A pioneering director and Emmy nominee Gabrielle Beaumont has passed away at the age of 80.
The British director was best known for becoming the first female director of Star Trek: The Next Generation and for working on numerous TV hits such as M*A*S*H, Hill Street Blues, and Dynasty.
The pioneering director, whose career spanned five decades, also directed episodes for primetime television shows including Miami Vice, Law & Order, Cagney & Lacey, and more.
According to Beaumont’s producer and director brother Christopher Toyne, the 80-year-old died peacefully at her Spanish home in Fornalutx, Mallorca.
Beaumont was born in England in 1942. She was the daughter of Gabriel Toyne, an actor and stuntman, and Diana Beaumont, a leading actress in many British films.
After her training at BBC, Beaumont kicked off her career in the movie industry by becoming an editor and later assistant director and production manager.
The first movies she directed – horror films The Corpse and The Johnstown Monster – were both released in 1971. She continued working on directing several BBC dramas and documentaries.
It wasn’t until the early 1980s when her movie The Godsend aired in the States that Beaumont was invited to Hollywood by producer Aaron Spelling to work on ABC’s Vega$.
Following her success with an episode of Vega$, Beaumont was hired to work on additional projects including the likes of Hart to Hart, Dynasty, The Colbys, 7th Heaven, Melrose Place, Hotel, and Beverly Hills, 90210.
In the following decades, her renown as a director grew and she landed gigs directing episodes for M*A*S*H, Miami Vice, Law & Order, and more.
In 1989, she also became the first female ever to direct an episode of Star Trek thanks to her work on The Next Generation episode ‘Booby Trap.’
Our thoughts are with Beaumont’s family and friends.
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