Bill Foster, American television director (Benson, Full House, Sanford and Son, The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults), died from cancer he was , 78

Bill Foster  was an American television director known for his work with sitcoms died from cancer he was , 78.

(1933 - February 2, 2011)

His credits, which spanned more than fifty years and encompassed hundreds of hours, included episodes of Full House, Sanford and Son, Amen, Marblehead Manor and You Again?.^[1][2]
Foster directed the 1967 pilot episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, which earned him the only Emmy nomination of his career.^[1][2] Foster went on to direct the television broadcasts of the 23rd and 24th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1971 and 1972 respectively.^[1][2] He also directed the AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to James Cagney in 1974, for which he won a Directors Guild of America Award in 1975.^[1][2]
In 1986, Foster directed the now infamous live syndicated special, The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults, which was hosted by Geraldo Rivera.^[1] The special, which advertised the potential to find the secrets of Al Capone buried in a vault beneath the Lexington Hotel in Chicago, turned up very little.^[1]
Foster spent much of his career directing television sitcoms, especially during the 1970s and 1980s.^[1] He directed 43 episodes of the sitcom, Benson, between 1982 and 1986.^[2] Foster also directed 36 separate episodes of NBC's Amen, which starred Sherman Hemsley and Clifton Davis, between 1986 and 1989.^[2] Foster largely retired after directing 23 episodes of the ABC television series, Full House, from 1989 to 1990.^[2]
Bill Foster died of cancer on February 2, 2011, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 78.^[1] He was survived by his wife, Lynn, and children, Julia and Susan.^[1]

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