George Waggner


George Waggner was an American actor, director, producer and writer. He is best known for producing and directing the 1941 film The Wolf Man. For some unknown reason, Waggner sometimes configured his name in mostly lowercase letters but with his surname's two Gs capitalized, including in the credits of some of the productions he directed.

Career

Born in New York City, he trained as a chemist and served in World War I before coming to Hollywood to pursue a career as an actor. He made his film debut as an actor portraying Yousayef in The Sheik. He later acted in Western films. The first film he directed was Western Trails. During his career as a film director, he worked with John Wayne, Lon Chaney Jr., Brian Donlevy and Broderick Crawford, Randolph Scott and Boris Karloff. Though primarily known for his horror films today, Waggner also directed many Westerns, action films, and war films.
During his career as a film director, he also wrote songs which appeared in his films, beginning with "Round, White, and Ruby Red" from Operation Pacific. By the end of his career, he had written over 100 songs.
In the 1960s, he moved from cinema to television, directing episodes of the television series Maverick, Batman, The Green Hornet, 77 Sunset Strip, 'Hawaiian Eye' and The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
In 1957 he directed Red Nightmare, a Cold War propaganda film produced by the Department of Defense and narrated by Jack Webb.

Personal life

Waggner died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California on December 11, 1984, at the age of 90.

Filmography

Director
  • Western Trails
  • Prairie Justice
  • Mystery Plane
  • Stunt Pilot
  • Wolf Call
  • The Phantom Stage
  • Drums of the Desert
  • Man Made Monster
  • Horror Island
  • The Wolf Man
  • South of Tahiti
  • Sealed Lips
  • The Climax
  • Frisco Sal
  • Shady Lady
  • Tangier
  • Gunfighters
  • The Fighting Kentuckian
  • Operation Pacific
  • Red Nightmare aka Freedom and You and The Commies Are Coming, the Commies Are Coming
Waggner also directed the following films/episodes made for television
  • The Sword of Villon
  • Destination Nightmare
  • Jack the Ripper
  • The Veil
  • 77 Sunset Strip
  • 77 Sunset Strip
  • The Jane Wyman Show
  • Wagon Train
  • Wagon Train
  • Batman
Writer
  • Gorilla Ship
  • Once to Every Bachelor
  • Champagne for Breakfast
  • Air Devils
  • Oklahoma Terror
  • Laughing at Danger
  • The Fatal Hour
  • Queen of the Yukon
  • On the Spot
  • Phantom of Chinatown
  • Drums of the Desert
  • Man Made Monster
  • The Climax
  • The Fighting Kentuckian
  • Operation Pacific
  • Pawnee
  • Man from God's Country
Producer
  • Badlands of Dakota
  • The Wolf Man
  • The Ghost of Frankenstein
  • Sin Town
  • Invisible Agent
  • Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
  • Phantom of the Opera
  • Cobra Woman
  • The Climax
Actor
  • The Sheik
  • The Great Alone
  • The Iron Horse
  • His Hour
  • ''Love's Blindness''