Background
Finkel was born Robert S. Finkel on March 25, 1918 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father owned several nickelodeon movie theaters in and around Philadelphia.
Finkel was born Robert S. Finkel on March 25, 1918 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father owned several nickelodeon movie theaters in and around Philadelphia.
He graduated from the Carnegie Mellon University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama.
Finkel has notable credits on the television shows The Eddie Fisher Show, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show and The Andy Williams Show. He also produced a televised comeback concert for singer Elvis Presley in 1968. After college, Finkel had odd jobs including dancing in the Keith Circuit, being the resident director of the Wharf Theater in Provincetown, Massachusetts and as director and lighting manager at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Company.
During World World War II, Finkel enlisted and served in the Army Signal Corps and was stationed in Burma.
He was awarded a Citation Medal by the Chinese Government for his services during the war. He came back from the war in 1946.
Finkel"s began his professional career in show business as the director of an episode of American Broadcasting Company"s Mysteries of Chinatown in 1950. From there Finkel continued his career becoming well-known for producing, directing and even writing credits on such programs as The Colgate Comedy Hour, Gruen Guild Theater, City Detective and The People's Choice Awards.
Finkel stepped into the producer’s role in 1959 on National Broadcasting Company"s The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, a series he continued to produce and direct for the next several years.
His career as a producer would crest over the next decade and a half, as he produced The Andy Williams Show during the mid-1960s. During his latter career, Finkel worked as a writer and producer for several specials for celebrities such as Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, Wayne Newton and John Denver. During this same time period of the 1970s and 1980s, Finkel directed episodes of Barney Miller, The Bob Newhart Show and Circus of the Stars.
Finkel"s last cr was as the director of the 1996 made-for-television movie Have You Seen My Son.
Finkel died on April 30, 2012 in his Beverly Hills, California home due to age-related illnesses. He was 94.