Hal Sitowitz, 71; Television Writer, Producer and Director
LA Times
Hal Sitowitz, 71, a television writer, producer and director who wrote a memorable “Gunsmoke” episode starring Bette Davis and tackled social issues in TV movies such as “In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan,” died of lung cancer Oct. 31 at his home in Beverly Hills. Sitowitz wrote “The Jailer,” the 1966 “Gunsmoke” episode in which film icon Davis made a rare TV appearance as a revengeful Old West matriarch who kidnaps Matt Dillon’s love interest, Miss Kitty (Amanda Blake). A 1973 “Gunsmoke” episode written by Sitowitz, about an immigrant Russian Jewish family, won him the National Media Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
