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Herschel Daugherty

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Herschel Daugherty
Born
Herschel Eldon Daugherty

(1910-10-27)October 27, 1910
Clarks Hill, Indiana, US
DiedMarch 5, 1993(1993-03-05) (aged 82)
Encinitas, California, US
Occupation(s)Television and film director, actor
Years active1943–1975

Herschel Eldon Daugherty (October 27, 1910 – March 5, 1993) was an American television and film director and occasional actor.

Early life and career

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Born in Clarks Hill, Indiana, to Charles Emerson and Blanche Eracene Daugherty (né Feerer),[1] Daugherty graduated from Whittier College in 1934 and was awarded a scholarship to the Pasadena Playhouse School of the Theater, where he later served as one of its associate directors.[2] In 1942, Daugherty was signed by Warner Brothers as a dialogue director,[3] in which capacity he served for roughly a decade before moving to TV as a full-fledged director. During that period, he also had a number of small acting roles, most of them uncredited. Speaking in 1979, he recalled, "I was in front of a camera just long enough to know I'd do best behind it. It's much easier to tell people what to do." Daugherty's own difficulties onscreen informed his approach to directing:

I like to think I was a coach. Something like Knute Rockne. I want to make it possible for actors to play over their heads, to desire to be better than ever before. I want to give them faith in themselves, to believe in themselves. [...] I never figured there was any point in being like DeMille or some of the others. I watched him tear a young actress apart one day. He had already destroyed her, but he kept going on and on. I realized then there's no way you can act when someone's yelling at you. I was determined that wasn't going to be my approach.[4]

As to just what that approach was and how it differed from DeMille, some comments made in November 1956 by Piper Laurie, then a soon-to-be 25-year-old, studio-promoted starlet—struggling to break free from that image and fresh on the heels of co-starring in a film under Daugherty's direction—may be helpful.

I'm not the most experienced actress in the world. I would like to be, and I found more attention given to my acting on "The Road That Led Afar" than in most of the pictures I've played. [...] In this role the directors have given me a sense of freedom in acting for the first time in my life.[5][a]

Regarding director Jean Negulesco, with whom he worked at both Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox,[6][7] Daugherty recalled:

Negulesco was a great artist, but he couldn't care less about acting. He let me handle all the actors and let me rehearse all the scenes. He told me, "You can do all the work so long as you give me the credit."[4]

Actor Dale Robertson, who would work with both Daugherty and Negulesco on Take Care of My Little Girl (1951), is less charitable in his assessment of the film's nominal director:

Jean Negulesco was an overrated director. He had a dialogue coach who went on to become a really good director... Herschel Daugherty. [...] And Herschel was actually the one who was doing the directing, you know, and Negulesco was taking all the credit. [...] [Y]ou'd see him go over and whisper in Negulesco's ear. And then pretty soon, in a very loud voice, Negulesco would say, "I don't like this line. We're going to make it this way." And he says, "Now that makes more sense. Yes, we'll do it that way." But I never heard him come up with an original thought. It was always Herschel.[8]

Daugherty went on to direct various episodes of popular television shows such as Gunsmoke (1955), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), Crusader (1955), and Wagon Train, Rawhide (1959), Bonanza (1959), Thriller (1961–62), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), Star Trek (1966), The Time Tunnel (1966), Hawaii Five-O (1968), The Smith Family (1971–72), Emergency! (1972) and The Six Million Dollar Man (1974). In 1957, for his work on General Electric Theater's "The Road That Led Afar", Daugherty, along with assistant director Richard Birnie, won the Directors Guild of America Award; they also received an Emmy nomination, in the category of "Best Direction, Half Hour or Less."[9] Two years later, Daugherty was nominated in essentially the same category (albeit a slightly more inclusive version), "Best Direction of a Single Program of a Dramatic Series (Less Than One Hour)," for GE Theatre's critically acclaimed adaptation of James Thurber's short story, "One is a Wanderer."[10][11][12][13][14] In addition, Daugherty directed Millard Lampell's "No Hiding Place,"[15] one of the most impactful episodes of the much-praised but short-lived CBS series East Side/West/Side (1963–1964).[16][17][18][19][20][21]

At least three notable screen debuts were made with Daugherty directing: Carol Lynley—in the 1958 Disney-produced semi-historical western, The Light in the Forest[22][23]—as well as Gene Kelly and Gloria Grahame making their respective TV acting debuts. Kelly starred in the 1957 Schlitz Playhouse of the Stars adaptation of Flannery O'Connor's short story, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own,"[24] while Grahame and co-star Dick Shawn helped General Electric Theater ring in 1961 with the episode, "Don't Let it Throw You."[25][26]

Daugherty's dialogue director credits include, among others, the 1947 psychological drama Possessed, such films noir as Passage to Marseille (1944), The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) and Mildred Pierce (1945), the well-received stage-to-screen adaptation Life with Father (1947),[27] the 1946 musical biopic Night and Day and the 1949 musical comedy/Tinseltown parody It's a Great Feeling (1949).

Daugherty died on March 5, 1993, in Encinitas, California at the age of 82.

