Don Weis; Film, Television Director

Don Weis, 78, film and television director who gained a following abroad for his handling of musical comedies like “The Affairs of Dobie Gillis.” Weis, a Milwaukee native, came west to study cinema at USC. He got his start in the movie business as a messenger at Warner Bros. He made training films for the Air Force during World War II, then became a freelance script supervisor in Hollywood after the war. In the early 1950s, he was given a chance to direct by Dore Schary, then head of production at MGM. According to Ephraim Katz, author of “The Film Encyclopedia,” Weis developed a following among some European film cultists for his “stylish handling of simple-minded films,” including “I Love Melvin,” “The Affairs of Dobie Gillis” and “The Adventures of Haji Baba,” all produced during the 1950s. He was a prolific director in television, with credits from episodes of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” in 1955 to “Remington Steele,” “MacGyver” and “Crazy Like a Fox” in the 1980s. On July 26 in Santa Fe, N.M.