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Photo of William F. Claxton

William F. Claxton

Director, Producer, Editor, Additional Credits
Born October 22, 1914Died February 11, 1996 (81 years)
William Francis Claxton (October 22, 1914 – February 11, 1996) was an American film and television producer, editor and director. He made a number of films for Robert L. Lippert. He also directed and produced episodes of Bonanza,[1] the NBC-TV series Little House on the Prairie, and also directed episodes of the NBC-TV series Father Murphy, The Rifleman, The Twilight Zone, Fame, and The High Chaparral.

Claxton got his start in Hollywood as a film editor in the 1940s, where he was employed an editor for Edward Small Productions, as he would move into directing of second feature films by 1950s and 1960s, and also delve into television directing during this period.

During World War II, Claxton served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps as a captain. Claxton worked under Frank Capra as a film editor on the Why We Fight series. Claxton worked alongside Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) in the animation and film department of the U.S. Army.

Claxton's very first directorial effort was 1951's All That I Can Have. Claxton, who is best known for his TV work, enjoyed a long stint as producer/director of the syndicated Christian anthology series This is the Life (which was his first work in TV) from 1951 to 1980.

He spent much of the 1950s with 20th Century Fox's Regal Pictures subsidiary, turning out medium-budget films which included the films God Is My Partner (1956) and Desire in the Dust (1960); occasionally, as in the cast of Rockabilly Baby (1957), he produced as well as directed.

Claxton was a close friend to actor Michael Landon, with whom he worked on the NBC-TV series Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie and then Highway to Heaven, and who also enjoyed the This is the Life series, which Claxton was involved with. Claxton also directed the feature-length series pilot Bonanza: The Next Generation (1988).
Movies & Shows on Plex
  • Bonanza
  • Highway to Heaven
  • Night of the Lepus
  • The Rifleman
  • Route 66
  • Home Town Story
  • Kit Carson
  • The Californians
  • All That I Have
  • The Christmas Spirit
Known For
  • Bonanza
  • Little House on the Prairie
  • The Twilight Zone
  • Night of the Lepus
  • Dallas
  • Highway to Heaven
  • The High Chaparral
  • Perry Mason
  • Law of the Lawless

Filmography

1988
1986
Our House (TV Series)
1985
1984
1982
Fame (TV Series)
1981
Father Murphy (TV Series)
1979
Shirley (TV Series)
1978
Dallas (TV Series)
1977
Eight is Enough (TV Series)
1976
1975
The Blue Knight (TV Series)
1974
1974
The Cowboys (TV Series)
1972
1972
The Rookies (TV Series)
1969
1968
1967
The High Chaparral (TV Series)
1964
1964
1963
Arrest and Trial (TV Series)
1961
1960
1960
Route 66 (TV Series)
1960
The Aquanauts (TV Series)
1960
Thriller (TV Series)
1960
1960
1959
1959
The Twilight Zone (TV Series)
1959
1959
Bonanza (TV Series)
1959
Black Saddle (TV Series)
1959
Rawhide (TV Series)
1958
Yancy Derringer (TV Series)
1958
1957
1957
1957
1957
Perry Mason (TV Series)
1957
1957
Meet McGraw (TV Series)
1957
1957
1956
1956
1955
Gunsmoke (TV Series)
1954
The Whistler (TV Series)
1954
1953
1952
This Is The Life (TV Series)
1951
1951

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