'Hogan's Heroes' and 'Walker, Texas Ranger' Legend Dies Peacefully in LA: Albert S. Ruddy Was 94

Albert S. Ruddy, the Canadian-born Oscar-winning producer and writer who helped bring two iconic CBS titles to the screen - Hogan's Heroes and Walker, Texas Ranger , has died. Ruddy passed away following a brief illness at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 25, according to a spokesperson, who added that among his final words were, "The game is over, but we won the game." He was 94.

Born in Montreal on March 28, 1930, and raised in New York City, according to Deadline , Ruddy attended Brooklyn Technical High School before enrolling at the City College of New York and later transferring to the University of Southern California, where he studied architecture. After graduating, Ruddy would eventually go on to start his Hollywood career, which spanned nearly 60-years and saw him produce more than 40 projects.

On the small screen, Ruddy is best remembered as the co-creator of two iconic CBS titles. After Kelly's Heroes director Brian Hutton introduced Ruddy to Bernard Fein in the early '60s, per The Hollywood Reporter , Ruddy and Fein went on to co-created the famed CBS sitcom Hogan's Heroes . The series, which ran for six seasons between 1965 and 1971, starred Bob Crane and was set in a German POW camp. Although Ruddy was was offered a chance to produce or write for Hogan's Heroes , he turned it down.

"When the show became a smash, I got calls from every studio in town, asking for ideas for other shows that I had," Ruddy said in the 2005 book The Godfather Legacy . Among those other shows he would put his name behind would be the CBS police drama Walker, Texas Ranger , which he co-created with Paul Haggis and Christopher Canaan. The series starred Chuck Norris and aired from 1993 through 2001.

Ruddy also had an impact on the big screen. After producing his first picture, Wild Seed , he went on to produce what would become one of his career highlights: the 1972 classic The Godfather . He was the sole producer of the film, which earned him the Oscar for Best Picture at the 45th Academy Awards. Some 32 years later, he took home another Academy Award for producing 2004's Million Dollar Baby , starring Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Hilary Swank. Ruddy has the distinction of being one of nine producers to ever win two or more Academy Awards for Best Picture and holds the largest interval between winning Best Picture at 32 years between awards.

His other credits include the 1974 Burt Reynolds-starring film The Longest Yard , the action road films The Cannonball Run (1981) and its 1984 sequel, Bad Girls (1994), the baseball comedy The Scout (1994), and more. His final big-screen producing credit was Eastwood's 2021 western drama Cry Macho . His life also recently got the small screen treatment in the Paramount+ miniseries The Offer , which starred Miles Teller as Ruddy and chronicled his experience making The Godfather .

Ruddy is survived by his wife Wanda McDaniel, children John and Alexandra, and his son-in-law, screenwriter Abdullah Saeed.