Bilson’s body of work includes ‘Hogan’s Heroes,’ ‘Barney Miller,’ and ‘The Odd Couple.’
Bruce Bilson, an Emmy-winning television director whose work shaped some of America’s most enduring network series, has died. He was 97.
Bilson died peacefully Friday at his home in Los Angeles, his daughter, producer Julie Bilson Ahlberg, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. No cause of death was disclosed.
Across a career that spanned more than five decades, Bilson directed or assisted on hundreds of television productions, becoming a steady presence during television’s most prolific era. His résumé included major comedies and dramas such as “Get Smart,” “Hogan’s Heroes,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Barney Miller,” “The Odd Couple,” “The Doris Day Show,” “The Fall Guy,” “Hotel,” and “Dynasty,” among dozens of others.
Bilson won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1968 for directing the “Get Smart” episode “Maxwell Smart, Private Eye,” which aired during the series’ third season.
In a 2008 interview for the Television Academy Foundation’s “The Interviews” series, Bilson described how his career evolved without a rigid plan, shaped instead by persistence and opportunity.
“I didn’t know, it all just evolved,” he said, recalling his early years in the industry. “I basically grew up during the Depression, and so to have a job was a big deal. That’s what I was gunning for, to be in the business, to have a job.”
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Bruce Leonard Bilson was born in Brooklyn on May 19, 1928. His family relocated to Los Angeles during his early childhood. His father worked in studio publicity and production, while his mother later became a writer, exposing Bilson to Hollywood at a young age.
Bilson began working as a film extra as a teenager and later studied at UCLA, where he took courses in theater, editing, and camerawork. After graduating, he served a two-year stint in the U.S. Air Force before returning to Los Angeles and finding steady work in television production.
He later joined Desilu Productions, where he worked on shows including “I Love Lucy,” “Make Room for Daddy,” and “The Danny Thomas Show.”
He also served as first assistant director on dozens of episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show,” recalling that he gave the cue to roll cameras during the series’ now-iconic opening sequence.
“I always tell people when they were whistling and about to throw that rock in the lake, I’m the one who said, ‘Roll it,’” he noted.
Bilson continued directing into the 1990s, including projects connected to his son, screenwriter Danny Bilson. His family represents four generations in entertainment, including his granddaughter Rachel Bilson, known for her role in “The O.C.”
He is survived by his wife, actress Renne Jarrett; his children, Danny Bilson and Julie Bilson Ahlberg; and multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
