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IMDbPro

Bernard L. Kowalski(1929-2007)

  • Director
  • Producer
  • Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
IMDbProStarmeter
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Bernard Kowalski is an important figure in television with a long and impressive list of credits. To mention a select few, he directed the pilots for Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957), N.Y.P.D. (1967) and The Monroes (1966); executive-produced Baretta (1975); and was co-owner of Mission: Impossible (1966). Kowalski got his first job in the movie business at the age of five as an extra in several Dead End Kids pictures at Warner Brothers, as well as such Errol Flynn vehicles as Dodge City (1939) and Virginia City (1940). His experience behind the camera began at age 17 when he worked as a clerk for his father, who was an assistant director and production manager. TV provided Kowalski with his first opportunity to direct on such Western series as Frontier (1955) and Boots and Saddles (1956); he then made the transition to feature-film directing in 1958 when he was hired by Gene Corman (brother of Roger Corman) to helm the teen exploitation feature Hot Car Girl (1958).
BornAugust 2, 1929
DiedOctober 26, 2007(78)
BornAugust 2, 1929
DiedOctober 26, 2007(78)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Add or change photo on IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys

Photos

Richard D. Zanuck, David Brown, Bernard L. Kowalski, and Daniel C. Striepeke in Sssssss (1973)

Known for

Robert Blake in Baretta (1975)
Baretta
6.7
TV Series
  • Director
William Conrad and Joe Penny in Jake and the Fatman (1987)
Jake and the Fatman
6.4
TV Series
  • Director
Clint Eastwood, Paul Brinegar, and Sheb Wooley in Rawhide (1959)
Rawhide
8.0
TV Series
  • Director
Barbara Hershey, Michael Anderson Jr., Tammy Locke, Keith Schultz, and Kevin Schultz in The Monroes (1966)
The Monroes
7.8
TV Series
  • Director(as Bernard Kowalski)

Credits

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IMDbPro

Director

  • Bob Terry in The Forsaken Westerns (2017)
    The Forsaken Westerns
  • Dick Van Dyke and Barry Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder (1993)
    Diagnosis Murder
    • (as Bernie Kowalski)
  • David Hasselhoff and Angie Harmon in Baywatch Nights (1995)
    Baywatch Nights
  • Hulk Hogan, Felicity Waterman, and Robin Weisman in Thunder in Paradise (1994)
    Thunder in Paradise
  • William Conrad and Joe Penny in Jake and the Fatman (1987)
    Jake and the Fatman
  • Nashville Beat (1989)
    Nashville Beat
  • Miracle at Beekman's Place (1988)
    Miracle at Beekman's Place
  • Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I. (1980)
    Magnum, P.I.
  • Ernest Borgnine, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Alex Cord in Airwolf (1984)
    Airwolf
  • James Earl Jones, Lisa Eilbacher, and Holland Taylor in Me and Mom (1985)
    Me and Mom
  • David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider (1982)
    Knight Rider
  • Kerrie Keane, Dina Merrill, Eric Pierpoint, and Michael Preston in Hot Pursuit (1984)
    Hot Pursuit
  • Dana Carvey, Dick Butkus, James Farentino, and Bubba Smith in Blue Thunder (1984)
    Blue Thunder
    • (as Bernie Kowalski)
  • Stacy Keach in The New Mike Hammer (1984)
    The New Mike Hammer
    • (as Bernard Kowalski)
  • Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker in Simon & Simon (1981)
    Simon & Simon

Producer

  • William Conrad and Joe Penny in Jake and the Fatman (1987)
    Jake and the Fatman
  • Ernest Borgnine, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Alex Cord in Airwolf (1984)
    Airwolf
  • Robert Blake in Baretta (1975)
    Baretta
  • Macho Callahan (1970)
    Macho Callahan
    • (as Bernard Kowalski)
  • The Rat Patrol (1966)
    The Rat Patrol
  • Clint Eastwood, Paul Brinegar, and Sheb Wooley in Rawhide (1959)
    Rawhide
  • 330 Independence Avenue, SW
    • (1963)
  • The Dick Powell Theatre (1961)
    The Dick Powell Theatre

Second Unit or Assistant Director

  • The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna (1956)
    The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna
    • (as Bernard Kowalski)
  • Screen Directors Playhouse (1955)
    Screen Directors Playhouse
    • (as Bernard Kowalski)
  • Richard Boone in Medic (1954)
    Medic

Personal details

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    • August 2, 1929
    • Brownsville, Texas, USA
    • October 26, 2007
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(undisclosed)
    • September 10, 1949 - October 26, 2007 (his death, 4 children)
    • Frank Kowalski
    • Brian Grazer(Niece or Nephew)
  • Unsold pilots: Directed several unsold pilots for a proposed NBC dramatic series called "The Robert Taylor Show". The pilots were revisions of an earlier effort (1962) starring William Bendix called "330 Independence S.W."
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Interview

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Uncle of Brian Grazer.

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