Herbert Bayard Swope Jr.

Family-Placed Obituary

HERBERT BAYARD SWOPE, JR. Producer, Director, Journalist and Broadcaster 1915 Ð 2008 Veteran film/television/stage producer and commentator Herbert Bayard Swope, Jr. passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 4, 2008 in Palm Beach, Florida. An early day television network executive, Swope was a noted producer in television, motion pictures and the stage, as well as a host commentator with his own radio and television shows. Born November 30, 1915 in New York City, Swope grew up in the heady intellectual world of the famed Algonquin Round Table in New York, of which his author/journalist father was a founder. Swope, Sr. was considered an icon of his time, winning the first Pulitzer Prize in 1917 for reporting 'Inside the German Empire,' in which he coined the phrase 'Cold War', marking one of the four Pulitzers he won. Swope, Jr.'s early years were spent mingling with the intelligentsia of his father's world, including Albert Einstein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward, Philip Barry and Harpo Max, at the Algonquin and during croquet matches, a game made popular by Swope peer and the Algonquins, at the Swope Long Island Estate. Those memories are recorded in a biography, 'A Perfectly Normal Childhood,' he was completing at the time of his death. Swope, Jr. was educated at Horace Mann School, Choate School and Princeton University. He served in the United States Navy (1941-1946) before joining CBS Television as a remote unit director. He moved into the new field of sportscasting, directing many firsts in the field that won him the Variety Show Management Award and a citation by the American TV Society. Joining NBC as a producer/director in the early days of live television, he won the Sylvania TV Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing Technique and became executive producer of NBC-TV in charge of 'Wide Wide World.' A forerunner in the Golden Era of the burgeoning television industry, he produced and directed such series and specials as 'Lights Out', 'The Clock', 'The Black Robe', 'Robert Montgomery Presents', 'Arsenic and Old Lace', 'Climax', 'Five Fingers', and the long running 'The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis', in which he discovered a young actor named Bob Denver. Later he became producer/host of 'This Was TV, Growth of a Giant' and his own radio and television commentary shows, 'Swope's Scope' and 'Critic's Views.' Moving into motion picture production as an executive producer at 20th Century-Fox and the Walter Reade Organization, Swope produced the films 'Hilda Crane', 'Three Brave Men', 'The True Story of Jesse James', 'The Bravados', and 'The Fiend who Walked the West.' His theatrical ventures were as Director/Co-Producer of 'Step on a Crack', 'Fragile Fox' and 'Fair Game for Lovers.' Mr. Swope, Jr. was predeceased by his actress wife, Margaret Hayes in 1977. He is survived by their children, Hebert Bayard Swope III of Manhattan, and Tracy Brooks Swope Avildsen of Beverly Hills, CA; two stepchildren, Elizabeth and Sam Warriner, by his second wife, the late Elizabeth Edgar Swope; three grandchildren, Hayes Swope, Rajah Vlijter and Bridget Avildsen; and one great-grandchild, Zazni Vlijter. Private Family Services will take place. A public memorial service will be held at the Royal Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach, Florida at later date to be announced. NORTHWOOD FUNERAL HOME, West Palm Beach is in charge of arrangements. The family kindly suggests that in lieu of flowers, please make donations in Mr. Swope's memory to your local chapter of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). NORTHWOOD FUNERAL HOME WEST PALM BEACH FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED To express condolences and/or make donations Visit PalmBeachPost.com/obituaries