William F. Claxton

William Francis Claxton October 22 1914 February 11 1996 was an American film and television producer editor and director He made a number of films for Robert L Lippert He also directed and produced episodes of Bonanza the NBCTV series Little House on the Prairie and also directed episodes of the NBCTV series Father Murphy The Rifleman The Twilight Zone Fame and The High Chaparral Claxton got his start in Hollywood as a film editor in the 1940s where he was employed an editor for Edward Small Productions as he would move into directing of second feature films by 1950s and 1960s and also delve into television directing during this period During World War II Claxton served in the US Army Signal Corps as a captain Claxton worked under Frank Capra as a film editor on the Why We Fight series Claxton worked alongside Theodor Seuss Geisel Dr Seuss in the animation and film department of the US Army Claxtons very first directorial effort was 1951s All That I Can Have Claxton who is best known for his TV work enjoyed a long stint as producerdirector of the syndicated Christian anthology series This is the Life which was his first work in TV from 1951 to 1980 He spent much of the 1950s with 20th Century Foxs Regal Pictures subsidiary turning out mediumbudget films which included the films God Is My Partner 1956 and Desire in the Dust 1960 occasionally as in the cast of Rockabilly Baby 1957 he produced as well as directed Claxton was a close friend to actor Michael Landon with whom he worked on the NBCTV series Bonanza Little House on the Prairie and then Highway to Heaven and who also enjoyed the This is the Life series which Claxton was involved with Claxton also directed the featurelength series pilot Bonanza The Next Generation 1988