Steven Hilliard Stern obit

Steven Hilliard Stern, Director of ‘The Devil and Max Devlin,’ Dies at 80

Steven Hilliard Stern, a writer, director and producer, whose work included the Elliott Gould Bill Cosby comedy 'The Devil and Max Devlin' and the telefilm 'Miracle on Ice,' has died. He was 80.

 

 He was not on the list.

Steven Hilliard Stern, a writer, director and producer, whose work included the Elliott Gould-Bill Cosby comedy The Devil and Max Devlin, died Wednesday in Encino, his daughter Melanie Stern announced. He was 80.

Stern helmed episodes of shows like Serpico, McCloud, Quincy M.E. and Hawaii Five-O, and directed more than three dozen telefilms, including Miracle on Ice, about the 1980 gold-winning U.S. hockey team, and 1983’s Still the Beaver, which reunited the cast of the sitcom Leave It to Beaver.

Stern also wrote and directed Running (1979), a drama starring Michael Douglas and Susan Anspach (she co-starred in The Devil and Max Devlin, which he produced, as well), and helmed Morning Glory (1993), featuring Christopher Reeve and Deborah Raffin.

A native of Timmins, Ontario, Stern graduated from Ryerson University in Toronto and began his career in advertising, writing and directing radio and TV commercials.

He relocated to Los Angeles in the 1960s and contributed material for the famed ABC variety show, The Hollywood Palace, where he collaborated with the likes of Steve Allen, Milton Berle, Bing Crosby and Liza Minnelli.

In 1967, Stern signed with MGM and wrote and directed the romantic comedy B.S. I Love You (1971). He went on to direct the sequel Harrad Summer (1974) and the comedy I Wonder Who’s Killing Her Now? (1975), starring Bob Dishy and Bill Dana.

 

Survivors also include his wife, Maggie.

Filmography

    1971: B.S. I Love You

    1972: Lo B'Yom V'Lo B'Layla

    1974: Harrad Summer

        a.k.a. Love All Summer (USA: video title)

        a.k.a. Student Union

    1975: I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?

        a.k.a. Kill My Wife Please

    1977: Escape from Bogen County

    1978: The Ghost of Flight 401

    1978: Doctors' Private Lives

    1978: Getting Married

    1979: Fast Friends

    1979: Anatomy of a Seduction

    1979: Young Love, First Love

    1979: Running

        a.k.a. Le vainqueur (Canada: French title)

    1980: Portrait of an Escort

        a.k.a. Professional Date (USA)

    1981: Miracle on Ice

    1981: The Devil and Max Devlin

    1981: A Small Killing

    1982: The Ambush Murders

    1982: Portrait of a Showgirl

    1982: Not Just Another Affair

        a.k.a. Perfect Affair

    1982: Forbidden Love

    1982: Mazes and Monsters

        a.k.a. Dungeons and Dragons (USA: video box title)

        a.k.a. Rona Jaffe's Mazes and Monsters

    1983: Baby Sister

    1983: Still the Beaver

    1983: An Uncommon Love

    1984: Draw!

    1984: Getting Physical

    1984: Obsessive Love

    1985: The Undergrads (as Steven H. Stern)

    1985: Murder in Space

    1985: Hostage Flight

    1986: The Park Is Mine

    1986: Young Again

    1986: Many Happy Returns

    1987: Not Quite Human (as Steven H. Stern)

    1987: Rolling Vengeance

    1988: Man Against the Mob

        a.k.a. Trouble in the City of Angels (USA: video title)

    1988: Weekend War

    1988: Crossing the Mob

    1989: Final Notice (as Steven H. Stern)

    1990: Personals

    1991: Money

    1991: Love & Murder

    1992: The Women of Windsor

    1993: Morning Glory

    1994: To Save the Children (as Steven Stern)

    1995: Black Fox (as Steven H. Stern)

    1995: Black Fox: The Price of Peace (as Steven H. Stern)

    1995: The Silence of Adultery

        a.k.a. as Laisse parler ton coeur (Canada: French title)

    1995: Black Fox: Good Men and Bad (as Steven H. Stern)

    1997: Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story

    1998: City Dump: The Story of the 1951 CCNY Basketball Scandal (as Steve Stern, co-directed with George Roy)

    2002: :03 from Gold (uncredited)

 

Television series

 

    1976: Serpico (unknown number of episodes)

    1976: Bonnie and McCloud (TV episode)

    1976: McCloud (1 episode)

    1976: Who's Who in Neverland

    1976-1977: Quincy M.E. (2 episodes)

        a.k.a. "Quincy" (International: English informal title)

    1977: Dog and Cat (unknown number of episodes)

    1977: Has Anybody Here Seen Quincy? (TV episode)

    1977: Wipe-Out (TV episode)

    1977: The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries (1 episode)

        a.k.a. The Nancy Drew Mysteries (USA: short title)

    1977: Half LIfe (1 episode)

    1977: Logan's Run (1 episode)

    1977: Deep Cover (TV episode)

    1977: Hawaii Five-O (1 episode)

        a.k.a. McGarrett (USA: rerun title)

    1981: Jessica Novak (1 episode)

    1981: Closeup News (TV episode)

    1998: Voices (TV episode)

    1998: The Crow: Stairway to Heaven (1 episode)

    1999: The Dream Team

 

Awards and nominations

In 1980, he was nominated for a Genie Award for "Best Original Screenplay" for Running