RIP Ron Honthaner

January 24, 2017

January 25, 1933 - January 10, 2017 On January 10, 2017, Ron Honthaner peacefully passed away after a five-month battle with lung cancer. His career in Film & Television started with various jobs on low-budget movies, followed by a post-production position at Columbia/Screen Gems. In 1967, he sold a script to "Gunsmoke," and that became his home for the next seven years - selling the show a second script, working as the series' post production supervisor and then associate producer. During a "Gunsmoke" hiatus in 1973, he directed "The House On Skull Mountain," a low-budget thriller for 20th Century-Fox. Honthaner's skills bridged writing and production, and his credits included the "Gunsmoke" spin-off, "Dirty Sally" and the TV version of "How the West Was Won." His editing credits included the TV shows "Herbie the Love Bug,""Simon and Simon" and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" and the indie features, "The Hostage" and "Dark Before Dawn." Honthaner wrote novels as well, and his first published book, "Shadow of the Hawk" was inspired by decades of working in the Western genre and a devotion to cowboy culture and early American history. Honthaner was also a talented craftsman, who turned his hobby of custom woodworking into a satisfying side business and spent many years making beautiful furniture. He is survived by his wife Eve, son Jed, daughter-in-law Jackie, sister Joan Campbell, many nieces and nephews and devoted friends. Donations in his memory can be made to the Motion Picture & Television Fund (www.mptf.com/old/tributegift) or Hospice Charities of America, c/o Sanctuary Hospice - 150 Paularino Ave., Suite C-125 - Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

Born: 1/25/1933, U.S.A.

Died: 1/10/2017, Costa Mesa, California, U.S.A.

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1968-1972 [screenwriter]

Gunsmoke (TV) – 1971-1975 [producer]

Dirty Sally (TV) – 1974 [screenwriter]

Across the Great Divide – 1976 [film editor]

How the West Was Won (TV) – 1978 [film editor]

Hot Lead and Cold Feet – 1978 (saloon patron)