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Bruce Bilson (born May 19, 1928) is an American film director and television director. He is most notable for his work as a regular director on the spy spoof Get Smart. He won the 1967–1968 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the third season Get Smart episode "Maxwell Smart, Private Eye".

Life and career

Bilson was born in Brooklyn to Jewish parents. His mother, Hattie Bilson (née Dratwa; 1907–2004), was an American screenwriter, and his father, George Bilson (1902–1981), was a British producer/writer/director of Ashkenazi Jewish descent who was born in Leeds, England. His brother, Malcolm is a fortepianist and professor of piano at Cornell University.

Bilson graduated from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 1950.

Family

Bilson married Mona Weichman on August 31, 1955; they divorced in 1976. They had two children, Danny Bilson (born 1956), a film and video game writer/producer and father of actress Rachel Bilson, and Julie Ahlberg, a film producer.

Bilson married Renne Jarrett in 1981.

Filmography

Film

• Pate Katelin en Buenos Aires (1969)
• The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped (1974)
• The Wackiest Wagon Train in the West (1976)
• The North Avenue Irregulars (1979)
• Chattanooga Choo Choo (1984)

Television

References

1. Bruce Bilson Biography, filmreference.com; accessed May 23, 2017.
2. "DONOR HONOR ROLL 2017". UCLA School of TFT. August 11, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
3. Leszczak, Bob (August 23, 2014). The Odd Couple on Stage and Screen: A History with Cast and Crew Profiles and an Episode Guide. McFarland. ISBN 9781476615394.
4. "Julie Ahlberg". IMDb. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
5. "Two Chairs No Waiting 363: Neal Brower Interviews Bruce Bilson 2011 (Part 4)". imayberry.com. February 3, 2016.

External links

• Bruce Bilson at IMDb
• Bruce Bilson at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
• Bruce Bilson at People.com

• 1928 births
• American television directors
• Television producers from New York City
• American male television writers
• Jewish American screenwriters
• Living people
• Film directors from New York City
• Screenwriters from New York (state)
• UCLA Film School alumni
• 21st-century American Jews
• American Ashkenazi Jews