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Hugh Hamilton Wilson Jr. (August 21, 1943 – January 14, 2018) was an American film director, writer and television showrunner. He was the creator of the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati and Frank's Place, and was the director of the film comedies Police Academy and The First Wives Club.

Background

Wilson was born in Miami, Florida. He attended Coral Way Elementary, Ponce de Leon Jr. High, and Coral Gables Sr. High, where he was a member of the Ching Tang Fraternity. He entered the University of Florida in 1961 and graduated in 1964 with a degree in journalism. At Florida, he was a member of the Blue Key Honor Society and president of his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta. Wilson received the school's Distinguished Alumnus award in 1982. He has also served as a guest professor of media studies at the University of Virginia.

Career

In 1966, he entered the advertising business in Atlanta at the Burton-Campbell Agency. He was a copywriter before becoming creative director in 1970 and president in 1973. Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses, producers of the Bob Newhart Show, were instrumental in getting Wilson a position with MTM Enterprises in 1975. They, along with Grant Tinker, gave him his first writing assignment for the Bob Newhart Show in early 1976 and in 1977 made him a co-producer of the Tony Randall Show. In 1978, Wilson created WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982) for CBS. Two of his WKRP scripts won Humanitas Prizes and the show was nominated twice for the Emmy in the Best Comedy category. The character of Bailey Quarters on WKRP was based on Wilson's wife.

Wilson attempted to break into movies by re-writing a low-budget comedy on the condition that he could direct it. The result was the first Police Academy for the Ladd Company (Warners) and producer Paul Maslansky. It was a surprise hit of 1984. In 1985, Wilson shot the singing cowboy comedy Rustlers' Rhapsody, starring Tom Berenger and Sela Ward. The movie was filmed in Spain. "I grew up watching Roy and Gene and Hopalong Cassidy," Wilson said in the production notes. "That was my idea of a movie." The movie failed at the box office but has gained a strong cult following over the years. The same year, he created the short-lived television series Easy Street starring Loni Anderson.

In 1988, Wilson returned to CBS to create and co-produce with Tim Reid the highly regarded but short-lived (22 episodes) Frank's Place. Along with The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (created by Jay Tarses) the two shows were the first to be done in the style that has come to be known as "dramedy." Wilson received three Emmy nominations for Frank's Place and won the Emmy for Best Writing. Wilson also created the CBS show The Famous Teddy Z (1989) and directed the movies Guarding Tess (1994) and Blast from the Past (1999).

His biggest film hit after Police Academy came in 1996 with The First Wives Club. The film became a surprise box-office success following its North American release, eventually grossing $181,490,000 worldwide, mostly from its domestic run, despite receiving mixed reviews, and developed a cult following particularly among middle-aged women. For its stars, including Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton, the actresses' highest-grossing project of the decade helped revitalize their careers in film and television.

In 2003, Wilson and John Grisham teamed up to make Mickey, an independent movie about little league baseball.

Personal life and death

Wilson married Charters Smith in 1979, with whom he had five children. Daughter Caroline Charters Wilson is an actress and singer. Wilson moved to Virginia in 1992 and sometimes taught screenwriting at the University of Virginia. Wilson was a Roman Catholic.

Wilson died on January 14, 2018, in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the age of 74 of lung cancer and emphysema.

Filmography

Film

Acting roles

Television

TV movies

Acting roles

References

1. "Hugh Wilson Biography (1943-)". Filmreference.com. August 8, 1943 – January 14, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
2. "Hugh Wilson 1943 - 2018 - Obituary". www.legacy.com. Retrieved Sep 2, 2020.
3. "Hugh Wilson, comic director of 'Police Academy' and TV's 'WKRP,' dies at 74 - The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
4. Kassel, Michael B. (June 15, 1993). America's Favorite Radio Station: WKRP in Cincinnati. Popular Press. ISBN 9780879725846. Retrieved Sep 2, 2020 – via Google Books.
5. "Hugh Wilson Dead: 'WKRP in Cincinnati' creator dies at 74". EW. January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
6. "'WKRP in Cincinnati' creator Hugh Wilson dies at 74". Variety. January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
7. "Police Academy director dies aged 74". BBC News. 1 October 2018.

External links

• Hugh Wilson at IMDb
• Hugh Wilson at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television

• 1943 births
• 2018 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• 20th-century American male writers
• 20th-century American screenwriters
• 21st-century American male actors
• American male screenwriters
• American television directors
• American television producers
• American male television writers
• American comedy film directors
• Deaths from emphysema
• Deaths from lung cancer in Virginia
• Film directors from Florida
• Male actors from Miami
• Primetime Emmy Award winners
• Screenwriters from Florida
• University of Florida alumni
• University of Virginia faculty
• Writers from Miami
• Phi Delta Theta members