Joel A. Malone; Writer, Director

Joel Anthony Malone, a veteran writer and director whose career included work in film, television, radio and advertising, has died at a North Hollywood hospital. He was 77.

Malone, a longtime Studio City resident, died Tuesday of complications from a stroke he suffered last week, said his son, Tad Malone of La Canada Flintridge.

Born in Portland, Ore., Malone settled in Glendale as a child. He briefly attended UCLA in the early 1930s before beginning his career in 1935 as a staff writer at Glendale radio station KIEV. He moved to radio station KNX the following year.

During World War II, Malone served in the Air Corps, and wrote, produced and directed training films in the armed forces’ First Motion Picture Unit alongside such luminaries as Clark Gable, Alan Ladd, William Holden and Ronald Reagan. He attained the rank of master sergeant and was honorably discharged in 1945.

As a screenwriter, Malone’s credits included “Crime by Night” a 1944 murder mystery starring Jane Wyman; “Appointment With Murder” (1948), “Illegal Entry” (1949), “South Sea Sinner,” a 1950 melodrama with Shelley Winters, and “Just Across the Street” (1952) with Ann Sheridan.

According to his son, Malone was perhaps best known for his work on the 1950s radio mystery serials “Satan’s Waitin’ ” and “The Whistler.”

“ ‘The Whistler’ (is) a mystery show without a mystery,” he told The Times in 1954. “Right from the start, the listeners are in on who commits the crime. What we hide from them until the very end is what happens to cause this criminal to be caught. That’s the hardest part of writing the show--and when we come up with a real good twist at the end, that’s the part that’s the most gratifying to us.”

In the 1950s, Malone also worked in radio and television advertising, dividing his time between Los Angeles and New York writing and directing spots for Colgate-Palmolive, Budweiser and Lufthansa Airlines.

Among his professional affiliations, Malone was a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild, the Pioneer Broadcast Assn., and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In addition to his son Tad, Malone is survived by another son, Brian Malone of Burbank; a daughter, Joellen (JoJo) Ament of Los Angeles, and a granddaughter.

Visitation will be held today and Saturday at Forest Lawn Mortuary, 1712 S. Glendale Blvd., Glendale. Malone’s ashes will later be scattered at sea in a private service. The family asks that donations be made in Malone’s name to a charity of the donor’s choice.