Filmography

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Dialogue Director

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Uncredited actor

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Year Title Role
1949 Red, Hot and Blue Laertes
The Story of Seabiscuit Reporter
White Heat Policeman
1950 Young Man with a Horn Attendant
Chain Lightning Sergeant
The Damned Don't Cry Rewrite Man
The Great Jewel Robber Sgt. Tarrant
Tea For Two Theater Manager
Where Danger Lives Desk Clerk
1951 Lullaby of Broadway Sidney

Director

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TV series

Year Title Notes
1952 Biff Baker, U.S.A.
1953 Chevron Theatre 1 Episode
1953-55 The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse 16 Episodes
1954-58 Studio 57 29 Episodes
1955 City Detective 3 Episodes
The Jane Wyman Show 1 Episode
Soldiers of Fortune 5 Episodes
1955-56 Star Stage 3 Episodes
Crusader 6 Episodes
1955-62 General Electric Theater 36 Episodes
1956-62 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 24 Episodes
1957 Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 2 Episodes
State Trooper 1 Episode
1957-59 The Joseph Cotten Show 3 Episodes
1957-64 Wagon Train 17 Episodes
1958 Buckskin 2 Episodes
Cimarron City 2 Episodes
Suspicion 2 Episodes
1959 Laramie 3 Episodes
Lux Playhouse 1 Episode
1959-60 Markham 8 Episodes
1959-61 The Deputy 3 Episodes
1960 The Tall Man 3 Episodes
1960-61 Checkmate 5 Episodes
1961 The Magical World Of Disney 2 Episodes
Westinghouse Playhouse 1 Episode
1961-62 Thriller 16 Episodes
87th Precinct 2 Episodes
1962 Wide Country 1 Episode
1962-63 Alcoa Theatre 2 Episodes
1962-64 The Virginian 3 Episodes
1963 Channing 1 Episode
Kraft Mystery Theater 1 Episode
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour 3 Episodes
1963-64 East Side/West Side 2 Episodes
1964 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre 1 Episode
Mr. Novak 1 Episode
Mr. Broadway 4 Episodes
1964-65 Rawhide 2 Episodes
1965 For The People 1 Episode
The Doctors and The Nurses 1 Episode
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 1 Episode
The Legend Of Jesse James 2 Episodes
The Wackiest Ship in the Army 1 Episode
1965-66 Dr. Kildare 19 Episodes
1966 Seaway 2 Episodes
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. 1 Episode
Shane 1 Episode
T.H.E. Cat 1 Episode
1967 Felony Squad 1 Episode
Mission: Impossible 1 Episode
Custer 2 Episodes
The Time Tunnel 2 Episodes
1967-68 Cimarron Strip 3 Episodes
The Rat Patrol 6 Episodes
1967-69 Star Trek 2 Episodes
1968 It Takes a Thief 1 Episode
1968-69 Gunsmoke 2 Episodes
Hawaii Five-O 5 Episodes
1969 The F.B.I. 1 Episode
1969-70 Bracken's World 6 Episodes
The High Chaparral 2 Episodes
1969-72 Bonanza 11 Episodes
1970 Here Come the Brides 1 Episode
1970-72 Marcus Welby, M.D. 5 Episodes
1971-72 The Smith Family 39 Episodes
1972 Emergency! 2 Episodes
Hec Ramsey 1 Episode
1973 Cannon 1 Episode
Circle Of Fear 1 Episode
1974 Apple's Way 2 Episodes
Banacek 1 Episode
Paper Moon 1 Episode
The Six Million Dollar Man 1 Episode
1975 Petrocelli 1 Episode
Three For The Road 1 Episode
Police Woman 2 Episodes

Feature film

TV movies

  • The Slowest Gun in the West (1960)
  • Winchester 73 (1967)
  • The Victim (1972)
  • She Cried Murder (1973)
  • Twice in a Lifetime (1974)

Notes

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  1. ^ The additional director would be assistant director Richard Birnie.

