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Clint Eastwood collaborator Ted Post dies aged 95

The TV and film director also worked with Elliott Gould, Burt Lancaster, Chuck Norris and Robert Mitchum

James Legge
Wednesday 21 August 2013 10:30 BST
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Ted Post (right) directing Clint Eastwood in Magnum Force
Ted Post (right) directing Clint Eastwood in Magnum Force (Rex Features)

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Ted Post, the film and TV director notable for collaborating with Clint Eastwood on Hang 'Em High and Magnum Force, died yesterday. He was 95.

The Brooklynite made his directorial debut in the 1950s, and first worked with Eastwood in the 1960s TV series Rawhide. The actor then insisted Post direct Hang 'Em High in 1968.

The two would later fall out during the filming of Magnum Force, with the director claiming Eastwood had ruined his career by giving the impression he directed more of the film than he did.

According to the BBC, he later told an interviewer: "I believe that Clint became afflicted with a touch of megalomania. Clint's greed and ego began to affect his sensitivity and judgment."

His other directing credits include 1970's Beneath the Planet of the Apes, as well as 56 episodes of the Western series Gunsmoke, 90 installments of Peyton Place and the 1981 pilot episode for Cagney & Lacey. As well as Eastwood, he directed Elliott Gould, Burt Lancaster, Chuck Norris and Robert Mitchum.

In 1996, Post formed Pro Bono Productions, which he hoped would showcase the skills of older film makers in L.A.

Eastwood joined Jack Lemmon, Karl Malden and Gregory Peck in publicly backing the initiative.

Post told the Los Angeles Times: “Today we’re living in an era where it's a sin to be old.

"It wasn't true years ago. They were looking for people with experience to guide them.

"But, these days, you’re discarded like Kleenex. It’s a very serious problem.”

His last directing credit was 1999's low-budget film 4 Faces.

He is survived by his wife Thelma, two children and four grandchildren.

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