| Oscar Rudolph | |
| Occupation: | TV/film director, actor, producer |
| Years Active: | 1925–1976 |
| Birth Date: | 2 April 1911 |
| Birth Place: | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Encino, California, U.S. |
| Known For: | Directing over 500 TV show episodes, which include work on such series as The Donna Reed Show, McHale's Navy, and The Phyllis Diller Show |
| Children: | 2, including Alan |
Oscar Rudolph (April 2, 1911 – February 1, 1991) was an American film and television director, producer, and actor.
Rudolph was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1924 moved to Southern California with his family. He started his Hollywood entertainment career as a bit actor at the age of 14. His first film was Little Annie Rooney (1925), which starred legendary silent film actress Mary Pickford. He appeared in a total of 36 films in mostly uncredited or bit roles from 1925 to 1947, when he appeared in his last role in the film Easy Come, Easy Go.
Rudolph was a director from the early 1940s to the mid 1970s. He began as an assistant director on a number of films throughout the 1940s and then made the transition to the burgeoning genre of television in the 1950s. He was supervising the second unit of The Flight of the Phoenix when stunt pilot Paul Mantz was killed in a crash in July 1965.
Rudolph directed episodes of more than 500 television shows, including The Jane Wyman Show, The Donna Reed Show, The Lone Ranger, McHale's Navy, The Phyllis Diller Show, My Favorite Martian, Batman, and The Brady Bunch. His film credits as director included Rocket Man (1954), Twist Around the Clock (1961), and Don't Knock the Twist (1962).
Rudolph died at Encino Hospital Medical Center in Encino, California of complications following a stroke. He was survived by his wife of 53 years, the former Sylvia Altman; son Alan Rudolph, a film director, screenwriter and producer; and a daughter.[1]