References

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  1. ^ United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GR6W-R5G?cc=1488411&wc=QZJG-BLC%3A1036469601%2C1037520201%2C1037703401%2C1589335314 : 9 September 2019), California > Los Angeles > Los Angeles Assembly District 72 > ED 372 > image 1 of 28; citing NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
  2. ^ Pasadena Playhouse Association (June 23, 1941). "Pasadena Playhouse Association: Playhouse Staff". Playbill. p. 7. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  3. ^ "Pasadena Playhouse School Finds Many Outlets for Talent". The Los Angeles Times. August 30, 1942. p. 60. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Ream, Donald; Ream, Lynne (1992). Clarks Hill: A Pictorial History of Clarks Hill and its Surrounding Area. Lafayette, IN: D. and L. Ream. pp. 351, 353. OCLC 27209028.
  5. ^ "Television Gives Piper Laurie Her Big Chance". Newport Daily News. November 20, 1956. p. 11. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  6. ^ "'Nobody Lives Forever' Overview". TCM.
  7. ^ "Feature Film/TV Episode/Video/TV Movie/TV Special/TV Mini-Series/Documentary/Video Game/Short Film, with Herschel Daugherty, Jean Negulesco (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)". IMDb.
  8. ^ Robertson, Susan (2019). Bucking Hollywood. Connealt Lake, PA: Page Publishing. ISBN 978-1-64424-803-4.
  9. ^ "Geo. Stevens Wins SDG Award; 'Giant' Voted Best-Directed Feature; Daugherty Wins TV Prize for 'The Road'; Stevens Wins (continued from Page 1)". The Hollywood Reporter. pp. 1, 7. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  10. ^ "CBS Noses Out NBC in Emmy Nominations Race". The Hollywood Reporter. April 14, 1959. p. 6. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  11. ^ Kovner, Leo (1958). "Television Reviews: One Is a Wanderer". The Hollywood Reporter. p. 9. "A moving tale of lonely despair in a big city, admittedly it's not everybody's meat. Yet the atmosphere of gentle melancholy was compelling, and the sensitive, intelligent performance of Fred MacMurray and the direction of Herschel Daugherty command attention and respect." Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  12. ^ Delatiner, Barbara (August 3, 1959). "On Television". Newsday. p. 36. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  13. ^ Miller, Don (October 1959). "Films On TV". Films in Review. p. 501. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  14. ^ Morris, Gary (May 4, 2000). "Diesel noir, swamp noir, everynoir". Bay Area Reporter. May 4, 2000. p. 38. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "Drama of Family's Problems". The Staunton Leader. November 29, 1963. p. TV-3. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  16. ^ Zwerdling, Allen (December 6, 1963). "Editor's Outlook: 'East Side, West Side'". Back Stage. p. 14. "It did not gloss over the facts, it did not picture the frightened whites as evil-doers of race-haters. It did demonstrate that even the so-called liberals have prejudices which require soul searching. Most important, the program did not end with a superficial happy ending that most TV hack writers believe audiences require." Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  17. ^ Shain, Percy (December 3, 1963). "Night Watch: One More Plunge Into Racial Tide". The Boston Globe. p. 25. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  18. ^ Van Horne, Harriet (December 3, 1963). "Daring Drama Had Message". Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. 7. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  19. ^ "Blue Ribbon Films Slated for Library". The Evansville Press. August 10, 1964. p. 4. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  20. ^ Watson, Mary Ann (1994). "'Who Do You Kill?' East Side/West Side, November 4, 1963; 'No Place to Hide,' East Side/West Side, December 3, 1963". The Expanding Vista: American Television in the Kennedy Years. Durham NC: Duke University Press. pp. 63–67. "But before East Side/West Side ended its one-season run, the series would present two of the most compelling civil rights dramas in television history. The stories, powerfully written and artistically produced, stunned audiences." ISBN 9780822314431.
  21. ^ Brook, Vincent (Fall 1998). "Checks and Imbalances: Political Economy and the Rise and Fall of East Side/West Side; 'People Drama Personified': 'No Hiding Place'". Journal of Film and Video [Englewood]. Vol. 50, Iss. 3. pp. 28-31. "Beyond the subversive premise [i.e. its "assault on the free-market economy in general"], the episode elaborates and expands upon its societal critique through the interweaving of three other narrative strands: one centering on gender relations, another on consumerism, and the last on the struggle between moral principle and material self-interest." Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  22. ^ "The Stirring Saga of a White Boy Raised as an Indian: The Light in the Forest; Coming Soon to Your Favorite Theatre". Photoplay. July 1958. p. 22. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  23. ^ Maltin, Leonard; Sader, Luke, Clark, Mike (2009). Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide. New York: Plume. p. 804. ISBN 978-0-452-28978-9.
  24. ^ Ames, Walter (December 3, 1956). "Gene Kelly Stars in Drama; Films Change TV Habits". Los Angeles Times. p. 50. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  25. ^ H.H. (December 30, 1960). "TV Roundup; Hollywood". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 26. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  26. ^ "Sunday January 1". Ross Reports—Television Index. Vol. 12, No. 52. December 26, 1960-January 1, 1961. p. 52-E. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  27. ^ Warner, Jack L. (July 19, 1947). "A Duty; A Tremendous Pleasure". Boxoffice. p. 4. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  28. ^ "Studio Personnelities; Technically". Boxoffice. September 6, 1947. p. 53. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  29. ^ "The Winners of 1948–1949". Box Office Barometer. December 3, 1949.. p. 72. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  30. ^ "Assignments". The Hollywood Reporter. February 21, 1952. p. 13. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  31. ^ "Assignments". The Hollywood Reporter. May 14, 1952. p. 7. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  32. ^ "Parrish Calls Rehearsals". The Hollywood Reporter. May 8, 1952. p. 8. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  33. ^ "Parrish Calls Moppets". The Hollywood Reporter. May 13, 1952. p. 8. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  34. ^ "Why Do We Call a Great Picture, 'My Pal Gus". Hazleton Standard Sentinel. December 18, 1952. p. 15. Retrieved January 24, 2022.

Further reading

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Articles

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Books

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