Gene Reynolds

For the Louisiana politician, see Gene Reynolds (politician).

Gene Reynolds
Reynolds in the film Gallant Sons
Born	Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal (1923-04-04)April 4, 1923 Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Died	February 3, 2020(2020-02-03) (aged 96) Burbank, California, USA
Occupations	Actor producer writer director
Years active	1934–1999
Spouse(s)	Bonnie Jones (1967–76; divorced) Ann Sweeny (1979–present; 1 son)
Awards	2 Primetime Emmy Awards 2 Directors Guild Awards Writers Guild of America Award

Gene Reynolds (born Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal, April 4, 1923 - February 3, 2020) was 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 and Maude Evelyn Blumenthal in Cleveland, Ohio. He was raised in Detroit, Michigan, where his father Frank was a businessman and entrepreneur. The family relocated to Los Angeles, California, in 1934.

Acting career

He made his screen debut in the 1934 Our Gang short Washee Ironee, and for the next three decades made numerous appearances in films such as In Old Chicago (1937), Captains Courageous (1937), Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), Boys Town (1938), They Shall Have Music (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), Adventure in Washington (1941), Eagle Squadron (1942) and The Country Girl (1954) and on television series like I Love Lucy, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Whirlybirds, and Hallmark Hall of Fame. He was contracted to MGM between 1937 and 1940. He was in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Behind the Scenes career

In 1957, Reynolds joined forces with Frank Gruber and James Brooks to create Tales of Wells Fargo for NBC. During the program's five-year run he wrote and directed numerous episodes. Additional directing credits include multiple episodes of Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, The Farmer's Daughter, My Three Sons, F Troop, Hogan's Heroes, Room 222, and Many Happy Returns.

As a writer, director, and producer, Reynolds was involved with two highly successful CBS series in the 1970s and early 1980s. Between 1972 and 1983, 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. During that same period, he produced 22 episodes of Lou Grant, for which he wrote (or co-wrote) five episodes and directed 11.

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

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

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 current wife, actress Ann Sweeny, who also appeared on M*A*S*H as Nurse Carrie Donovan in two episodes, married in 1979 and have one son, Andrew Reynolds.

Reynolds died on February 3, 2020 in Burbank, California.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1934	Babes in Toyland	Boy	Uncredited
1935	Transient Lady	Young boy	Uncredited
	The Calling of Dan Matthews	Tommy's friend	Uncredited
1936	Too Many Parents	Cadet	Uncredited
	Sins of Man	Karl Freyman as a boy
	Thank You, Jeeves!	Bobby Smith
1937	Captains Courageous	Boy in print shop	Uncredited
	The Californian	Ramon as a child
	Madame X	Raymond Fleuriot (age 12–14)	Uncredited
	Heidi	Minor Role	Uncredited
	Thunder Trail	Richard Ames (age 14)	Uncredited
1938	In Old Chicago	Dion O'Leary as a boy
	Of Human Hearts	Jason Wilkins as a child
	Love Finds Andy Hardy	Jimmy McMahon
	The Crowd Roars	Tommy McCoy as a boy
	Boys Town	Tony Ponessa
1939	The Spirit of Culver	Carruthers
	The Flying Irishman	Clyde 'Douglas' Corrigan
	They Shall Have Music	Frankie
	Bad Little Angel	Tommy Wilks
1940	The Blue Bird	Studious boy
	Edison, the Man	Jimmy Price
	The Mortal Storm	Rudi Roth
	Gallant Sons	Johnny Davis
	Santa Fe Trail	Jason Brown
1941	Andy Hardy's Private Secretary	Jimmy McMahon
	The Penalty	Roosty
	Adventure in Washington	Marty Driscoll
1942	Junior G-Men of the Air	Eddie Holden
	The Tuttles of Tahiti	Ru
	Eagle Squadron	The kid
1948	Jungle Patrol	Lt. Marion Minor
1949	The Big Cat	Wid Hawks
	Slattery's Hurricane	Control tower operator	Uncredited
1953	99 River Street	Chuck
1954	Prisoner of War	Capt. Richard Collingswood	Uncredited
	Down Three Dark Streets	Vince Angelino
	The Country Girl	Larry
	The Bridges at Toko-Ri	C.I.C. officer
1955	The McConnell Story	B-17 pilot	Uncredited
1956	Diane	Montecuculli
	The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit	Soldier	Uncredited

Bibliography

• Goldrup, Tom and Jim (2002). Growing Up on the Set: Interviews with 39 Former Child Actors of Film and Television. McFarland & Co. pp. 242–250. ISBN 1476613702.
• Holmstrom, John (1996). The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich: Michael Russell, p. 116.

External links

• Gene Reynolds at IMDb
• Gene Reynolds at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television