Michael Garrison (December 19, 1922 – August 17, 1966) was an American producer and the creator of the television series ''

The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western (genre), Western, spy film, spy, and science fiction on television, science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 19 ...

''.

Biography

Born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, Garrison began his career as an actor, and appeared in

Robert E. Sherwood Robert Emmet Sherwood (April 4, 1896 – November 14, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the author of ''Waterloo Bridge, Idiot's Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, There Shall Be No Night'', and ''The Best Years of Our Li ...

's play ''

There Shall Be No Night ''There Shall Be No Night'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Robert E. Sherwood. Production The play was presented by the Theatre Guild on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (now renamed the Neil Simon Theater), from April 29 thro ...

'' in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1943. After the war, he had bit parts in several

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

films, including '' Dragonwyck'' (1946) and ''

Are You with It? ''Are You with It?'' is a 1948 American musical comedy film directed by Jack Hively. The plot is about a young insurance man who quits his job to join a traveling carnival. The film is based on the 1945 Broadway musical of the same name and the ...

'' (1948). In 1954, Garrison and

Gregory Ratoff Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was best known for his role as producer "Max Fabian" in ''All About Eve'' (195 ...

purchased the movie rights to

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

's first

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

novel, '' Casino Royale'', for $600.

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, meanwhile, bought the TV rights, and on October 21, 1954, broadcast an hour-long adaptation on its ''

Climax! ''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS pro ...

'' series, with

Barry Nelson Barry Nelson (born Robert Haakon Nielsen; April 16, 1917 – April 7, 2007) was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond. Early life Nelson was born in San Francisco, the son of Norwegian imm ...

playing American agent Jimmy Bond and

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, active first in Europe and later in the United States. Known for his timidly devious characters, his appearance, and accented vo ...

playing the villain,

le Chiffre Le Chiffre (, 'The Cypher' or 'The Digit') is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Ian Fleming's 1953 James Bond novel, ''Casino Royale (novel), Casino Royale''. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the Casino Ro ...

. CBS also approached Fleming about developing Bond as a TV series. In 1955, Ratoff and Garrison bought the rights to the novel in perpetuity for an additional $6,000. They pitched the idea for a motion picture to 20th Century Fox, but were turned down. After Ratoff died in 1960, his widow and Garrison sold the film rights to

Charles K. Feldman Charles K. Feldman (April 26, 1905 – May 25, 1968) was a Hollywood attorney, film producer and talent agent who founded the Famous Artists talent agency. According to one obituary, Feldman disdained publicity. "Feldman was an enigma to Holly ...

for $75,000. Feldman eventually produced the spoof '' Casino Royale'' in 1967. Garrison was in the casting department at 20th Century Fox before becoming an associate producer under

Jerry Wald Jerome Irving Wald (September 16, 1911 – July 13, 1962) was an American screenwriter and a producer of films and radio programs. Life and career Early life Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were act ...

. He worked on four Wald pictures, '' Peyton Place'' (1957), ''

The Long Hot Summer ''The Long, Hot Summer'' is a 1958 American drama film starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa and Orson Welles. It was directed by Martin Ritt, with a screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr., based in part on three ...

'', ''

The Sound and the Fury ''The Sound and the Fury'' is a novel by the American author William Faulkner. It employs several narrative styles, including stream of consciousness. Published in 1929, ''The Sound and the Fury'' was Faulkner's fourth novel, and was not immedi ...

'', and ''

An Affair to Remember ''An Affair to Remember'' is a 1957 American romance film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Filmed in CinemaScope, it was distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is considered among the most romantic films of all ti ...

''. In the fall of 1958, he moved to

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

as an assistant to

Steve Trilling Steve Trilling (October 2, 1902, New York City – May 28, 1964, Los Angeles) was a Hollywood executive, best known for being second in command to Jack L. Warner at Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner ...

. Garrison produced ''

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs ''The Dark at the Top of the Stairs'' is a 1957 play by William Inge about family conflicts during the early 1920s in a small Oklahoma town. It was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 1958 and was made into a film of the same name in 1 ...

'' (1960) and ''

The Crowded Sky ''The Crowded Sky'' is a 1960 American Technicolor drama film distributed by Warner Bros., produced by Michael Garrison, directed by Joseph Pevney

''. He also produced the short-lived 1961

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

'' The Investigators''. In the mid-1960s, Garrison pitched ''The Wild Wild West'' to CBS as "James Bond on horseback"—linking the television Western to the popular spy genre. During its first season, the series had difficulties and CBS rotated nine producers in and out of the show. The network tried to fire Garrison, but he was reinstated at the end of the season. The series was in production on its second season when, while preparing for a party at his new Bel Air home on August 17, 1966, Garrison slipped in some water on a flight of stairs, falling and fatally fracturing his skull. According to ''

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), ...

'', he had three TV shows in development at the time of his death: ''The Pickle Brothers'', starring

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep (film), Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958), ''Enter Laughing ...

; ''Happy Valley'' for Warner Bros.; and ''Kelly's Country''. In 1955, Garrison married Barbara Silverstone, daughter of Murray Silverstone, president of 20th Century-Fox International, and Dorothy Silverstone. They later divorced.

Death

Garrison died of injuries sustained in a fall in 1966.

References

External links

* * 1922 births 1966 deaths American television producers American television writers American male television writers Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American male writers Accidental deaths in California {{US-tv-producer-stub Deaths from falls