Harry Falk obit

Harry Falk, TV Director and First Husband of Patty Duke, Dies at 83

He met the actress on her 1960s sitcom and went on to helm such shows as 'Get Smart,' 'The Partridge Family' and 'The Colbys.'

 

He was not on the list.

Harry Falk, an Emmy-nominated director who helmed dozens of television shows and miniseries and was the first husband of the late actress Patty Duke, has died. He was 83.

Falk died April 29 in Santa Monica, his family recently announced.

Falk, then a 32-year-old assistant director on The Patty Duke Show, married the 18-year-old star of the popular ABC sitcom in 1965. But with Duke struggling with alcoholism and her then-undiagnosed bipolar disorder, they split after two years and divorced soon afterward.

A native of Brooklyn and the son of a former New York City cop-turned-gaffer, Falk began his show business career as a prop master, then served as an assistant director on TV commercials, on such series as The Defenders and on the Sidney Lumet film Fail-Safe (1964).

His first solo directing opportunity came in 1966 on Duke’s show, and he later worked on such series as The Doris Day Show; The Courtship of Eddie’s Father; Get Smart; The Flying Nun; The Partridge Family; Love, American Style; The Rookies; Magnum, P.I.; Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law; McMillan & Wife; The Rockford Files; and The Colbys.

Falk received his Emmy nom (as well as one from the DGA) for his work on a 1974 episode of The Streets of San Francisco. He also received an NAACP award for his 1981 telefilm The Sophisticated Gents and directed three episodes of the 1978-79, 12-part miniseries Centennial.

Survivors include Candace, his wife of 27 years; daughter Sena; nephews Kerac, Rick and Frank; and niece Linda.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. on July 16 at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary in Los Angeles.

Director (68 credits)

 1990 Christine Cromwell (TV Series) (1 episode)

- In Vino Veritas (1990)

 1989 High Desert Kill (TV Movie)

 1989 The Magical World of Disney (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Davy Crockett: A Letter to Polly (1989)

 1989 A Man Called Hawk (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Life After Death (1989)

- Poison (1989)

 1987-1988 Hotel (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- Power Play (1988)

- Desperate Moves (1987)

- And Baby Makes Two (1987)

- Hail and Farewell (1987)

 1987-1988 Dynasty (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Images (1988)

- The Setup (1987)

 1985-1987 The Colbys (TV Series) (15 episodes)

- Betrayals (1987)

- Return Engagement (1987)

- Fallon's Baby (1987)

- Power Plays (1987)

- Bid for Freedom (1986)

1985 North Beach and Rawhide (TV Movie)

 1985 Scene of the Crime (TV Series) (1 episode)

- A Vote for Murder/The Medium is the Murder (1985)

 1982-1984 T.J. Hooker (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Model for Murder (1984)

- God Bless the Child (1982)

 1984 Partners in Crime (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Pilot (1984)

 1983-1984 The Yellow Rose (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- Sacred Ground (1984)

- Sport of Kings (1984)

- Only the Proud (1983)

 1983 Magnum, P.I. (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Look (1983)

- Squeeze Play (1983)

 1983 Emerald Point N.A.S. (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Pilot: Part 2 (1983)

- Pilot: Part 1 (1983)

 1982 Hear No Evil (TV Movie)

 1981 Advice to the Lovelorn (TV Movie)

 1981 The Sophisticated Gents (TV Mini Series) (3 episodes)

- Episode #1.3 (1981)

- Episode #1.2 (1981)

- Episode #1.1 (1981)

 1981 The Wonderful World of Phillip Malley (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Pilot (1981)

 1980 The Night the City Screamed (TV Movie)

 1980 Beulah Land (TV Mini Series) (2 episodes)

- Part III (1980)

- Part II (1980)

 1980 The Contender (TV Mini Series) (1 episode)

- Pilot (1980)

 1979 Good Ol' Boys (TV Movie)

 1979 How the West Was Won (TV Series) (1 episode)

- L'Affaire Riel (1979)

 1979 Centennial (TV Mini Series) (3 episodes)

- The Winds of Fortune (1979)

- The Crime (1979)

- The Storm (1979)

 1979 Mandrake (TV Movie)

 1978 Vega$ (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Centerfold (1978)

 1978 The Rockford Files (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Competitive Edge (1978)

- The Gang at Don's Drive-In (1978)

 1977-1978 What Really Happened to the Class of '65? (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Class Athlete (1978)

- Everybody's Girl (1977)

 1977 Hunter (TV Series) (1 episode)

- U.F.M. 13 (1977)

 1977 Lou Grant (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Scoop (1977)

 1977 Rosetti and Ryan (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Ms. Bluebeard (1977)

 1977 Big Hawaii (TV Series)

 1974-1977 The Streets of San Francisco (TV Series) (11 episodes)

