caption death_date death_place birth_place nationality birth_date alt article_title name occupation
gordon hessler in 1974 19 january 2014 london , united kingdom berlin , germany british 12 december 1925 black and white portrait gordon hessler
 gordon hessler film and television director
gordon hessler

gordon hessler -lrb- 12 december 1925 -- 19 january 2014 -rrb- was a british film and television director , screenwriter , and producer .
born in berlin , germany , he was raised in england and studied at the university of reading .
while a teenager , he moved to the united states and directed a series of short films and documentaries .
universal studios hired hessler as a story reader for the `` alfred hitchcock presents '' television series .
he became story editor for two seasons -lrb- 1960 -- 1962 -rrb- for that series , then served as the associate producer for `` the alfred hitchcock hour '' from 1962 until its cancellation in 1965 .
he directed episodes of that series and several other shows , including `` hawaii five-o '' and `` sara '' .
in 1969 , he directed his debut feature film , `` the oblong box '' , starring vincent price .
it was the first of three horror films hessler would direct with the veteran horror star , the other two being `` cry of the banshee '' -lrb- 1970 -rrb- and `` scream and scream again '' -lrb- 1970 -rrb- .
hessler 's other films include `` murders in the rue morgue '' -lrb- 1971 -rrb- , `` the golden voyage of sinbad '' -lrb- 1974 -rrb- , `` pray for death '' -lrb- 1985 -rrb- and `` the girl in a swing '' -lrb- 1988 -rrb- starring meg tilly , an adaptation of richard adams 's ghost story novel .
the majority of hessler 's directorial work from the late 1970s on was in television .
hessler died in his sleep on 19 january 2014 .
