Wendkos' first feature film was The Burglar. His fluid camera technique caught the attention of the head of Columbia Pictures, Harry Cohn, who not only wished to distribute the film but put Wendkos under contract. Wendkos directed episodes of Playhouse 90 then did The Case Against Brooklyn for producer Charles Schneer at Columbia. He directed a TV movie for Columbia about Jesse James, Bitter Heritage and episodes of Behind Closed Doors. Wendkos directed another for Schneer, the war movieTarawa Beachhead. He had a massive hit with the teen filmGidget starring Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson and James Darren. Face of a Fugitive was a Western for Schneer, and Battle of the Coral Sea was a war movie with Robertson. Wendkos went back to TV for Five Fingers, Tightrope, Law of the Plainsman, Alcoa Theatre, Two Faces West, and Route 66. He returned to Columbia for two youth movies with Darren and Michael Callan, Because They're Young and Gidget Goes Hawaiian. He did a drama, Angel Baby with George Hamilton, then made Gidget Goes to Rome. Wendkos later directed episodes of Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, The Rifleman, Mr. Novak, Honey West, The Big Valley, I Spy, and The Invaders. He also directed the pilot for the original Hawaii Five-O. When Wendkos worked on I Spy, he was dismissed from the production when the producers deemed the episodes he had filmed to have been too "arty". In 1968 Wendkos signed a five-picture contract with Mirisch Productions, beginning with the war filmsAttack on the Iron Coast and Hell Boats, followed by two westerns set in Mexico, Guns of the Magnificent Seven and Cannon for Cordoba. He also made the first and only feature film for Quinn Martin, The Mephisto Waltz.
Later career
From 1970 until his retirement in 1999, Wendkos specialized in made-for-television movies—one of these was , based on a TWA hijacking in 1985. It picked up five Emmy nominations, including one for Wendkos.
Personal life
Wendkos married Ruth Bernat on March 1, 1953, and had one son, Jordan Elkan Wendkos. Ruth died in June 1978. In 1984, Wendkos married Lin Bolen, former NBC VP and producer; they lived in Malibu, California, until his death. Wendkos was ill for several years following a stroke. He died on November 12, 2009, in Malibu. He was survived by his son, Jordan, granddaughter, Justine Wendkos, and his wife, Lin Bolen Wendkos.
