American photographer and screenwriter (1928–2001)
William Woodfield
Born
William Read Woodfield
(1928-01-21)January 21, 1928
San Francisco, California, United States
Died
November 24, 2001(2001-11-24) (aged 73)
Los Angeles, California
Occupation(s)
Photographer, television producer and screenwriter
Spouse
Lili (Lily) Woodfield
William Read "Billy" Woodfield (January 21, 1928 – November 24, 2001) was an American photographer, television screenwriter, and producer who took black-and-white photographs of American screen actors. He also wrote the screenplay to the Hypnotic Eye (1960).[1]
Career
Publishing
In 1946 Woodfield began publishing Magicana, a trade paper for magicians. In 1948 his newsletter became a regular column in Genii magazine.[2] He would continue writing the column until 1949, eventually shifting his focus to photography. In 1961, Woodfield co-authored The Ninth Life with Martin Machlin, documenting the infamous Caryl Chessman murder trial and execution. He would continue writing and publishing literature into the 1980s.
Photography
Working for Globe Photos, Woodfield's began taking celebrity photographs which began appearing in publications as early as 1957,[3] photographing Natalie Wood in 1959 and Elizabeth Taylor for Life magazine. Woodfield's photographs accompanied Peter Ustinov's writing in Ustinov's Diplomats. In 1968, Woodfield published The Execution, his first solo written work.
Woodfield and Balter were credited with opening up Mission: Impossible's story lines, which had previously been physical problems to solve (break into a prison, uncover a hidden message), by having the agents play grand-scale confidence games on the mission targets, to misdirect and manipulate them. "Billy Woodfield, a con devotee and self-described 'apprentice cheat,' was the prime mover behind the IMF's transformation into con artists. The approach had great story potential, gave the series its own identity, and helped make Mission a hit."[6] He also wrote episodes of Columbo including episodes that featured magicians.
Woodfield died of heart failure in Los Angeles in 2001.[7][8]