- The Canine Collar (1977)

- Breakup (1977)

- Interlude (1977)

- A Good Cop... But (1977)

- The Drop (1976)

1977 Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Devil Pack (1977)

 1977 The Andros Targets (TV Series)

 1976 Barnaby Jones (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Renegade's Child (1976)

 1976 Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Chapter VII (1976)

- Chapter V (1976)

 1976 Bert D'Angelo/Superstar (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Book of Fear (1976)

- The Brown Horse Connection (1976)

 1976 Jigsaw John (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Thicker Than Blood (1976)

- Promise to Kill (1976)

 1974-1975 McMillan & Wife (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- Aftershock (1975)

- Guilt by Association (1974)

- The Game of Survival (1974)

 1975 Harry O (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- The Acolyte (1975)

- One for the Road (1975)

 1975 S.W.A.T. (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- Hit Men (1975)

- Death Carrier (1975)

- The Killing Ground (1975)

 1975 Caribe (TV Series)

 1975 Cannon (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Killer on the Hill (1975)

 1975 The Abduction of Saint Anne (TV Movie)

 1973-1974 The Rookies (TV Series) (7 episodes)

- Death at 6 A.M. (1974)

- An Ugly Way to Die (1974)

- Cry Wolf (1973)

- Frozen Smoke (1973)

- Margin for Error (1973)

1971-1974 Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (TV Series) (8 episodes)

- The Desertion of Keith Ryder (1974)

- The Prowler (1973)

- Five Will Get You Six (1972)

- Words of Summer (1972)

- Shine a Light on Me (1972)

1974 Men of the Dragon (TV Movie)

 1974 Chopper One (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Pilot (1974)

 1974 The Death Squad (TV Movie)

 1973 Mod Squad (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Don't Kill My Child (1973)

 1973 Room 222 (TV Series) (1 episode)

- Rights of Others (1973)

 1972 McCloud (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Barefoot Stewardess Caper (1972)

 1972 Hawaii Five-O (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Jinn Who Clears the Way (1972)

 1972 Marcus Welby, M.D. (TV Series) (1 episode)

- A Fragile Possession (1972)

 1971 The Courtship of Eddie's Father (TV Series) (7 episodes)

- The Blarney Stone (1971)

- Thy Neighbor Loves Thee (1971)

- A Very Different Drummer (1971)

- Getting Back on the Horse (1971)

- The Magic Mrs. Rickles (1971)

1971 Alias Smith and Jones (TV Series) (1 episode)

- The Posse That Wouldn't Quit (1971)

 1970-1971 The Partridge Family (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- A Partridge by Any Other Name (1971)

- Mom Drops Out (1971)

- Star Quality (1970)

 1970 The Young Rebels (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- The Infiltrator (1970)

- Dangerous Ally (1970)

- To Hang a Hero (1970)

 1970 Love, American Style (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- Love and the Fly/Love and the Millionaires/Love and Double Trouble (1970) ... (segment "Love and Double Trouble")

- Love and Las Vegas/Love and the Good Samaritan/Love and the Marriage Counselor (1970) ... (segment "Love and Las Vegas")

- Love and the Coed Dorm/Love and the Optimist/Love and the Teacher (1970) ... (segment "Love and the Teacher")

- Love and the Nervous Executive/Love and the Hitchhiker/Love and the Great Catch (1970) ... (segments "Love and the Nervous Executive", "Love and the Hitchhiker")

 1969-1970 The Flying Nun (TV Series) (4 episodes)

- The Candid Commercial (1970)

- Bertrille and the Silent Flicks (1969)

- The Not So Great Impostor (1969)

- Guess Who's Coming to Picket (1969)

 1970 The Tim Conway Show (TV Series) (1 episode)

- All of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1970)

 1968-1969 Get Smart (TV Series) (2 episodes)

- Age Before Duty (1969)

- One Nation Invisible (1968)

 1969 Three's a Crowd (TV Movie)

 1968-1969 The Doris Day Show (TV Series) (5 episodes)

- The Chocolate Bar War (1969)

- The Gift (1969)

- The Baby Sitter (1969)

- Love Thy Neighbor (1969)

- The Relatives (1968)

 1967 Heroic Mission (TV Series)

 1966 That Girl (TV Series) (1 episode)

- What's in a Name? (1966)

 1966 The Patty Duke Show (TV Series) (3 episodes)

- Fiancee for a Day (1966) ... (as Harry Falk Jr.)

- Three Little Kittens (1966) ... (as Harry Falk Jr.)

- Don't Bank on It (1966) ... (as Harry Falk Jr.)