Answer the following question: Facts: - death date: 29 june 2003 - spouse: coleen gray 1945 -- 1949 - othername: rodney amateau - birth date: 20 december 1923 - name: rod amateau - death place: los angeles , united states - birth place: new york city , united states - yearsactive: 1950 -- 1989 Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of rod amateau .
Answer:
rodney '' rod '' amateau -lrb- december 20 , 1923 -- june 29 , 2003 -rrb- was an american screenwriter , film and television director .among programs that he directed were nbc 's '' the dennis day show '' , cbs 's sitcoms '' the many loves of dobie gillis '' , starring dwayne hickman , '' mister ed '' , '' the bob cummings show '' , starring robert cummings , and '' the new phil silvers show '' , an unsuccessful attempt by comedian phil silvers to return to a regular series .he was producer of tv shows such as '' my mother the car '' and '' supertrain '' , and wrote the story for the 1988 film '' sunset '' .amateau also directed a few episodes of '' the dukes of hazzard '' , and appeared in a handful of episodes as an actor as well .he infamously directed , produced , and co-wrote the critically panned 1987 film '' the garbage pail kids movie '' .from 1945 to 1949 , he was married to actress coleen gray , who sued him for child support in 1955 .from 1959 to 1962 , he was married to sandra burns , daughter of george burns and gracie allen .