--- name: "Hugh Wilson" canonical: "https://film.one/person/hugh-wilson-28904" fi1m_id: "hugh-wilson-28904" imdb_id: "nm0933505" tmdb_id: 28904 wikidata_id: "Q968324" roles: ["Director"] born: "21 August 1943" died: "14 January 2018" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "director" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-10-04T18:37:52.023704+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Hugh Wilson ## Identity Hugh Wilson - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/hugh-wilson-28904 - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** hugh-wilson-28904 - **IMDb ID:** nm0933505 - **TMDB ID:** 28904 - **Wikidata ID:** Q968324 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Wilson_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q968324, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0933505/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/28904 Director. Born 21 August 1943 in Miami, Florida, USA. Died 14 January 2018. ## Details - **Work:** Director - **Born:** 21 August 1943, Miami, Florida, USA - **Died:** 14 January 2018 - **Also known as:** Hugh Hamilton Wilson Jr., Raoul Plager, Hughie Wilson - **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 1 Emmy (1 won) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Wilson_(director), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q968324, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0933505/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/28904 ## Fi1m on Hugh Wilson > Hugh Wilson’s comedies favour misfits, strong personalities and broad laughter. We like the warmth he brings to an ensemble, though *Police Academy* shows how readily he could leave the performers to make up for thin writing. In *Police Academy* (1984), Michael Winslow’s vocal sound effects are more inventive than much of the writing around them. Wilson gives him room, trusting the actor playing Larvell Jones to provide the joke through sheer precision. We laughed at those noises because it was a pleasure to hear a human voice do something so unlikely. The film is patchy, but Wilson’s willingness to let the cast be funny makes it worth considering for anyone fond of broad comedy. That interest in a collection of awkward personalities runs from the radio-station staff of *WKRP in Cincinnati* (1978–1982) to the police recruits. Wilson created the television series before making his feature debut with *Police Academy*, which he also co-wrote. Television gave him experience with large casts and physical comedy, and the film keeps its affection for people who do not fit in. He wants us to enjoy their company before we question their competence. The trouble is that company is sometimes all we get. The screenplay, credited to Neal Israel, Pat Proft and Wilson, too often assumes that putting recruits up against authority supplies a finished joke. Vulgarity fills the gaps where a more particular situation might have helped, and the academy could have supplied more than an excuse to gather these people together. We do not need the recruits to behave better; we need their misbehaviour to be less interchangeable. The move into features did not end his television work: he created *Frank’s Place* (1987–1988), with Tim Reid among his collaborators. *The First Wives Club* (1996) later put Hawn, Keaton and Midler at the centre of a star-led ensemble. In *Blast from the Past* (1999), starring Brendan Fraser, his interest in civility found room in a romantic comedy. That is worth remembering when the vulgarity of his debut threatens to define him. Try *Police Academy* for the performers, provided crude jokes are not an obstacle. ## Biography Hugh Wilson (1943–2018) was an American film director, screenwriter and television creator. He directed and co-wrote the screenplay for the comedy *Police Academy* (1984). Wilson created the CBS sitcom *WKRP in Cincinnati* (1978–1982), on which he also wrote and directed episodes. He had earlier written for *The Bob Newhart Show* and *The Tony Randall Show*. His other directing credits include *Guarding Tess* (1994), *The First Wives Club* (1996) and *Blast from the Past* (1999). A University of Florida graduate, Wilson began his career in advertising before moving into television writing at MTM Productions. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for writing on the series *Frank's Place* (1987–1988). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, apnews.com.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *Police Academy* (1984), Fi1m 62, Director, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/police-academy.md) ## Complete filmography (24) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Mickey* (2004), as Munson · Director - *One More Kiss* (1999), as Frank's false teeth - *Dudley Do-Right* (1999), Director, Executive Producer, Writer - *Blast from the Past* (1999), as Levy · Director, Screenplay, Producer - *Southie* (1998), Producer - *Rough Riders* (1997), series, Writer, Creator - *The First Wives Club* (1996), Director - *Down Periscope* (1996), Screenplay, Story - *Guarding Tess* (1994), as The President (voice) · Director, Screenplay - *The New WKRP in Cincinnati* (1991), series, Creator - *Sunday in Paris* (1991), Director - *Sunday in Paris* (1991), series, Director - *The Famous Teddy Z* (1989), series, Writer, Director, Creator - *Frank's Place* (1987), series, Director, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator - *Burglar* (1987), as Customer at Mayday · Director, Writer - *Easy Street* (1986), series, Creator - *Rustlers' Rhapsody* (1985), Director, Writer - *Police Academy* (1984), as Angry Driver (uncredited) · Director, Screenplay — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/police-academy.md) - *Stroker Ace* (1983), Screenplay - *WKRP in Cincinnati* (1978), series, as Policeman #1 · Writer, Director, Executive Producer, Creator - *The Chopped Liver Brothers* (1977), Director, Writer - *The Tony Randall Show* (1976), series, Director, Producer - *The Bob Newhart Show* (1972), series, Writer - *The Bagel Report* (1972), Director, Writer, Producer ## Awards ### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won - 1988: Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (won), for *Frank's Place* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/hugh-wilson-28904