Harvey Laidman, a veteran TV director who helmed multiple episodes of such series as The Waltons, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, the original Matlock and 7th Heaven, has died. He was 82.
Laidman died of cancer on Jan. 3 in a hospice facility in Simi Valley, his son, Dan Laidman, told The Hollywood Reporter.
During his three-decade-plus career, he also directed installments of The Blue Knight, Family, Hawaii Five-O, Hunter, Kojak, Eight Is Enough, The Incredible Hulk, Lou Grant, Knots Landing, Falcon Crest, Airwolf, Knight Rider, Magnum, P.I., Jake and the Fatman, Silk Stalkings and JAG.
Laidman served as assistant director and unit production manager on the second and third seasons of CBS’ The Waltons from 1973-75, then advanced to the director’s chair to call the shots on 11 episodes of the beloved period drama from 1975-81.
He also helmed 10 episodes of CBS’ Scarecrow and Mrs. King from 1985-87; 33 episodes of NBC/ABC’s Matlock from 1988-94; and 16 episodes of The WB’s 7th Heaven, his final credit, from 1996-2004.
Harvey Samuel Laidman was born in Cleveland on Feb. 22, 1942. His mother, Sarah, was a librarian and his father, Albert, an electrical contractor.
Laidman spent three summers as a member of The Kenley Players, a stock theater company based in Warren, Ohio, and studied electrical engineering at Kent State before transferring to USC, where he earned a degree in cinema in 1964.
He then worked for three years at Los Angeles station KTTV before being accepted into the DGA’s Producer Training program.
Laidman got his start in Hollywood at Universal as an A.D. on such films as Airport (1970), Red Sky at Morning (1971) — starring future Waltons star Richard Thomas — and Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) and worked on the NBC series The Bold Ones: The New Doctors in 1972-73.
He segued to Lorimar Productions, where he was a unit production manager and A.D. before landing his first directing assignment on the 1975 third-season Waltons episode “The Woman.”
He also helmed the network telefilms Steel Cowboy in 1978, Chicago Story in 1981 and The Boy Who Loved Trolls in 1984.
Laidman went back to school to get a doctorate in education and taught science and, from 2011 until last year, film directing at Cal State Northridge. He also was an active member of the amateur radio community.
In addition to his son, survivors include his wife, Susan; his grandchildren, Mira and Talia; and his sister, Laura.
A service to honor his life will be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday at Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills. Donations in his memory can be made to the dog rescue group Wags and Walks, “reflecting Harvey’s love for Rosie, Alice and Kernel, the best pups around.”
English (US) ·