LOS ANGELES — Paul Wendkos, who directed more than 100 films and TV shows during a 50-year career, including the 1959 surf movie “Gidget,” has died. He was 84.
Family spokeswoman C. Christie Craig said Wendkos died Thursday in Malibu of a lung infection that followed a stroke.
“Gidget,” starring Sandra Dee as an all-American surfer girl, was a hit and led to two sequels for Wendkos.
His other films included the 1957 drama “The Burglar,” starring Jayne Mansfield, and 1969’s “Guns of the Magnificent Seven.”
For TV, he directed series such as “The Rifleman” and “Hawaii Five-O.” His made-for-TV movies included “The Legend of Lizzie Borden” and “The Ordeal of Patty Hearst.”
Wendkos is survived by his wife, Lin Bolen, a former NBC television producer; his son Jordan Wendkos; a granddaughter; a niece; and nephews.
