
'Gidget' director had long career
Paul Wendkos, 84, a director whose more than 100 film and television credits included the 1959 movie "Gidget" and its two sequels, died Thursday at his home in Malibu of a lung infection that followed a stroke, family representative C. Christie Craig said.
"Gidget," starring Sandra Dee, was followed by "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" in 1961 and "Gidget Goes to Rome" in 1963. Wendkos' other films included 1969's "Guns of the Magnificent Seven."
For television, he directed movies and mini-series such as "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" in 1975, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, and "A Woman Called Moses" in 1978 with Cicely Tyson. He was nominated for an Emmy for "The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story" with Lindsay Wagner in 1988.
Wendkos was born Sept. 20, 1925 (1922?), in Philadelphia and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He attended Columbia University in New York and later studied film history and aesthetics at the New School for Social Research.
Wendkos' first film was the documentary "Dark Interlude" that looked at rehabilitating the blind, and his first narrative movie was the 1957 drama "The Burglar," starring Jayne Mansfield, who was little known at the time.
THE BURGLAR featured Professional burglar Nat Harbin (Dan Duryea) and his two associates, Baylock (Peter Capell) and Dohmer (Mickey Shaughnessy), set their sights on wealthy spiritualist Sister Sarah (Phoebe Mackay), who has inherited a fortune -- including a renowned emerald necklace -- from a Philadelphia financier. Using Nat's female ward, Gladden (Jayne Mansfield), to pose as an admirer and case the mansion where the woman lives, they set up what looks like a perfect break-in; even when Nat's car is spotted by a couple of cops, he bluffs his way through, gets the necklace, and makes the getaway. But the trio -- plus Gladden -- can't agree on how to dispose of the necklace, and soon their bickering becomes a lot less important than the fact that someone is on to what they've done -- a woman (Martha Vickers) is working on Nat, while a man (Stewart Bradley) is working on Gladden. Equally serious, the trio kills a New Jersey state trooper while on their way to warn her. And among the cops chasing them is one with larceny in his heart and murder on his mind.
Paul Wendkos, 84, a director whose more than 100 film and television credits included the 1959 movie "Gidget" and its two sequels, died Thursday at his home in Malibu of a lung infection that followed a stroke, family representative C. Christie Craig said.
"Gidget," starring Sandra Dee, was followed by "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" in 1961 and "Gidget Goes to Rome" in 1963. Wendkos' other films included 1969's "Guns of the Magnificent Seven."
For television, he directed movies and mini-series such as "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" in 1975, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, and "A Woman Called Moses" in 1978 with Cicely Tyson. He was nominated for an Emmy for "The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story" with Lindsay Wagner in 1988.
Wendkos was born Sept. 20, 1925 (1922?), in Philadelphia and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He attended Columbia University in New York and later studied film history and aesthetics at the New School for Social Research.
Wendkos' first film was the documentary "Dark Interlude" that looked at rehabilitating the blind, and his first narrative movie was the 1957 drama "The Burglar," starring Jayne Mansfield, who was little known at the time.
THE BURGLAR featured Professional burglar Nat Harbin (Dan Duryea) and his two associates, Baylock (Peter Capell) and Dohmer (Mickey Shaughnessy), set their sights on wealthy spiritualist Sister Sarah (Phoebe Mackay), who has inherited a fortune -- including a renowned emerald necklace -- from a Philadelphia financier. Using Nat's female ward, Gladden (Jayne Mansfield), to pose as an admirer and case the mansion where the woman lives, they set up what looks like a perfect break-in; even when Nat's car is spotted by a couple of cops, he bluffs his way through, gets the necklace, and makes the getaway. But the trio -- plus Gladden -- can't agree on how to dispose of the necklace, and soon their bickering becomes a lot less important than the fact that someone is on to what they've done -- a woman (Martha Vickers) is working on Nat, while a man (Stewart Bradley) is working on Gladden. Equally serious, the trio kills a New Jersey state trooper while on their way to warn her. And among the cops chasing them is one with larceny in his heart and murder on his mind.
'Gidget' director Paul Wendkos dies
ReutersDirector Paul Wendkos, whose career spanned 50 years and covered some 100 films and television shows including the 1959 surf movie "Gidget," has died due to a lung infection that followed a stroke. He was 84.
Family representative C. Christie Craig said Wendkos died on Thursday in Malibu, California.
Despite the comedic tone of "Gidget," about a girl played by Sandra Dee who falls for a surfer under the California sun, and later "Gidget Goes Hawaiian," Wendkos' work more often focused on dark and edgy subjects.
His other films included 1969's "Guns of the Magnificent Seven," and on television, he helmed movies and mini-series such as "The Legend of Lizzie Borden," starring Elizabeth Montgomery, and "A Woman Called Moses" with Cicely Tyson.
Wendkos was born on September 20, 1925 in Philadelphia and served in the U.S. Navy during World War Two. He attended Columbia University in New York and later studied film history and aesthetics at The New School for Social Research.
Wendkos' first movie was the documentary "Dark Interlude" that looked at rehabilitating the blind, and his first narrative movie was the 1957 drama "The Burglar," starring Jayne Mansfield, who was a little known actress at the time.
Shot on the streets of Philadelphia and New York, "Burglar" captured the attention of Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohen, and the legendary studio boss brought Wendkos to Hollywood.
Wendkos married Ruth Burnat in 1953, and the couple had one son, Jordan Elkan Wendkos. Ruth died in 1978. Wendkos's second marriage was to former NBC television producer Lin Bolen. He is survived by Bolen, his son Jordan, a granddaughter, niece and nephews.
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