Bernard McEveety, 79; Director of Several Popular TV Series

Bernard McEveety, 79, director of such popular television series as “Bonanza” and “Gunsmoke,” died Feb. 2 in Encino of natural causes.

A native of New Rochelle, N.Y., he moved to California as a child and attended UCLA before serving with the Army infantry in Italy during World War II. He worked as a probation officer until he became a director in 1953.

Over some 40 years, McEveety directed more than 250 television shows, miniseries and pilots including 50 episodes of James Arness’ “Gunsmoke” and some 30 episodes of “Combat,” a realistic series starring Vic Morrow and comedian Shecky Greene about Army troops in Europe after D-Day.

Cutting his directorial teeth on the popular Western series of the late 1950s, including “Rawhide,” “Bonanza” and “The Virginian,” McEveety later earned kudos for the 1978 miniseries “How the West Was Won.” He earned top assignments through the 1980s, directing episodes of “In the Heat of the Night” in 1988.