BREAKING NEWS: I DREAM OF JEANNIE PRODUCER & DIRECTOR DEAD AT 80

[Jack77]

Hi Jeannie fans, I'm sorry to report some very sad news so suddenly right after the release of the Season 5 DVD set...

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IDOJ Director Claudio Guzman Dead at 80
From the Los Angeles Times


Claudio Guzman, 80; produced & directed I Dream Of Jeannie and the children's TV show 'Villa Alegre'


By Valerie J. Nelson
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer


July 16, 2008


Claudio Guzman, who produced one of the nation's first bicultural
Spanish-English educational television programs for children, "Villa
Alegre," which premiered in 1973 on PBS, has died. He was 80.


Guzman died Saturday of pneumonia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in
Los Angeles after a long illness, said his wife, Micki.


He was the main director of the TV sitcom "I Dream of
Jeannie" and also served as Producer for that NBC series.
He helped create "Villa Alegre," a half-hour show in the
tradition of "Sesame Street."


"We want children to understand that despite language, geography and
cultural differences, they are all similar," Guzman, a native of
Rancagua, Chile, told The Times in 1972.


Carmen Zapata was among the stars who dispensed wisdom to inquisitive
youngsters in the mythical town of Villa Alegre, or "Happy Village."


In 1977, The Times called "Villa Alegre" a "stylized . . . uplifting"
show that cleverly mixed Spanish and English.


The program aired until about 1980 on more than 230 stations
nationally and was seen locally on KCET-TV Channel 28.


Guzman won an Emmy Award in 1959 for art direction for the TV film
"Song of Bernadette," produced by the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse.


It starred Desi Arnaz, who helped him break into Hollywood.


He also directed several Desilu Playhouse dramas, including 1959's "A
Diamond for Carla," which starred Anna Maria Alberghetti, the
Italian-born actress and operatic singer whom he married in 1964. They
had two daughters and divorced in 1972.


The son of an architect, Claudio Elias Guzman was born Aug. 2, 1927,
and came to the United States in 1951 intending to study architecture
in the East but ended up in Los Angeles.


As a hospital orderly with limited English skills, Guzman often drew
pictures to communicate with patients. One patient introduced him to
Cuban-born TV producer Arnaz, with whom he could speak Spanish.


In a career that spanned four decades, Guzman directed almost 30 TV
shows, including several episodes of "The Patty Duke Show" in the
mid-1960s and "Harper Valley P.T.A." in 1981. He also produced several
programs.


"He was very astute and very acute," said Joe Goodson, who was an
associate producer on "I Dream of Jeannie." "He was a gem to deal
with."


After Guzman married Micki in 1981, they spent six years in Chile,
where he worked for a television station and designed homes for
friends. More recently, he lived in the Carthay Circle area of Los
Angeles.


An avid painter and sailor, he named his boat El Mudo, for "The Mute,"
a joking reference to the days when he barely spoke English.


In addition to his wife, Guzman is survived by his daughters,
Alexandra, a family therapist in Los Angeles, and Pilar Guzman
Mitchell, a magazine editor in New York City; stepchildren Ken Rich,
Eloise Rich and Kelly Rich; and two grandsons.


A memorial is pending.

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Such sad news & I really hope that Mr. Guzman was well enough to see & enjoy all of his episodes that he directed of I Dream of Jeannie one last time on DVD including last week's season 5 release before he passed away. Perhaps he got season 5 from Sony earlier than us and was able to watch the episodes. I sure hope he did!
He was my favorite Jeannie director and between him & Hal Cooper they directed most of the episodes.
Here are some of my favorite episodes that Claudio directed...

SEASON 1

#22: How Lucky Can You Get? (This was Claudio's first episode he directed and the episode where Tony & Roger are promoted to Major.)


SEASON 2

#31: Happy Annivesary (The first color episode to feature a bunch of new things including a new colored & better designed bottle for Jeannie.)

#50: One of Our Bottles Is Missing (Mrs. Bellows see's Jeannie's bottle and has to have it. And so did we after we got to see how it was very easy to duplicate!)

#53: The Greatest Entertainer in the World (The Sammy Davis Jr. Episode)

#54: My Incredible Shrinking Master (A great episode to take advantage of the special effects.)

#55: My Master the Pirate (A great time travel episode. Love the lagoon scene.)

#58: My Master Napeoleon's Buddy (Another great time travel episode.)

