Description
Douglas Benton was a television writer, director, and producer who was best known his work in detective show genres. The collection
consists of script material and production information and material documenting his production company, Blackjack Productions.
Background
Douglas Carleton Benton II was born on September 24, 1925 in Hollis, Oklahoma and spent most of his childhood in West Texas.
Benton earned a B.A. at the University of New Mexico (1948) and a Master of Science in Journalism at Northwestern University
(1950). He began his career making documentary films for General Electric and was later placed in charge of the series
General Electric Theater in Hollywood, CA. From there he went on to write and produce television series for Universal, MGM, and other studios. Benton's
credits include
Dr. Kildare (1961-1966),
Hec Ramsey (1972-1974),
Columbo,
Police Woman, (1974-1978), and
Magnum, P.I. (early-1980s), among others. He produced and directed several movies for television, among them
A Holwing in the Woods,
Undercover with the Ku Klux Klan, and
MADD: Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Nominated a number of times for an Emmy, Benton earned the award in 1974 for his work on the series,
Columbo. Benton died in November 2000.
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the
creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright
owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.