Paul Playdon obit

Writer and Actor Paul Playdon Has Died 

He was not on the list.

Paul Playdon (1943-2023), when he was a child actor, in a memorable episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1957, The Glass Eye with Jessica Tandy.

Paul Playdon, who began his show business career as a child actor, then transitioned to being a television writer-producer, has died at 80.

His death was reported on Facebook by a friend, Danny Biderman in a detailed post. Biederman has an extensive collection of props from various examples of spy entertainment.

Playdon, born in the U.K., had been a child actor appearing in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, in the 1957 episode The Glass Eye. Other performers in the episode included Jessica Tandy and William Shatner.

Playdon moved to being a writer-producer. His work covered a number of television series, including Hawaii Five-O, Cannon, The Wild Wild West and The Magician.

Perhaps his biggest television impact was on the original Mission: Impossible series. He was brought on as story editor after ace M:I writer-producers William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter exited the show after a dispute with creator-executive producer Bruce Geller.

Playdon, with his story editor hat, had to revise scripts. His M:I input as writer also included a two-part story as well as the show’s only three-part story. Bits of both adventures showed up in the 2011 Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol movie.

Paul Playdon was born on January 14, 1943 in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, UK. He was a writer and producer, known for Mission: Impossible (1966), Banacek (1972) and The Magician (1973). He died on May 12, 2023 in Silicon Beach, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Started his show business career as a child actor.

Writer

Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox in CHiPs (1977)

CHiPs

6.5

TV Series

developed for television by

written by

1977–1983

139 episodes

 

Kam Fong, Al Harrington, Jack Lord, and James MacArthur in Hawaii Five-O (1968)

Hawaii Five-O

7.4

TV Series

story

teleplay

written by

1970–1979

3 episodes

 

Noah Hathaway, Lorne Greene, Dirk Benedict, Richard Hatch, and Laurette Spang in Battlestar Galactica (1978)

Battlestar Galactica

7.2

TV Series

written by

1978

1 episode

 

Paul Shenar in The Mask of Alexander Cross (1977)

The Mask of Alexander Cross

5.5

TV Movie

story by

teleplay by

1977

 

Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner in Switch (1975)

Switch

7.1

TV Series

story

teleplay

writer

1975

3 episodes

 

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

8.4

TV Series

written by

1974

1 episode

 

Bill Bixby in The Magician (1973)

The Magician

7.5

TV Series

written by

teleplay

1974

3 episodes

 

Beg, Borrow ... or Steal (1973)

Beg, Borrow ... or Steal

6.7

TV Movie

screenplay

story

1973

 

George Peppard in Banacek (1972)

Banacek

7.7

TV Series

written by

1973

1 episode

 

Visions... (1972)

Visions...

6.9

TV Movie

Writer

1972

 

Cannon (1971)

Cannon

6.8

TV Series

teleplay

written by

1971–1972

4 episodes

 

Barbara Bain, Martin Landau, Peter Graves, Peter Lupus, and Greg Morris in Mission: Impossible (1966)

Mission: Impossible

7.9

TV Series

story

written by

teleplay

1968–1971

14 episodes

 

Escape (1971)

Escape

6.1

TV Movie

written by

1971

 

Paris 7000 (1970)

Paris 7000

7.3

TV Series

Writer

1970

 

Robert Conrad and Ross Martin in The Wild Wild West (1965)

The Wild Wild West

8.1

TV Series

story

writer

1968–1969

3 episodes

 

Lancer (1968)

Lancer

7.1

TV Series

story

teleplay

writer

1968

2 episodes

 

Fess Parker in Daniel Boone (1964)

Daniel Boone

7.3

TV Series

writer

written by

1967–1968

2 episodes

 

Garrison's Gorillas (1967)

Garrison's Gorillas

7.8

TV Series

writer

1967–1968

4 episodes

 

Combat! (1962)

Combat!

8.4

TV Series

written by

teleplay

1966–1967

5 episodes

 

Producer

Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner in Switch (1975)

Switch

7.1

TV Series

producer

1975–1976

16 episodes

 

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

8.4

TV Series

producer

1974

2 episodes

 

Bill Bixby in The Magician (1973)

The Magician

7.5

TV Series

producer

1974

10 episodes

 

George Peppard in Banacek (1972)

Banacek

7.7

TV Series

associate producer

1972–1974

 

Cannon (1971)

Cannon

6.8

TV Series

associate producer

1971–1972

24 episodes

 

Additional Crew

Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox in CHiPs (1977)

CHiPs

6.5

TV Series

developed for television by

developed for television

tv concept developer

1977–1983

5 episodes

 

George Peppard in Banacek (1972)

Banacek

7.7

TV Series

executive story consultant

1972–1973

7 episodes

 

Garrison's Gorillas (1967)

Garrison's Gorillas

7.8

TV Series

story editor

1967–1968

25 episodes

Actor

Shirley Temple in Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958)

Shirley Temple's Storybook

7.4

TV Series

Hugo

1960

1 episode

 

Dick Simmons and Yukon King in Sergeant Preston of the Yukon (1955)

Sergeant Preston of the Yukon

7.5

TV Series

Tommy Smith

1958

1 episode

 

Merry Andrew (1958)

Merry Andrew

6.6

Schoolboy (uncredited)

1958

 

Scott Forbes in The Adventures of Jim Bowie (1956)

The Adventures of Jim Bowie

6.8

TV Series

Francois de Gravien

1956–1957

6 episodes

 

Alfred Hitchcock in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

8.5

TV Series

Allan

1957

1 episode

 

Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers (1956)

Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers

7.8

TV Series

Ram Lai

1956

1 episode

 

Greer Garson and Florenz Ames in Telephone Time (1956)

Telephone Time

7.1

TV Series

1956

2 episodes

 

The Loretta Young Show (1953)

The Loretta Young Show

7.6

TV Series

Clarence

1956

1 episode

 

Leslie Caron and John Kerr in Gaby (1956)

Gaby

6.0

Boy (uncredited)

1956