Earl Bellamy
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| Earl Bellamy | |
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| Born | Earl Davis Bellamy March 11, 1917 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. |
| Died | November 30, 2003 (aged 86) Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. |
| Years active | 1953—1991 |
| Spouse(s) | Gail Bellamy (3 children) |
Earl Bellamy (March 11, 1917 – November 30, 2003) was an American film and television director, and producer.
[edit] Biography
Bellamy was born Earl Davis Bellamy in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father is Richard James Bellamy. Earl had Scots – Irish ancestry.[citation needed] He had moved to Hollywood, California in 1920 with his parents, his father was an railroad engineer. After graduating from Hollywood High School in 1935, Bellamy received a degree from Los Angeles City College and took a job as a messenger for Columbia Studios. Within four years, Bellamy had worked his way up to second assistant director before taking time off to serve in the U.S. Navy's photographic unit during World War II.
When Bellamy returned to Hollywood, he became a well-respected director who was particularly adept at westerns. Although he directed nearly two dozen feature films, Bellamy was best known for his work on The Lone Ranger, Rawhide, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin and The Virginian.
Family fare was his forte in the 50s; he directed shows like Lassie, Leave It to Beaver and The Donna Reed Show. In the 60s, he focused on comedic sitcoms like The Munsters and McHale's Navy. Medical dramas, like M*A*S*H, Marcus Welby, M.D. and Trapper John M.D., kept him busy in the 70s. In the 1966-1967 season, he directed ABC's The Monroes starring Michael Anderson, Jr., and Barbara Hershey as orphans trying to hold together a family of siblings in the Wyoming wilderness. Before retiring in 1986, Bellamy directed the science fiction miniseries, V.
In 2002, the Motion Picture and Television Fund gave him the prestigious Golden Boot Award.
Bellamy married Gail Bellamy in 1977, and together they had 3 children: his sons, Earl J. and Michael Bellamy, and his daughter, Karen Bellamy.
Bellamy died on November 30, 2003, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bellamy was aged 86 at the time of his death. It is said that he died of an myocardial infarction (heart attack). His burial is unknown.
