Motion Picture Director. He specialized in two-fisted crime dramas and adventure yarns. His best-known film is the noir classic "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946). William Taylor Garnett was born in Los Angeles. From 1917 to 1922 he was a flight instructor for the Naval Air Service in San Diego. A crash during a training flight left him with a permanent limp and a lifelong reliance on a walking stick. After his discharge he was as a newspaper cartoonist and supplied gags to comedy producers Mack Sennett and Hal Roach before directing his first feature, "Celebrity", in 1928. Garnett co-wrote most of his scripts and his films are noted for their narrative drive and careful integration of plot and background. They include "The Spieler" (1928), "Her Man" (1930), "One Way Passage" (1932), "China Seas" (1935), "Slave Ship" (1937), "Seven Sinners" (1940), "Bataan" (1943), "The Valley of Decision" (1945), "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1949), "Soldiers Three" (1951), "One Minute to Zero" (1952), "Cattle King" (1963), and "The Delta Factor" (1970). From the late 1950s he worked mainly in television, directing episodes of such shows as "Gunsmoke" and "The Untouchables". Garnett published a novel, "A Man Laughs Back" (1935), and an autobiography, "Light Up Your Torches and Pull Up Your Tights" (1973). His first of three wives was actress Patsy Ruth Miller. He died of leukemia.
Motion Picture Director. He specialized in two-fisted crime dramas and adventure yarns. His best-known film is the noir classic "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946). William Taylor Garnett was born in Los Angeles. From 1917 to 1922 he was a flight instructor for the Naval Air Service in San Diego. A crash during a training flight left him with a permanent limp and a lifelong reliance on a walking stick. After his discharge he was as a newspaper cartoonist and supplied gags to comedy producers Mack Sennett and Hal Roach before directing his first feature, "Celebrity", in 1928. Garnett co-wrote most of his scripts and his films are noted for their narrative drive and careful integration of plot and background. They include "The Spieler" (1928), "Her Man" (1930), "One Way Passage" (1932), "China Seas" (1935), "Slave Ship" (1937), "Seven Sinners" (1940), "Bataan" (1943), "The Valley of Decision" (1945), "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (1949), "Soldiers Three" (1951), "One Minute to Zero" (1952), "Cattle King" (1963), and "The Delta Factor" (1970). From the late 1950s he worked mainly in television, directing episodes of such shows as "Gunsmoke" and "The Untouchables". Garnett published a novel, "A Man Laughs Back" (1935), and an autobiography, "Light Up Your Torches and Pull Up Your Tights" (1973). His first of three wives was actress Patsy Ruth Miller. He died of leukemia.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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