Jackson Clark Gillis (August 21, 1916 – August 19, 2010) was an American radio and television

scriptwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

whose career spanned more than 40 years and encompassed a wide range of genres. Gillis was born in

Kalama, Washington Kalama (kaw-law-maw) is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, Cowlitz County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,959 as of the 2020 United State ...

to a highway engineer and a piano teacher. His family moved to California when he was a teenager. He attended

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

, but transferred to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where he earned his undergraduate degree in English in 1938.Staff
"PASSINGS: Alain Corneau, Jackson Gillis, Francisco Varallo"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', August 31, 2010. Accessed September 1, 2010. He worked in England after graduating from college. After returning to the United States, he performed with the

Barter Theatre Barter Theatre, in Abingdon, Virginia, opened on June 10, 1933. It is the longest-running professional Equity theatre in the United States. History Concept In 1933, when the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression, many peo ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, together with

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

attended a performance of one of his plays, in which Gillis acted. Gillis received a note from Shaw that critiqued his exit, a postcard Gillis retained for decades. He enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and worked as an intelligence officer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. After completing his military service, Gillis moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and took a job writing for radio shows, including the dramas ''

The Whistler ''The Whistler'' is an American radio mystery drama which ran from May 16, 1942, until September 22, 1955, on the west-coast regional CBS radio network. The show was also broadcast in Chicago and over Armed Forces Radio. On the west coast, it w ...

'' and '' Let George Do It''. He moved into television scriptwriting and earned his first credit — for an episode of ''

Racket Squad ''Racket Squad'' is an American TV crime drama series that aired from 1951 to 1953. The format was a narrated anthology drama, as each individual episode featured various ordinary citizens getting ensnared in a different confidence scheme. E ...

'', a series that starred

Reed Hadley Reed Hadley (born Reed Herring, June 25, 1911 – December 11, 1974) was an American film, television and radio actor. Early life Hadley was born in Petrolia, Texas, to Bert Herring, an oil well driller, and his wife Minnie. Hadley had one ...

— in 1952. He wrote for '' The Adventures of Superman'' from 1953 to 1957 and also spent several years writing for ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'' and '' Lassie''. His scriptwriting was prolific and varied, and over the years, he worked on shows such as ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'', ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

'', and ''

Knight Rider ''Knight Rider'' is an American entertainment franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The core of ''Knight Rider'' is its three television series: the original ''Knight Rider'' (1982–1986) and sequel series ''Team Knight Rider'' (1997–1998) ...

''. He wrote for the series ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

'', starring

Peter Falk Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series ''Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he ...

, from 1971 to 1992. He also wrote a pair of detective novels, ''The Killers of Starfish'' and ''Chainsaw''. After retiring from Hollywood in the 1990s, Gillis and his wife moved to

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

, to be near their daughter.Staff
OBITUARY: Jackson Clark Gillis
, ''

Moscow-Pullman Daily News The ''Moscow-Pullman Daily News'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, serving the Moscow, Idaho, and Pullman, Washington, metropolitan area. The two cities on the Palouse are the homes of the two states' land grant universit ...

'', August 24, 2010. Accessed September 1, 2010. Gillis was married to the former Patricia Cassidy, a fellow actor whom he met during his brief acting career at the Barter Theatre, until her death in 2003. He died at age 93 on August 19, 2010, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

in Moscow, Idaho. His daughter recalled that her father watched little on television other than football, as "he thought most of what was on TV was junk".

Screenwriting

Television

* ''

Front Page Detective ''Front Page Detective'' is an American crime drama series which aired on the DuMont Television Network on Fridays at 9:30 p.m. ET from July 6, 1951, to September 19, 1952, and in October and November 1953. The program was then in broadcast ...

'' (1951) * '' Chevron Theatre'' (1952) * ''

'' (1952) * ''

I%27m the Law ''I'm the Law '' is the title of a 30-minute syndicated American television police drama series which aired in 1953 starring George Raft as Lt. George Kirby, a New York Police Department detective involved in solving a variety of crimes in New Yo ...

'' (1953) * '' Adventures of Superman'' (1953-1956) * '' Passport to Danger'' (1954) * '' Lassie'' (1954-1960) * '' The Millionaire'' (1955) * ''

Spin and Marty ''Spin and Marty'' is a series of television shorts that aired as part of ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' show of the mid-1950s, produced by Walt Disney and broadcast on the ABC network in the United States. There were three serials in all, set at the ...

'' (1955) * '' The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure'' (1956) * '' The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of Ghost Farm'' (1957) * ''

Zorro Zorro (Spanish language, Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed a ...

