Walter Grauman

Walter Grauman held a variety of different posts and positions before becoming one of Hollywood's most prolific television directors. He served four years in the U.S. Air Force, owned a small business, then moved to Los Angeles to work at NBC Studios, where he began his entertainment career. His directorial debut came in 1955 with the series "Matinee Theatre" and he continued to direct episodes of series like "Steve Canyon," "Perry Mason," and "The Untouchables" in the late 1950s and early '60s. He continued to build his extensive TV resume in the 1960s while also directing films like the WWII-inspired "633 Squadron" and "I Deal in Danger." He directed several made-for-TV movies in the early 1970s including the thriller"The Old Man Who Cried Wolf," which earned him a Directors Guild Award nomination in 1971. One year later he began directing the crime series "The Streets of San Francisco" and helped a then-unknown Michael Douglas land the leading role. Grauman returned to directing made-for-TV movies like "Top of the Hill," "To Race the Wind," and "Pleasure Palace" in the early 1980s before starting a 12-year run directing episodes for the popular mystery series "Murder, She Wrote" in 1984. Aside from being a director, Grauman is the creator of the Los Angeles Spotlight Awards, which grants scholarships to aspiring young performing artists. He is also the closest living relative to Sid Grauman, owner of such famous L.A. establishments as Grauman's Chinese, Egyptian, and Million Dollar Theaters.