Douglas Benton(1925-2000)

Born in Hollis, Oklahoma, Douglas Benton was an oil field "roughneck, " a wartime bombardier/navigator cadet, a newscaster and an Associated Press bureau chief before moving to Hollywood and becoming story editor, associate producer and ultimately producer of TV's prestigious "General Electric Theater." His other TV producing credits include "Thriller, " "Dr. Kildare, " "The Rookies", "Police Woman", "Ironside", "The Name of the Game, " "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.", "Magnum, P.I". and "Columbo", for which he won an Emmy.