Harold Wesley Kenney, Jr. (January 3, 1926 – January 13, 2015) was an American television producer and director whose career extended from the medium's formative years in the early 1950s, into the 2000s, and included thousands of episodes, both primetime and daytime, as well as five

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

wins and eight nominations. He was frequently billed as Wes Kenney.

Early years

Shortly after graduating from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

’s College of Engineering in 1951, Kenney was hired by the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...

. According to the 2004 book ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'', Kenney directed up to twelve different broadcasts each day during his career at the network and its flagship station

WABD WABD (97.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the city of license, community of Mobile, Alabama. The station, established in 1973 as WABB-FM, is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. Its studios are on Dauphin ...

. This was because most of DuMont's programs were broadcast live, and were often done on small budgets. From 1950 to 1954 he directed many episodes of

Rocky King Detective ''Rocky King Detective'' (also known as ''Inside Detective'') is an American action/crime drama series that was broadcast live on the DuMont Television Network on Sundays at 9pm ET for most of its run. The series ran for six seasons, from January ...

. Kenney continued to direct many programs after DuMont's dissolution in 1956.

Daytime dramas

He is best known for his work on soap operas. In the early 1960s, he worked on the controversial '' Special for Women''. He produced and directed ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'' from 1968 to 1979, and then became Co-Executive Producer of ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

'' from 1982 to 1987. Under Kenney's run as Y&R's Co-Executive Producer, he helped the show win three

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

s for Outstanding Drama Series in 1983, 1985, and 1986. From 1987 to 1989, Kenney replaced the legendary

Gloria Monty Gloria Monty (August 12, 1921 – March 30, 2006) was an American television producer working primarily in the field of daytime drama. Education Born Gloria Montemuro in Allenhurst, New Jersey and raised in the West Allenhurst neighborhood of ...

as Executive Producer of ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

''. He became ''General Hospital''s

Head Writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio ...

during the 1988 WGA strike. Kenney's directing credits include ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

'', ''

Big John, Little John ''Big John, Little John'' is an American Saturday-morning sitcom, produced by Sherwood Schwartz, which starred Herbert Edelman as "Big John" and Robert "Robbie" Rist as "Little John". The show first aired on September 11, 1976, on NBC, and ran ...

'', ''Inside Detective'', and ''

Flo Flo or FLO may refer to: People * Flo (name), a list of people with the name Flo * Flo, nickname of LB1, a ''Homo floresiensis'' fossil Places * Flo, Norway, a village near Stryn, Vestland * Flo, Sweden, a historic parish near Grästorp, ...

''.

Personal life

He married actress Heather North in 1971, after meeting her on the set of ''Days of Our Lives'', where she was playing the part of Sandy Horton. After Kenney retired from directing, he was a professor at the

UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

. He died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

at Saint John's Health Center on January 13, 2015, just 10 days after his 89th birthday.

Selected filmography

* ''Filthy Rich'' (1982) TV series * ''Big John, Little John'' (1976) TV series * '' Far Out Space Nuts'' (1975) TV series * ''

'' TV series (6 episodes, 1974–1975) * ''Distant Early Warning'' (1975) (TV Movie) * ''Murder in the First Person Singular'' (1974) (TV Movie) * ''

'' (1965) TV series * ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. ''My Favorite Martian'' was th ...

'' TV series (2 episodes, 1965) * '' Your First Impression'' (1962) TV series * '' Rocky King, Inside Detective'' (''The Forgotten Network'' says he directed most of the episodes produced during its 1950–1954 run)

References

Sources

* Weinstein, D. (2004). ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television''. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenney, H. Wesley 1926 births 2015 deaths American soap opera producers American soap opera writers Daytime Emmy Award winners Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering alumni UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television faculty American television directors Screenwriters from California Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)