‘Magnum Force’ Director Ted Post Dies at 95





Clint with Post filming on location Magnum Force

I was sad to learn that director Ted Post, who directed numerous early TV shows as well as the Clint Eastwood films Hang ‘em High and Magnum Force, died in Santa Monica on Tuesday 20th August. He was 95. He also directed more than 20 episodes of the TV Western series Rawhide.Throughout the 1950s and 60s Post helmed TV series including Danger in 1950, and going on to series including Perry Mason, The Rifleman and Gunsmoke. In the 1960s, he directed episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Defenders, Combat! and Peyton Place. The 1973 film Magnum Force was the first of the Dirty Harry sequels. Post also helmed features Beneath the Planet of the Apes, The Harrad Experiment and Go Tell the Spartans, as well as the TV series Rich Man, Poor Man — Book II and the 1986 TV movie of Stagecoach. Born in Brooklyn, Post was a theater usher before studying acting, but then moved into directing. He is survived by his wife Thelma, a daughter, a son, four grandchildren, a brother and a sister. Services were held 1 p.m. Friday 23rd August at Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, 5950 Forest Lawn Dr, Los Angeles.