Film and television director Paul Wendkos died 12 November 2009 from complications of a stroke. Born Abraham Paul Wendkos in Philadelpahia, Pennsylvania, on 20 September 1925, he may be best remembered for directing the beach movies Gidget (1959) and Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961). He was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award in 1971 (for The Brotherhood of the Bell) and for an Emmy in 1988 (for The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story).
Wendkos served in the US Navy during World War II, and then graduated from Columbia University before studying film at the New School. His first feature film was 1957’s The Burglar, starring Jayne Mansfield, which Wendkos also edited. That film brought him to the attention of Columbia Pictures President Harry Cohn, who signed him to direct Gidget.
His genre work includes: The Bad Seed (1985), Good Against Evil (1977), The Mephisto Waltz (1971), Fear No Evil (1969), nine episodes of The Invaders (1967-68), and an episode of The Wild Wild West (1965).
His first wife, Ruth Burnat, died in 1978. He is survived by his second wife, Lin Bolen, one son, and a granddaughter.