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Best known for his association with the acclaimed, long-running television comedy/drama M*A*S*H, director Gene Reynolds started out as a juvenile actor. He made his debut at age 11 when he was cast as Bobby Smith in the comedy Thank You, Jeeves (1936). He continued his career as a supporting actor through the late '50s. Reynolds began directing television shows in 1958 and became a producer a decade later. In 1972 he created M*A*S*H, which he based on Robert Altman's adaptation of Richard Hooker's satirical novel. He and writer Larry Gelbert produced the show for its first four years and then Reynolds served as co-executive producer with Gelbert for the fifth year and then left the series to executive produce Lou Grant (1977). Since then Reynolds has only been sporadically involved in producing and directing.