#61: The Mod Party


SEASON 3

#64: The Greatest Con Artist in the World. (This should have been part 2 from a 3 part Hawaii episode. It was great to see Jeannie director Hal Cooper as Milton Berle's sidekick.)

#65: My Master the Weakling (Great Don Rickles episode.)

#68: Everybody's a Movie Star (The episode where Paul Lynde turns Tony's home into a film set.)

#72: Tony's Wife (Another Jeannie's sister episode.)

#74: My Son the Genie (Bob "Gilligan" Denver pops up in this classic episode playing the genie son of Haji.)

#75: Jeannie Goes to Honolulu ( The first of the legendary Hawaii episodes with Don Ho singing a beautiful song.)

#77: Genie, Genie, Who's Got the Genie Part 1 (Claudio directed the first two episodes of the famous four part safe episodes Hal Cooper directed the last two.)

#78: Genie, Genie, Who's Got The Genie ? Part 2

#85: Have You Ever Had a Jeannie Hate You? (Jeannie's sister turns Jeannie against Tony. Very funny episode.)

#86: Operation: First Couple On The Moon (Another great Jeannie's sister episode.)


4TH SEASON

#89: Jeannie and the Wild Pipchicks. (One of the best Jeannie episodes to be filmed. CLASSIC.)

#91: Abdullah

#99: Jeannie, My Guru

#102: Ride' Em Astronuat

#106: The Biggest Star In Hollywood

#109: Nobody Loves a Fat Astronaut (Another great Jeannie's sister episode.)

#111: Jeannie-Go-Round (The second BEST Jeannie's sister's episode after Jeannie & The Tiger. This is the classic episode where Barbara Eden playing Jeannie's sister sings in a night club and blinks Tony off the chair in his boxers. PRICELESS.

#113: Blackmail Order Bride. (Great episode about a nosy reporter trying to get the scoop on Major Nelson and Jeannie doing everything in her power so he will not disturb Tony.)


SEASON 5

#120: The Blood of Jeannie (Great episode with NASA on lockdown and Jeannie & Tony trying to give Dr. Bellows fake blood. LOL)

#124: The Wedding (The famous episode where Jeannie finally got her wish.)

#125: My Sister, the Homewrecker (The last Jeannie's sister episode, the last episode to feature Farrah Fawcett and also the last episode to fetaure guest star Michael Ansara & real life husband to Barbara Eden.)

#132: Jeannie and the Curious Kid ( Another great favorite episode where Dr. Bellow's nephew Melvin sleeps over the Nelson's and then steals Jeannie's bottle. How Rude! But you all would have done the same! ;-)

#134: Help, Help a Shark (The famous pool episode with Guest star Jim "Mr. Howell" Backus and Jeannie scaring the sh#t out of Tony from his pocket. PRICELESS.

#137: Hurricane Jeannie (What many Jeannie fans consider to be the all time favorite I Dream Of Jeannie episode and which was really suppose to air as the very last episode features Dr. Bellows finally discovering Tony's secret about Jeannie only to turn out to be a "dream" ;-)

These are just some of my all time favorite I Dream Of Jeannie episodes that Claudio Guzman directed and did such a wonderful job. He directed many other episodes of Jeannie, but these episodes I mention are what stand out in my memory & I will always enjoy them forever.


Claudio Guzman,
Thank you for making I Dream Of Jeannie what it has become today!
Your work made us all happy and the results were a very important part of our childhood & still continue to this day!!
Your legacy will live on in our hearts forever!!!
You will be missed but never forgotten.
God Bless You & Rest in Peace...

[Ireneparalegal]

[CAJeannieFan57]

Bill Daily spoke of this first thing on the radio this morning. One thing he said that stood out - without Claudio Guzman, there might not have been 5 seasons of IDOJ. He said that Claudio was able to handle the various personalities of the cast, particularly Larry Hagman. When the script was less than the best, Claudio let Larry and Bill work it out so that the script was funny - rather than demanding that they stay with the way the script was written.

Also, my research tells me that Claudio Guzman was just a few weeks older than Bill Daily - Mr. Guzman would have been 81 on August 2nd. (Bill Daily will be 81 on August 30th.)

Our website put his picture on the front page today - one from IDOJ days.

RIP, Mr. Guzman - we loved what you did.

[comedyfreak]

Aww, that is sad. RIP Mr. Guzman, you'll be missed. He left behind a long legacy. I didn't realize he created Villa Alegre, my neice use to watch it all the time as a kid.