Hal Roach Jr.

Hal Roach Jr. was an American film and television producer and director.

The son of legendary comedy producer/director Hal Roach, he co-directed the 1940 science-fiction film One Million B.C. with his father, and worked on several successful feature films starring Laurel and Hardy, the most famous among Roach Sr.’s stable of comedians.

In 1948, the Hal Roach Studio made the transition from film to television production. The younger Roach served as producer for many of television’s earliest drama series, including Racket Squad, Public Defender, Code 3, and Passport to Danger. From the beginning, Roach was groomed to take over the family business and did so upon the senior Roach's retirement in 1955.

Roach remained involved in film projects, receiving producer credits for the 1959 rock & roll exploitation film Go, Johnny, Go! (with Chuck Berry), comedy compilation film The Crazy World of Laurel and Hardy (1967), the Las Vegas documentary Spree (1967), and The Groundstar Conspiracy with George Peppard (1972).

Roach served as president of the Television Academy.

Roach died March 29, 1972, in Santa Monica, California. He was 53.