{{Short description|American television director and producer}} '''Frank Bunetta''' was an American television director and producer.
==Early years== When Bunetta was 10 years old, he performed as "the Boy Without a Body" in the Sells Floto Circus.<ref name="mhobit" /> He later worked with TV developer Allen B. DuMont in an association that led to his career in video.<ref name="mhobit" />
==Career== Bunetta's TV career began when he was an employee at the DuMont Laboratories who worked at night at WABD-TV.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Weinstein |first1=David |title=The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television |date=2004 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=978-1-59213-499-1 |page=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tV7fXlQQdz4C&dq=%22Frank+Bunetta%22&pg=PA46 |access-date=April 9, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> In 1947, Bunetta was technical director of a TV adaptation of ''A Christmas Carol'' on the ''DuMont Television Network''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gould |first1=Jack |title=The News of Radio: Victor Moore Signed for Jimmy Durante Show --Jane Froman on Percy Faith Program |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/12/24/archives/victor-moore-signed-for-jimmy-durante-show-jane-froman-on-percy.html |access-date=April 8, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=December 24, 1947 |page=32|url-access=subscription}}</ref> By April 1949, he had been promoted to production supervisor for Dumont TV.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=DuMont Plans WABD, Net Staff Integration, Division Of Powers for Efficiency |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50QEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Frank+Bunetta%22&pg=PA15 |access-date=April 9, 2022 |magazine=Billboard |date=April 2, 1949 |page=15}}</ref>
Bunetta directed Jackie Gleason in 1951 when Gleason was host of the variety show ''Cavalcade of Stars''. He went on to direct other programs, including ''Your Show of Shows'' and Ernie Kovacs's program, before he reunited with Gleason in 1962 to direct ''The Jackie Gleason Show''. Frank Philbin, who produced the Gleason show, described Bunetta as "ingenious and creative, a very good comedy director".<ref name="mhobit" /> Other TV on series for which Bunetta was director, producer, or both included ''Dark of Night'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hawes |first1=William |title=Filmed Television Drama, 1952-1958 |date=2001 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-1132-0 |page=63 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0pQKmPSfHCQC&dq=%22Frank+Bunetta%22&pg=PA63 |access-date=April 9, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> ''The Garry Moore Show'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hyatt |first1=Wesley |title=Emmy Award Winning Nighttime Television Shows, 1948-2004 |date=2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0874-7 |page=156 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SrmJCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Frank+Bunetta%22&pg=PA156 |access-date=April 9, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> ''It's a Business'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leszczak |first1=Bob |title=Single Season Sitcoms, 1948-1979: A Complete Guide |date=2012 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-6812-6 |page=88 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UvE6snvtSesC&dq=%22Frank+Bunetta%22&pg=PA88 |access-date=April 9, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> ''Mary Kay and Johnny'',<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Mary Kay and Johnny |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gPUDAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22Frank+Bunetta%22&pg=PA38 |access-date=April 9, 2022 |magazine=Billboard |date=March 6, 1948 |page=38}}</ref> ''The Adventures of Oky Doky'',<ref name="slts">{{cite book |last1=Hyatt |first1=Wesley |title=Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops |date=2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0515-9 |page=9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ty21CgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Frank+Bunetta%22&pg=PA45 |access-date=April 9, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> ''Battle of the Ages'',{{r|slts|page1=36}} ''What's Your Bid?'',{{r|slts|page1=44-45}} and ''Johnny Jupiter''.{{r|slts|page1=46}} TV specials for which Bunetta was director, producer, or both included ''Holiday on Wheels'' (CBS 1959),{{r|ts|page1=189}} ''The Sid Caesar Special'' (CBS 1959),{{r|ts|page1=333}} ''The CBS All Star Circus'' (1960 and 1961),{{r|ts|page1=84}} and ''The Jackie Gleason Christmas Special'' (CBS 1966).<ref name="ts">{{cite book |last1=Terrace |first1=Vincent |title=Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936-2012, 2d ed. |date=2013 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-7444-8 |page=204 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BUvTYfLP624C&dq=%22Frank+Bunetta%22&pg=PA84 |access-date=April 9, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
==Personal life and death== Bunetta was married to Terry Hicks, and they had three children. He retired from show business in 1970 and had open-heart surgery in 1974. In 1976, he dedicated his life to God and began studying to be a minister.<ref name="mhobit" /> He died in Lafayette, Louisiana, on March 31, 1978, aged 61.<ref name="mhobit">{{cite news |title=Frank Bunetta, Director for Jackie Gleason |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99352093/frank-bunetta/ |access-date=April 8, 2022 |work=The Miami Herald |date=April 1, 1978 |page=3-B|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunetta, Frank}} Category:Year of birth missing Category:1978 deaths Category:American television directors Category:American television producers