William Asher

William Asher
Asher with second wife Elizabeth Montgomery in 1964
Born	William Milton Asher (1921-08-08)August 8, 1921 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	July 16, 2012(2012-07-16) (aged 90) Palm Desert, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Alzheimer's disease
Occupation	director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1948-1990
Spouse(s)	Danny Sue Nolan (m. 1951–61) Elizabeth Montgomery (m. 1963–73) Joyce Bulifant (m. 1976–93) Meredith Asher (m. 1998–2012)(his death)
Children	6
Parent(s)	Ephraim M. Asher Lillian Bonner

William Milton Asher (August 8, 1921 – July 16, 2012) was an American television and film producer, film director, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific early television directors, producing or directing over two dozen series.

With television in its infancy, Asher introduced the sitcom Our Miss Brooks, which was adapted from a radio show. He began directing I Love Lucy by 1952. In 1964, he produced and directed Bewitched, which starred his then-wife Elizabeth Montgomery. As a result of his early success, Asher was considered an "early wunderkind of TV-land," and was hyperbolically credited in one magazine article with "inventing" the sitcom.

Asher was nominated for an Emmy four times, winning once for directing Bewitched in 1966. He was also nominated for the DGA award in 1951 for I Love Lucy.

Asher was born in New York City to stage actress Lillian Bonner and producer Ephraim M. Asher (1887-1937), whose movie credits were mostly as an associate producer. His sister, Betty Asher, was an MGM publicist for Judy Garland. His father was Jewish, his mother Catholic. Asher's family moved to Los Angeles when he was 10, where he often accompanied his father to the movie studio.

Asher's parents divorced when he was 11, resulting in a return to New York with his mother. He later recalled that this period was filled with turmoil, as his mother was abusive and an alcoholic. As a result of having to live in New York with his mother, he dropped out of school and served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II.

Asher returned to California to direct Leather Gloves (1948), a low-budget film. He eventually gravitated to television (then a new medium), and got a job writing short story "fillers" for various programs, which evolved into a series called Little Theatre. From this work, he gained a contract with Columbia Pictures to work on a musical film for Harry Cohn.