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Stefan Hatos

“Let’s Make A Deal” gameshow co-creator Stefan Hatos, a longtime radio and television writer and producer, died March 2 of a heart ailment in the Toluca Lake area. He was 78 and had lived in Beverly Hills and Pebble Beach.

He began his career at 19 behind the microphones of Detroit stations WJLB and WXYZ. While doing announcing work, he wrote episodes of “The Lone Ranger” and “The Green Hornet.”

He later moved to New York where he wrote episodes of Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater and “Inner Sanctum.” He worked for CBS until World War II, when he served in the Navy.

After the war, he returned to CBS Radio in New York and Chicago. He also directed “Lucky Strike Hit Parade” for NBC Radio and produced “Ladies Be Seated” for the ABC Radio Network.

He won a Peabody Award for the ABC-TV show “The Adventures of Uncle Mistletoe.”

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But Hatos was best known in later years for the antic TV costume gameshow “Let’s Make A Deal” with host Monty Hall. It debuted in 1963 and ran for 16 years in daytime and 10 years in primetime on NBC and ABC.

Hatos is survived by his wife of 37 years, Shirley; a daughter; a brother; and a sister. Services were private.

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Update: 2024-08-20

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