Buck Houghton

Archible Ernest "Buck" Houghton (May 4, 1915 – May 14, 1999) was an American television producer and writer best known for producing the first three seasons of The Twilight Zone, as well as many other television programs and independent films from the 1950s through the 1990s. He first entered the film industry as a reader and story editor for David O. Selznick in the 1930s. He moved over to Paramount, working his way up to the casting office and then to the budget department. During World War II, he helped make films for the Office of War Information.[1] Following the war, Houghton assisted executive producers at RKO, and had a two-year stint as a story editor for MGM. He soon became involved in producing early TV dramas such as “China Smith,” “Meet McGraw,” “Yancy Derringer” and “Man with a Camera.” [2]

A.E. "Buck" Houghton
Taken at age 45
Born(1915-05-04)May 4, 1915
Denver, Colorado,
United States
DiedMay 14, 1999(1999-05-14) (aged 84)
Los Angeles, California,
United States

Houghton reached a pinnacle in his career when he was hired by Bill Self at CBS to produce the first 39 episodes of Rod Serling's “The Twilight Zone” in its original half-hour format. When the network insisted the fourth season consist of hour-long shows,[1] Buck decided it was time to move on. His subsequent collaboration with dramatist Clifford Odets, "The Richard Boone Show" (1963–64) was the only repertory company on television, in which a resident cast of actors played different roles in a TV play every week.[2] It was nominated for the Outstanding Dramatic Series Emmy Award in 1964.[3]

Other credits include seasons of “High Chapparal,” “Harry O.,” “Hawaii 5-O” and the American Zoetrope film, "The Escape Artist."

Early life

Houghton was born in Denver, CO. His parents moved to Los Angeles because of his mother's ill health; she died when he was eleven years old. He graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1933, where he was known as Arch Houghton.[4] He attended UCLA, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, majored in Economics and English[5] and lettered in varsity track and field as a high-jumper.[6] While attending high school and college, he helped out backstage on several films by Cecil B. DeMille, along with his close friend and classmate Horace Hahn.[7]

Family

He and Wanda Jackson were married in 1946 and remained so until his death. He was the father of Jim Houghton and Mona Houghton.

Death

Houghton died in Los Angeles at age 84. He was suffering from emphysema and Lou Gehrig's disease.[2]

Filmography, Producer/Writer
Year Title Capacity
1952China SmithAssociate Producer
1954The New Adventures of China Smith[8]Associate Producer
1955 The Paris Follies of 1956[9]Associate Producer
1956 Wire ServiceProducer & AP, 4 eps.
1958-59Man with a CameraProducer
1958-59Yancy DerringerProducer
1962General Electric TheaterProducer, 1 ep.
1959-62The Twilight ZoneProducer, 102 eps.
1963 The Dick Powell TheaterProducer, 1 ep.
1963-64The Richard Boone ShowProducer, 25 eps.
1965 The Long, Hot SummerProducer, pilot ep.
1966 Blue LightProducer, 17 eps.
1966I Deal in DangerProducer
1967-68The High ChaparralProducer, 8 eps.
1971 NicholsWriter 1 ep.
1973 Mission: ImpossibleWriter, 1 ep.
1975Harry OProducer, 9 eps.
1976-77 Executive SuiteProducer, 18 eps.
1981 The Violation of Sarah McDavidSupervising producer
1982An Innocent LoveProducer
1982 The Escape Artist (film)Producer
1985 Eternal EvilProducer
1986The WraithProducer
1994Spring Awakening (TV movie)[10]Producer

Filmography, Actor
Year Title Role Notes
1974The Godfather IIWhite-haired SenatorUncredited

Published works
  • What a Producer Does (Samuel French) is a primer for would-be film and television producers. [11]

References
  1. "May 4 in twilight zone history remembering producer buck houghton". Syfy wire. 4 May 2018.
  2. Galloway, Doug; Pesselnick, Jill (26 May 1999). "A.E. 'Buck' Houghton Jr". Variety. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  3. https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominations/award-search?search_api_views_fulltext=Richard+Boone&submit=Search&field_celebrity_details_field_display_name=&field_show_details_field_nominee_show_nr_title=&field_show_details_field_network=All&field_show_details_field_production_company=All&field_nominations_year%5Bmin%5D=&field_nominations_year%5Bmax%5D=&field_nominations_year_op=%3E%3D&field_nominations_year%5Bvalue%5D=1963-01-01&field_nominations_year_1%5Bmin%5D=&field_nominations_year_1%5Bmax%5D=&field_nominations_year_1_op=%3C%3D&field_nominations_year_1%5Bvalue%5D=1964-01-01&field_award_category=44541
  4. Los Angeles High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA) - Class of 1933, , website of E-Yearbook.com; retrieved March 11, 2010.
  5. https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/may-4-in-twilight-zone-history-remembering-producer-buck-houghton
  6. University of California at Los Angeles - Bruin Life/Southern Campus Yearbook - Class of 1937, , website of E-Yearbook.com; retrieved March 11, 2010.
  7. Birchard, Robert S. (2004), Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood, Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, p. 262-263, ISBN 0-8131-2324-0
  8. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046629/fullcredits
  9. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048094/fullcredits
  10. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111270/fullcredits
  11. Houghton, Buck (1992). What a Producer Does. Silman James. ISBN 1-87-950505-3.
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