Richard L. Bare

After winning the Paul Muni Award for Best Amateur Film while at the University of Southern California, Richard L. Bare began work as a writer on the 1939 thriller "Two Gun Troubador." In '42, Bare began producing and directing a series of short instructional films for Warners Bros., all starring George O'Hanlon as the hapless Joe McDoakes, beginning with "So You Want to Give Up Smoking" and culminating, in '56, with "So Your Wife Wants to Work." Bare also wrote, directed, and/or produced episodes of the '50s television series "The Joe Palooka Story" and the crime show "77 Sunset Strip" (for which he won a DGA Award in '59), as well as the Westerns "Broken Arrow," "Maverick," and "Cheyenne." In the early '60s, Bare directed seven episodes of Rod Serling's classic "Twilight Zone" series, including the legendary "To Serve Man," and was a producer on the mystery series "The Case of the Dangerous Robin." After further directorial work on "The Virginian," Bare began helming two of his most successful series--"Petticoat Junction" and the similarly rural-themed comedy "Green Acres." When "Acres" ended in '71, Bare continued to work steadily, picking up TV movies and episodes of the comedy "Nanny and the Professor" and the family series "Lassie" until he retired during the mid-'70s.