Villager Craig Gilbert, a writer and producer, died last week. He was known for the “Dupont Show of the Week” (1961–1964), and “An American Family” (1973), a television series that documented the daily lives of the Loud family and made history as the first reality television show. Gilbert also produced “The American Parade” in 1974.
A native Long Islander, Craig was a Harvard graduate and served in the navy. He worked briefly as an editor on “The March of Time” newsreels before joining NBC’s “Victory at Sea” TV series (1952). In recent years Craig would hold court on a bench in the lobby of his Jane Street building, with a beautiful hand-carved wooden staff in one hand and a smile through his long beard, looking as if he was posing as Moses.
—Carol London