Douglas Benton; Producer of Several Detective Series
Douglas Benton, television producer for such series as “Magnum, P.I.,†“Police Woman†and “Hec Ramsey,†has died. He was 75.
Benton, who was also a writer and director, died Thursday of cancer in his home in Tarzana, said his son, Daniel.
Born in Hollis, Okla., and raised in west Texas, Benton segued into entertainment from the business world. After serving in the Army Air Forces toward the end of World War II and earning journalism degrees from the University of New Mexico and Northwestern University, Benton went to work for General Electric Co.’s corporate communications department.
When the company developed the “General Electric Theater†in 1953, Benton was assigned to edit stories and write commercials for the weekly television program.
Adapting quickly to Hollywood, he moved to Universal, MGM and other studios in the early 1960s to write and produce television series. One of his first writing assignments was for the popular “Dr. Kildare,†starring Richard Chamberlain, from 1961 to 1966.
Benton utilized expertise for whatever field he was writing about--medical or detective shows, Westerns or documentaries--and worked to show all sides of a profession or business.
“I did ‘Dr. Kildare’ for a long time and we were grateful for the help of the medical fraternity, although we were critical of it,†he once told Industry Week. “Even though we had that paragon of virtue, Dr. Kildare, we didn’t indicate that all doctors and nurses were gods and goddesses.â€
Benton was writer, director and producer for the 1972-74 series “Hec Ramsey,†starring Richard Boone as a grizzled gunfighter intrigued with new methods of criminology. The series alternated with three other shows, including “Columbo†with Peter Falk, for which Benton earned an Emmy as producer.
He produced and directed episodes of “Police Woman,†starring Angie Dickinson and Earl Holliman, from 1974 to 1978, and was a supervising producer in Hollywood for Tom Selleck’s “Magnum, P.I.†in the early 1980s.
Benton added more 1980s producing credits for such series as Angela Lansbury’s “Murder, She Wrote,†“Code Name: Foxfire†and “Blacke’s Magic.â€
Over the years, Benton also produced several movies for television. Among them were “A Howling in the Woods†with Vera Miles and Larry Hagman in 1971; “The Snoop Sisters†in 1972; “A Last Cry for Help†with Shirley Jones and Linda Purl and “Undercover with the Ku Klux Klan†with Don Meredith, both in 1979; “Skag†with Karl Malden in 1980; and “MADD: Mothers Against Drunk Driving†with Mariette Hartley in 1983.
Survivors include Benton’s wife of 50 years, singer Jacqueline McCarty; four children, Daniel, Karen, Diana and Laurel; and five grandchildren.
The family, which planned private services, asked that memorial donations be sent to cancer or hospice care organizations of the donor’s choice.
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