Gene Levitt, a television writer, director and producer, died of prostate cancer November 15 at his home at the age of 79. He was best known as the creator of "Fantasy Island," a popular show in the late 1970s,
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on May 28, 1920, Mr. Levitt hitchhiked to Wyoming on a whim after seeing a billboard about the West. A few years later, he received a degree from the University of Wyoming.
He then went to work for City News Service in Chicago. His career in journalism was interrupted by World War II; he joined the Marines and served as a bomb disposal officer in the South Pacific.
After the war, he renewed a friendship with Robert Mitchell, whom he had met at the University of Wyoming, and they started working together. Their first joint project was the 1947 radio drama "The Adventures of Philip Marlowe." The series ran until 1949, with Gerald Mohr playing Raymond Chandler's detective. Mitchell, who went on to write for various television shows including "Charlie's Angels," died October 13 in a car crash.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
Mr. Levitt wrote, directed and produced numerous television features and series. His best known credits include "Barnaby Jones," "Hawaii Five-O" and "Alias Smith and Jones."
His big hit, however, came in 1978, when he created "Fantasy Island," a romance about a faraway resort where guests' wishes were fulfilled by the suave Ricardo Montalban.
