| Bruce Geller | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bruce Israel Geller October 13, 1930 New York City, New York |
| Died | May 21, 1978 (aged 47) Santa Barbara County, California |
Bruce Israel Geller (October 13, 1930 – May 21, 1978) was an American composer, screenwriter, and television producer.
Born in New York City, New York, Geller graduated from Yale University. He pursued a career writing scripts for shows on the DuMont Television Network including Jimmy Hughes, Rookie Cop (1953) and others. He also wrote lyrics for musical theatre productions including Livin' the Life (1957) and All in Love (1961) but his efforts met with only modest success. Geller left New York for Hollywood, where he was employed writing scripts for episodes of several television series, including Zane Grey Theater, Have Gun, Will Travel, and The Rifleman. He also worked as the co-executive producer of the Rawhide series for the 1964-1965 television season.
In 1966, Geller wrote, created, and produced the television series Mission: Impossible, the accomplishment for which he is best remembered. The show ran on CBS from 1966 to 1973 and earned him an Emmy Award in 1966 as the show's producer plus another for "Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama." During the first season, a photograph of Geller was included in the dossier of Impossible Missions Force agents that IMF leaders Dan Briggs and Jim Phelps perused each week and was often visible on screen (such as in the episodes "Memory" and "Operation Rogosh"). The series was revived in 1988 and aired until 1990 on ABC.
Geller also wrote and produced for the popular Mannix series which was twice nominated for an Emmy Award. In 1973 he made his one and only venture into feature films, directing and producing Harry in Your Pocket starring James Coburn and Walter Pidgeon.
A flying enthusiast, Bruce Geller died when the Cessna 337D Skymaster he was piloting ran into difficulty in foggy conditions and crashed into Buena Vista Canyon near Santa Barbara, California. He is interred in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.