Bernard L. Kowalski(1929-2007)
- Director
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
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 (1956),
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).
