Ralph Senensky

Ralph Senensky
Born	(1923-05-01) May 1, 1923 (age 102) Mason City, Iowa, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Television director and writer
Years active	1940–1988, 2001, 2013
Known for	Star Trek , The Waltons
Website	senensky.com

Ralph Senensky (born May 1, 1923) ^[1] is an American retired television director and screenwriter.

Biography

Senensky was born in Mason City, Iowa and attended Mason City High School. He studied at the Pasadena Playhouse ^[2] and worked as a stage director and a production supervisor before directing for television. Senensky directed multiple episodes for dozens of television shows, as well as made for TV films from 1958 to 1988, including The Fugitive , ^[3] the original series of Star Trek , The Partridge Family and The Waltons . ^[4]

He retired in 1988, but has had small stints directing since including a theatre production and film short ^[2] He turned 100 on May 1, 2023. ^[5] With the death of Robert Butler on November 3, 2023, Senensky is the last surviving person to have directed an episode of Star Trek (1966). ^[6]

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Credit	Notes
1970	The Cliff	Director	Television Movie
1973	A Dream for Christmas	Director	Television Movie
	Winesburg, Ohio	Director	Television Movie
1974	The Family Kovac	Director
	Death Cruise	Director	Television Movie
1975	The Family Nobody Wanted	Director	Television Movie
1976	Jeremiah of Jacob's Neck	Director	Television Movie
1978	Harper Valley PTA	Director (Uncredited)
	The New Adventures of Heidi	Director	Television Movie
1980	Dan August: Once Is Never Enough	Director	Edit of his prior TV work for movie form
	Dan August: Murder, My Friend	Director	Edit of his prior TV work for movie form
	Treachery and Greed on the Planet of the Apes	Director
1981	Big Bend Country	Director	Television Movie
2013	The Right Regrets	Director	Short

Television

Year	TV Series	Credit	Notes
1958-59	Playhouse 90	Production Supervisor, Production Coordinator	4 Episodes
1961-65	Dr. Kildare	Director	5 Episodes
1962	Checkmate	Director	1 Episode
1963	Channing	Director	1 Episode
	East Side/West Side	Director	1 Episode
	Naked City	Director	3 Episodes
	Route 66	Director	2 Episodes
	The Twilight Zone	Director	1 Episode
1963-64	Arrest and Trial	Director	2 Episodes
	Breaking Point	Director	3 Episodes
	The Doctors and The Nurses	Director	2 Episodes
1963-65	Kraft Suspense Theatre	Director	3 Episodes
1964-65	The Fugitive	Director	4 Episodes
1965	Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre	Director	1 Episode
	The Long, Hot Summer	Director	1 Episode
	Slattery's People	Director	1 Episode
	12 O'Clock High	Director	4 Episodes
1966	The Big Valley	Director	1 Episode
	The Wild Wild West	Director	2 Episodes
1966-72	The F.B.I.	Director	16 Episodes
1967	The High Chaparral	Director	1 Episode
	Judd, for the Defense	Director	1 Episode
	Mission: Impossible	Director	1 Episode
1967-68	Ironside	Director	2 Episodes
	Star Trek	Director	6 Episodes
1968	I Spy	Director	1 Episode
	Mannix	Director	1 Episode
	The Name of the Game	Director	1 Episode
1969	Then Came Bronson	Director	1 Episode
1969-70	The Bill Cosby Show	Director	4 Episodes
	The Courtship of Eddie's Father	Director	6 Episodes
1969-80	Insight	Director	15 Episodes
1970	The Interns	Director	1 Episode
	Matt Lincoln	Director	1 Episode
1970-71	Nanny and the Professor	Director	6 Episodes
	The Partridge Family	Director	7 Episodes
1971	Dan August	Director	5 Episodes
	Getting Together	Director	3 Episodes
1972	Banyon	Director	3 Episodes
	Night Gallery	Director	1 Episode
1972-73	The Rookies	Director	2 Episodes
1973	Search	Director	1 Episode
1973-75	Barnaby Jones	Director	3 Episodes
1973-78	The Waltons	Director	12 Episodes
1974	Planet of the Apes	Director	1 Episode
1975	The Blue Knight	Director	1 Episode
	The Family Holvak	Director	2 Episodes
	Medical Story	Director	1 Episode
	Three for the Road	Director	2 Episodes
1976	City of Angels	Director	1 Episode
1977	Eight Is Enough	Director	1 Episode
	Family	Director	1 Episode
	Westside Medical	Director	1 Episode
1978	James at 16	Director	1 Episode
1979	How the West Was Won	Director	1 Episode
	Trapper John, M.D.	Director	1 Episode
1979-84	Hart to Hart	Director	7 Episodes
1980	Lou Grant	Director	1 Episode
	Young Maverick	Director	1 Episode
1981	Dynasty	Director	4 Episodes
1983	Casablanca	Director	2 Episodes
1984	Paper Dolls	Director	3 Episodes
1985-86	The Paper Chase	Director	7 Episodes

See also

• List of centenarians (actors, filmmakers and entertainers)

References

1. Kaplan, Mike (1983). Variety International Show Business Reference, 1983. Garland Pub. p. 271. ISBN   9780824090890 – via Google Books.
2. "Ralph Serensky Directing Little Theater Production". Globe-Gazette. Mason City, IA. January 5, 1949. p. 12. Retrieved June 23, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. Nicklay, Deb (November 19, 2001). "Early Direction Led to Life in Show Business". Globe-Gazette. Mason City, IA. p. 3. Retrieved June 24, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Directing The Waltons - Ralph Senensky". www.allaboutthewaltons.com. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
5. Berman, Marc (May 1, 2023). "Celebrating 100 Years: Ralph Senensky, TV Director, Reaches The Century Mark". Forbes . Retrieved May 3, 2023.
6. Berman, Marc (May 1, 2024). "Legendary TV Director Ralph Senensky Turns 101". Forbes . Retrieved July 7, 2025.

Further reading

• "Ralph Senensky Directing Little Theater Production". Mason City Globe-Gazette. January 5, 1949. p. 12

External links

• Ralph Senensky at IMDb
• Interview with Ralph Senensky at StarTrekHistory.com
• Ralph's Trek - personal blog
• Ralph's Cinema Trek: A Journey in Film - senensky.com - personal website
• Ralph Senensky at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television