Television director and producer William Milton “Bill” Asher died 16 July 2012. Born in New York City on 8 August 1921, he win an Emmy for directing Bewitched in 1964, and was nominated again in each of the following three years.
His first directing credit was on 1948’s Leather Gloves. He came to prominence on I Love Lucy, on which he was the lead director, helming 100 episodes between 1952 and 1957. A few years later, he moved on to both direct 131 episodes of Bewitched (1964-72) and produce 147 episodes. The series starred his then-wife Elizabeth Montgomery. He retired in 1991.
Asher’s genre work, beyond Bewitched, includes: Night Warning (1982), two episodes of Tabitha (1976 and 1977), three episodes of Shirley Temple Theatre (1960 and 1961), one episode of The Twilight Zone (1960), and The 27th Day (1957).
Asher was married and divorced three times, to actresses Danni Sue Nolan (1951-61), Elizabeth Montgomery (1963-73), and Joyce Bulifant (1976-93). He is survived by his fourth wife, Meredith Coffin, whom he married in 1996. He is also survived by six children, four stepchildren, nine grandchildren, and eight step-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on 29 September at the Desert Springs Church in Palm Desert, California.