'' (1957) * ''

Sugarfoot ''Sugarfoot'' is an American Western television series that aired for 69 episodes on ABC from 1957-1961 on Tuesday nights on a "shared" slot basis – rotating with ''Cheyenne'' (first season); ''Cheyenne'' and ''Bronco'' (second season); and ...

'' (1958) * ''

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for rod ...

'' (1959) * ''

'' (1959-1965) * '' The Four Just Men'' (1960) * ''

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

'' (1965) * ''

'' (1965-1968) * '' The Fugitive'' (1966) * ''

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who wo ...

'' (1966) * ''

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

'' (1966) * ''

I Spy I spy is a guessing game where one player (the ''spy'' or ''it'') chooses an object within sight and announces to the other players that "I spy with my little eye something beginning with...", naming the first letter of the object. Other players a ...

'' (1966-1968) * ''

The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western, espionage, and science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969. Two satirical comedy television film sequels w ...

'' (1968) * ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private inves ...

'' (1968) * ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III as ...

'' (1968) * ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

'' (1969) * '' Ironside'' (1969) * ''

My Friend Tony ''My Friend Tony'' is an American crime drama that aired on NBC in 1969. The pilot originally aired as "My Pal Tony" on ''The Danny Thomas Hour'' on March 4, 1968. Synopsis The series features Enzo Cerusico as the title character, Tony Novello, a ...

'' (1969) * ''

Land of the Giants ''Land of the Giants'' is a one-hour American science fiction television series that aired on ABC for two seasons, beginning on September 22, 1968 and ending on March 22, 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen. ''Land of the Gia ...

'' (1969) * '' Mission: Impossible'' (1970-1972) * ''

'' (1971) * ''

Cade%27s County ''Cade's County'' is a modern-day Western/crime drama which aired Sundays at 9:30 pm (EST) on CBS during the 1971–1972 television season. There were 24 episodes. Synopsis ''Cade's County'' starred well-known Hollywood actor Glenn Ford as S ...

'' (1971) * '' Medical Center'' (1971-1972) * ''

'' (1971-1992) * ''

O%27Hara, U.S. Treasury ''O'Hara, U.S. Treasury'' (on-screen title is ''O'Hara, United States Treasury'') was an American television crime drama starring David Janssen and broadcast by CBS during the 1971-72 television season. Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited packaged the ...

'' (1972) * '' Longstreet'' (1972) * ''

The F.B.I. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

'' (1973) * ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was or ...

'' (1974) * '' The Snoop Sisters'' (1974) * ''

Cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

'' (1974) * ''

Caribe Caribe may refer to: * ''Caribe'' (Venezuelan TV series), a Venezuelan telenovela * ''Caribe'' (American TV series), a 1975 television series produced by Quinn Martin * Caribe, or Cabir, a computer worm designed for mobile phones * ''Caribe'' ...

'' (1975) * '' Police Woman'' (1978) * ''

Starsky and Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a ''Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by th ...

'' (1978) * ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' (1978-1979) * '' Big Shamus, Little Shamus'' (1979) * ''

Jason of Star Command ''Jason of Star Command'' is a 1978-1979 live action television series by Filmation. The series revolves around the exploits of space adventurer Jason (Craig Littler) and his colleagues, including Professor E.J. Parsafoot (Charlie Dell) and the ...

'' (1979) * ''

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

'' (1980) * ''

The Chisholms ''The Chisholms'' is a CBS western miniseries starring Robert Preston, which aired from March 29, 1979, to April 19, 1979; and continued as a television series from January 19, 1980, to March 15, 1980.Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', New York: ...

'' (1980) * '' Code Red'' (1981-1982) * ''

'' (1983-1986) * ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'' (1985-1986) * '' Lois %26 Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1994)

Films

* '' Stamp Day for Superman'' (1954) * ''

Assault on the Wayne ''Assault on the Wayne'' is a 1971 American Cold War-themed action thriller TV film starring Joseph Cotten, Lloyd Haynes, Dewey Martin, Leonard Nimoy and William Windom. It aired on January 12, 1971, in the ''ABC Movie of the Week'' space. The ...

'' (1971) * ''The Man Who Died Twice'' (1973) * ''

Time Travelers Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to co ...

'' (1976) * ''

A Stoning in Fulham County ''A Stoning in Fulham County'' is a 1988 television film directed by Larry Elikann. It takes place in fictional Fulham County, North Carolina. It is based on the true story of the murder of an Amish baby by a group of reckless teens in Indiana in ...

'' (1988)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillis, Jackson Clark 1916 births 2010 deaths People from Kalama, Washington American radio writers American television writers American male television writers Deaths from pneumonia in Idaho California State University, Fresno alumni People from Moscow, Idaho Stanford University alumni Screenwriters from Washington (state) Screenwriters from Idaho Screenwriters from California