Television and Broadway producer Joseph Cates, father of actress Phoebe Cates and the man who cast Art Carney in “The Honeymooners,” died of leukemia complications on Saturday in New York. He was 74.
Cates was a creator of one of television’s first big gameshows, “The $64,000 Question.” He also helped make TV specials into regular network features, writing, producing and directing more than 1,000 of them.
In addition to casting Carney as Jackie Gleason’s sidekick, Cates designed the original “Honeymooners” set.
Cates, the brother of Hollywood director Gilbert Cates, won two Emmy Awards as an independent producer for an Anne Bancroft special in 1970 and a George Gershwin tribute in 1972. His favorite specials, though, were awards ceremonies, beauty pageants and those featuring comedy, circuses and country and pop music.
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Cates produced more than 200 magic shows, comedy specials with Alan King and Steve Martin, and musical programs with Ethel Merman, Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Johnny Cash and others. His Broadway productions included “Spoon River Anthology,” “Joe Egg” and “Elmer Gantry.”
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