Ken Shapiro, director of 'The Groove Tube,' dies at 75

Republished November 30, 2017 - 5:54 AM

Original Publication Date November 29, 2017 - 3:26 PM

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Ken Shapiro, a former child actor and director of the 1974 movie "The Groove Tube," has died. He was 75.

His daughter, Rosy Rosenkrantz, said Wednesday that Shapiro died on Nov. 18 from various cancers at his home in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

"The Groove Tube," starring Shapiro and Chevy Chase, satirized television and 1970s counterculture. It anticipated the arrival of "Saturday Night Live" by a year with skits that parodied sex and children's programing. Chase went on to star in "SNL."

Shapiro retired from Hollywood after directing the 1981 movie "Modern Problems" about an air traffic controller played by Chase.

Shapiro most notably played "the kid" on Milton Berle's "Texaco Star Theater" in the early 1950s.

News from © The Associated Press, 2017

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