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Sam Strangis, an Emmy-nominated CSI and CSI: Miami producer and Paramount exec and whose career dates back to classic 1960s and ’70s TV shows including Batman, The Brady Bunch and Happy Days, has died. He was 95.

His family told Deadline that Strangis died July 23 of kidney failure at Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, CA, but the news had not been reported.

Strangis’ TV career spanned six decades, from directing NBC’s 1957-59 antebellum western The Restless Gun through the wildly successful first two seasons of CBS’ Crime Scene Investigation and spinoff CSI: Miami. He racked up dozens of credits along the way, also serving as Paramount’s VP of TV Production in the mid-’70s.

Born on June 19, 1929, in Tacoma, Wa, Strangis began his career as a script supervisor at Revue Studios, leading his directing multiple episodes The Restless Gun. He went on to serve as production...

Sam Strangis, the director, producer and production executive behind shows such as “CSI,” “The Brady Bunch,” and “Happy Days,” died of kidney failure on July 23 at Providence Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance, Calif., a family spokesperson confirmed. He was 95.

Strangis began his career as a script supervisor at Revue Studios before directing several episodes of “The Restless Gun,” which ran from 1957 to 1959. He went on to serve as a production manager for the 1966 film “Batman: The Movie” and later made the transition to head of production at Paramount Studios.

At Paramount, Strangis oversaw television shows such as “The Odd Couple,” “Happy Days,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “The Brady Bunch,” “Love,” “American Style,” and “Mannix.”

Strangis, along with his producing partner, Don Boyle, eventually left Paramount to work on the iconic series “Six Million Dollar Man” for Universal Studios. He then went on to produce a number of television films...

Sam Strangis, the Emmy-nominated producer, director and studio executive who worked on Batman, The Six Million Dollar Man and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation during his five-decade career, has died. He was 95.

Strangis died July 23 of kidney failure at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, California, a family spokesperson announced.

As head of production at Paramount Studios starting in the late 1960s, Strangis guided such memorable series as Mannix, The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, The Brady Bunch, Love, American Style and Mission: Impossible.

With then-producing partner Don Boyle, he exited Paramount in 1974 to produce ABC’s new The Six Million Dollar Man, starring Lee Majors, for Universal Television. He followed by shepherding telefilms before returning to Paramount as vice president of TV production.

He would leave the studio again, this time to launch Ten-Four Productions, an independent production company that made such TV movies as...

Dads rock all Father’s Day weekend long on SiriusXM, with specials across our music, talk, and entertainment channels. Tune in live or stream them with the SiriusXM app.

Hear specially curated mixes on channels like Deep Tracks, The 10s Spot, and SiriusXM Turbo. Plus, Luis Fonsi, Tom Morello, Andy Cohen, Tina Sinatra, and more share family stories and music.

Related: 80 Best Father’s Day Songs

Father’s Day Specials on SiriusXM Business Radio

Randi Zuckerberg Means Business – Father’s Day Special: Randi talks with guests Tony Snell, Evan Kyle Berger, Kevin Laferriere, Adam Fishman, and Paul Sullivan about being a father and how parenting has changed.

Business RadioRandi Zuckerberg Means BusinessListen on the App

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Deep Tracks

Generations Of Rock – A Father’s Day Special: Randy and Tal Bachman, inspired by their own songs together, play songs from some of their favorite classic rock dads playing...

Christmas is truly the gift that keeps on giving for the television business and for viewers.

Dating back to the 1940s, there have been nearly 2,500 TV episodes and specials with Christmas themes according to a list on Wikipedia. Sitcoms have provided the most content with 813 episodes dating back to 1952.

For the variety show treatment, Perry Como got things rolling with the first of his The Perry Como Chesterfield Supper Club — Christmas Special in 1948. Old Blue Eyes himself joined the party in 1950 with The Frank Sinatra Show: Christmas Show in 1950. The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show’s Gracie’s Christmas dropped that same year.

Sitcoms and dramas followed soon thereafter. CBS crime drama Suspense (“Dancing Dan’s Christmas”) aired in 1950. NBC’s Dragnet (“The Big .22 Rifle for Christmas”) and CBS’ Racket Squad (“The Christmas Caper”) followed in 1952. Amos ‘n Andy (“The Christmas Story”) and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet...

Rip Torn, who played Garry Shandling’s profane, fiercely loyal producer on HBO’s The Larry Sanders Show, co-starred in the original Men in Black films and was a major star of Broadway and Off Broadway during a seven-decade career, died today surrounded by family at his home in Lakeville, Ct. He was 88.

The prolific Torn played the unstoppable and unflappable Artie on Larry Sanders, which aired from 1992-98 and followed the behind-the-scenes and onstage antics of a successful late-night network talk show. Along with scoring a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Emmy in 1996, he was nominated for each of the show’s six seasons.

The year Torn won his Emmy, he also had been up for Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his turn on CBS’ Chicago Hope. In 2008, he earned his ninth and final Emmy nom, for his recurring role as Don Geiss on NBC’s 30 Rock.

Amazon's week long deals for 2013 Black Friday and Cyber Monday continue today, Wednesday, November 27, with a new schedule of DVDs and Blu-rays going on sale today and they are starting early. The deals throughout the day begin just after midnight today and there are a few titles worthy of your attention. If I had to select one title from the batch of deals going live today it would certainly be the Planet of the Apes Blu-ray collection, beyond that the Schindler's List Blu-ray is worth considering and, if you're looking for a nice little quadruple feature you can't really go wrong with picking up the Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre and Elizabeth bundle, the price isn't yet available, but I have to assume it won't break the bank. Finally, that Best of Warner Bros. Romance Collection at 12:20 Pm might be worth a look as it includes some greats such...

Bonanza creator David Dortort has died at the age of 93.

The Hollywood writer/producer passed away on Sunday in his Westwood, California apartment.

Dortort pitched his idea for the western adventure in 1959 and Bonanza came to life on the small screen later that year. His creation was the most-watched programme from 1964 to 1967 and ran for a total of 14 years.

Dortort produced several Bonanza spin-offs including Bonanza: The Next Generation, and he racked up writing credits for other TV series including Lassie, The Restless Gun, Climax! and Waterfront.

The three-time Emmy nominee was also president of the Producers Guild of America and served as president of the Television-Radio branch of the Writers Guild of America.

David Dortort, who created "Bonanza," the top-rated Western that aired for 14 years on NBC with family values as its centerpiece, died Sept. 5 in his apartment in Westwood. He was 93.

"Bonanza" ran from 1959-73, was the most-watched show on television from 1964-67 and maintained a place in the ratings top 10 for a decade. Dortort also created "The High Chaparral," which originally followed "Bonanza" on Sunday nights on NBC and ran for three seasons.

In 1959, Dortort pitched his show to RCA subsidiary NBC. "Bonanza" would be filmed in color in gorgeous Lake Tahoe, Nev. -- to help promote the sale of RCA's color TVs -- and feature a cast of relative unknowns (Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker and Pernell Roberts) as members of the Cartwright family.

Dortort went away from the typical Western formula of focusing on lone drifters, choosing to focus on a family of three boys and a father living on the Ponderosa Ranch.