Antony "Tony" Ellis (March 1, 1920 – September 26, 1967), born Antony Ellis Jacobs, was a writer, director, and producer of radio and television shows.

Biography

Ellis was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

on March 1, 1920. He later moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and became a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

American citizen.

Radio career

He began his entertainment career as an actor, but transitioned to writing. He was known for his radio scripts for the shows ''

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...

'', ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it ...

'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

'', ''Pursuit'', and ''Romance'', '' On Stage'', ''

Crime Classics ''Crime Classics'' is a United States radio docudrama which aired as a sustaining series over CBS Radio from June 15, 1953, to June 30, 1954. Production Produced and directed by radio actor and director Elliott Lewis, the program was a histor ...

'', ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in ...

'', and ''

CBS Radio Workshop ''The CBS Radio Workshop'' was an experimental dramatic radio anthology series that aired on CBS from January 27, 1956, until September 22, 1957. Subtitled “radio’s distinguished series to man’s imagination,” it was a revival of the earlie ...

''. He wrote, directed, and produced the well-regarded series ''

Frontier Gentleman ''Frontier Gentleman'' is a short-lived radio Western series originally broadcast on the Columbia Broadcasting System ( CBS) radio network from February 2 to November 16, 1958, initially heard Sunday afternoons at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) t ...

''. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote of the 1950 episode "A Sleeping Draft" for ''Suspense'': "Scripter Ellis sustained chills via his suspenseful script". When he took over running ''Suspense'' from

Elliott Lewis Eliot or Elliott Lewis may refer to: *Elliott Lewis (politician) (1858–1935), Australian premier of Tasmania *Elliott Lewis (actor) Elliott Lewis (November 28, 1917 – May 23, 1990) was an American actor, writer, producer and director who w ...

, Ellis focused on

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

rather than noir. He adapted

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...

stories for radio. He took over producing ''Escape'' for

William Froug William Froug (May 26, 1922 – August 25, 2013) was an American television writer and producer. His producing credits included the series ''The Twilight Zone'', '' Gilligan's Island'', and ''Bewitched''. He was a writer for, among other shows, ' ...

in 1956.

Television and film career

He produced and wrote for ''

Zane Grey Theatre ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'' is an American Western anthology television series that was broadcast on CBS from October 5, 1956, until September 20, 1962. Format Many episodes were based on novels by Zane Grey, to all of which Four Star ...

'' and ''

Black Saddle ''Black Saddle'' is an American Western television series starring Peter Breck that aired 44 episodes on NBC from January 10, 1959, to May 6, 1960. The half-hour program was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television, and the original ba ...

''. He was a producer of ''

Michael Shayne Michael "Mike" Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s by writer Brett Halliday, a pseudonym of Davis Dresser. The character appeared in a series of seven films starring Lloyd Nolan for Twentieth Century Fo ...

''."Obituaries". ''

''. October 4, 1967. 248, 7. Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive. Pg. 62a. Via Proquest. He wrote''

The Monroes Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorporated community and census-designate ...

'', ''

A Man Called Shenandoah ''A Man Called Shenandoah'' is an American western series that aired Monday evenings on American Broadcasting Company, ABC-TV from September 13, 1965 to May 16, 1966. It was produced by MGM Television. Some of the location work for the 34 half-ho ...

'', and ''

Arrest and Trial ''Arrest and Trial'' is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 pm Eastern. Overview The majority of episodes consists of two segments. Set in Los Angeles, the fi ...

''. For television, Ellis wrote scripts for ''

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 ...

'' and four episodes of ''Gunsmoke''. His sole feature film screenplay was ''

The Ride Back ''The Ride Back'' is a 1957 American Western film directed by Allen H. Miner and written by Antony Ellis. The film stars Anthony Quinn, William Conrad, Lita Milan, Victor Millan and Jorge Trevino and was produced by Conrad. It was released on ...

'' (1957). ''

'''s review said, "The unusual Antony Ellis yarn almost fails in the art house vein. With special handling the film conceivably could tape this field for favorable results. It's a simple story Ellis tells and under

Allen H. Miner Allen Harris Miner (October 18, 1917 – January 4, 2004) was an American director and screenwriter. He served as a photographer during World War II. Miner then directed and wrote for television programs including '' Perry Mason'', '' Mission: ...

's leisurely direction it slowly unfolds in a fatalistic atmosphere". Ellis was involved with the

Writers Guild of America West The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 mem ...

. He was elected vice-president of the radio writers branch in 1954 and secretary-treasurer in 1958.

Personal life and death

Ellis was married to

Georgia Ellis Georgia Ellis (March 12, 1917 – March 30, 1988) was an American actress who is best known for her recurring role of Kitty in the Western radio drama ''Gunsmoke''. She was the daughter of John R. Hawkins and Blanche E. Sparling. She married K ...

; they met while appearing at the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engag ...

. She played Miss Kitty in the ''Gunsmoke'' radio series. They had a son, Jonathan. Ellis died of cancer on September 26, 1967, in

Big Bear, California Big Bear Valley is a valley in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The valley, in the San Bernardino Mountains, includes Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City, Fawnskin, Holcomb Valley, Sugarloaf, Erwin Lake, Baldwin Lake, Bluff Lake and L ...

. He was survived by his wife, Janice Pickard Ellis; by his son from his marriage to Georgia Ellis; two daughters; brother; and mother."Missing Persons". ''WGA West Newsletter''. Los Angeles. June 1973. p. 3. Via Proquest.

References

External links

* {{IMDb name, id=nm0254700, name=Antony Ellis English expatriates 1920 births 1967 deaths English radio writers English television writers