Harold Gast, 85; Screenwriter of Emmy-Winning 1982 Miniseries

Harold Gast, a television writer and producer who wrote the screenplay for the Emmy-winning miniseries “A Woman Called Golda,” has died. He was 85.

Gast died Sunday at UCLA Medical Center after a sudden onset of pneumonia, according to his daughter, Nancy Gast, a Los Angeles County Superior Court commissioner.

Born in New York City, Gast graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in speech. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

He started his writing career in the 1950s for such New York-based radio shows as “Front Page Farrell” and “Real Stories From Real Life.”

Turning his attention to television, he became a prominent writer of such New York-based shows as “Armstrong Circle Theater,” “U.S. Steel Hour” and “The Defenders.”

Relocating to Los Angeles in the mid-1960s, Gast wrote for such popular series as “Dr. Kildare,” “Ben Casey” and “I Spy.”

His list of writing credits includes a number of crime and legal shows including “Judd for the Defense,” which he later produced, and “Cannon,” which he also produced. Also on the list are shows including “The Untouchables” and “The Felony Squad.”

He wrote and produced several miniseries, including “Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case,” “The Jesse Owens Story,” “From Here to Eternity,” and “A Woman Called Golda,” which starred Ingrid Bergman and won an Emmy Award in 1982.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his wife of 61 years, Paulette; a son, Allen; and four grandchildren.