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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Information | ||||
| Gender: | Male | |||
| Birth name: | Charles William Hobin | |||
| Born: | November 12, 1923 | |||
| Birthplace: | Evanston, Illinois, U.S. | |||
| Died | February 15, 1998 (aged 74) | |||
| Deathplace: | Tuscon, Azizona, U.S. | |||
| Career/Family Information | ||||
| Occupation/ Career: |
TV producer/director | |||
| Years active: | 1950-1980 | |||
| Series information | ||||
| Series involved with: | Three's Company | |||
| Episodes involved with: | directed 31 episodes total of Three's Company including 2nd pilot | |||
Charles William "Bill" Hobin (born November 12, 1923-died February 2, 1998) [1] directed a total of 31 episodes of Three's Company in the first two seasons of the show, which also included the second test pilot of the series in 1976, which introduced Joyce DeWitt in her role as Janet Wood.
Career
Among his many works as a director, George, in addition to his writing work on Three's Company he directed episodes for The Bell Telephone Hour, CBS's The Red Skelton Hour, Love, American Style, Welcome Back Kotter, Alice, and Maude. His producing credits include The Judy Garland Show, The U.S. Steel Hour, The Bell Telephone Hour in the 1950's, and then later, The Bill Cosby Special in 1968 and NBC's Bob Hope All Star Christmas Special in 1978.
Early life, career and Family
Born and raised in Evanston, IL, Bill served in and led an air-sea rescue team at Guam during World War II. After the war, he got his first break as a production manager with Coronet Instrumental Films in Glenview. He then joined NBC at WNBQ in Chicago as an assistant television producer.
It was at NBC, directing the programs Garroway at Large and The Wayne King Show, that gave him a reputation as a pioneer in television art.
In 1950, he and his wife relocated to Hollywood, CA, where he began work in TV, serving as a camera director for the now legendary CBS-TV variety series Your Show of Shows, which co-starred legendary comedians Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, where he teamed up with legendary producer Max Liebman, His wife said that his work on YSOS was his proudest work.
He retired in 1980 and moved to Arizona.
Death
Bill died at age 74 in 1998 at his home in Tuscon, AZ. He was survived by his wife, a daughter, Candice Laing; a son, Chuck; and a grandson. [2]
