Fletcher Markle

Fletcher Markle (March 27, 1921 – May 23, 1991) was a Canadian actor, screenwriter, television producer and director. Markle began a radio career in his native Canada, before working in films as an actor, and ontelevision as a host as well as in his other creative roles.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Markle began his career in the early 1940s in Vancouver, British Columbia doing radio dramas with a group whose members included John Drainie, Lister Sinclair, Bernie Braden and Alan Young on such local stations as CJOR and the CBC network. During World War II, the group moved to Toronto, and Markle had a role as an actor in Journey Together (1946). Markle then moved to New York City, and although not listed in the credits, contributed to the screenplay for Orson Welles's The Lady from Shanghai (1947).

During his time in New York, he contributed to the CBS radio anthology, Studio One, which he later brought to television. He produced, co-wrote, and had a cameo role in the movie Jigsaw (1949). He directed Nancy Davis, Ray Milland, and John Hodiak in Night into Morning (1951).

During the 1950s and early 1960s, he was a director, producer and host for a number of television series such as Front Row Center and Boris Karloff's Thriller, Father of the Bride and Telescope. He directed the movie The Incredible Journey (1963) for Walt Disney. Markle is also credited for signing Lorne Greene to play Ben Cartwright in Bonanza.

Markle's first marriage to Helen Blanche Willis ended in 1949 and yielded a son, actor/writer Stephen Markle. While working for Orson Welles, he met his future second wife, Mercedes McCambridge. The couple divorced in 1962.

Mr. Markle was also married a third time to Dorothy Conradt, from 1963 to 1991.

On May 23, 1991, Markle died at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California of heart failure.