Gene Reynolds

At 96 years old, Gene Reynolds has this physical status:

Gene Reynolds (born Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal, April 4, 1923) is an American actor, television writer, director, and producer.

He was one of the producers of the TV series M*A*S*H.

Early life

Reynolds was born on April 4, 1923, to Frank Eugene Blumenthal, a businessman and entrepreneur, and Maude Evelyn (Schwab) Blumenthal, a model, in Cleveland, Ohio. Reynolds initially was raised in Detroit, before the family relocated to Los Angeles in 1934.

Reynolds served in the United States Navy during World War II. He served on ships including a destroyer-minesweeper the USS Zane. Following the war, Reynolds received a degree in history at the University of California, Los Angeles, and picked up his acting career.

Personal life

Reynolds was married to actress-turned-author Bonnie Jones, who appeared in five episodes of M*A*S*H as Lt. Barbara Bannerman, from 1972 until 1975, when the couple divorced. He and his second wife, actress Ann Sweeny, who also appeared on M*A*S*H as Nurse Carrie Donovan in the episode "Hanky Panky", married in 1979 and have one son.

Reynolds died at the age of 96 of heart failure on February 3, 2020, at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California.

Source

Career

Reynolds made his screen debut in the 1934 Our Gang short film Washee. They Shall Have Music (1938), Our Town (1940), and The Country Girl (1941) and The Country Girl (1940), as well as several television programs including I Love Lucy, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Whirlybirds, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame (1940). He was employed by MGM between 1937 and 1940.

Reynolds often played the young version of the film's main character as a child actor. In 1937, Rodney Cortez of The Californian, Tyrone Power in In Old Chicago (1938), James Stewart in 1936's Of Human Hearts and Don Ameche in Sins of Man (1936).

Reynolds became frustrated with his inability to land leading roles and general development of his career, and turned to shooting episodes of shows such as Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, and My Three Sons following his return to acting after being in World War II.

Reynolds, Frank Gruber and James Brooks, joined forces with Frank Gruber and James Brooks in 1957 to produce Tales of Wells Fargo for NBC. During the program's five-year tenure, he wrote and directed numerous episodes.

Many episodes of The Farmer's Daughter, F Troop, Hogan's Heroes, and Many Happy Returns are among Reynolds' additional film credits. He was the Executive Producer of Room 222, ABC's first comedy-drama about an African American school teacher, and it was about drugs, misogyny, and dropping out of school. Reynolds produced over 100 episodes, some of which were edited. When it was expected that making the show funnier would result in higher ratings, ABC dropped Reynolds from the program.

Reynolds, a writer, director, and producer, appeared on two hit CBS series in the 1970s and 1980s. He produced 120 episodes of M*A*S*H, which he co-created with Larry Gelbart and for which he also wrote 11 episodes and directed 24 others between 1972 and 1983. During the same time, Lou Grant wrote (or co-wrote) five episodes and directed 11.

Reynolds has been nominated for twenty-four Emmy Awards and has won six times, including Outstanding Comedy Series for M*A*S*H and Outstanding Drama Series twice, which also earned him a Humanitas Award. He twice received the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Direction of a Comedy Series for his appearance on M*A*S*H and the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Direction of a Drama Series, as well as Lou Grant's work on Lou Grant.

Reynolds was elected President of the Directors Guild of America in 1993, a post he held until 1997.

Source