When I look back at my own work, Bewitched stays with me the most, and Lucy, and the Beach Party pictures. The scripts of the Beach Party films were sheer nonsense, but they were fun and positive. . . . When kids see the films now, they can get some idea of what the '60s were like. The whole thing was a dream, of course. But it was a nice dream.
Asher was born in New York City to stage Actress Lillian Bonner and Producer Ephraim M. Asher (1887-1937), whose movie credits were mostly as an associate Producer. His sister, Betty Asher, was an MGM publicist for Judy Garland. His father was Jewish, his mother Catholic. Asher's family moved to Los Angeles when he was 10, where he often accompanied his father to the movie studio.
Asher returned to California to direct Leather Gloves (1948), a low-budget film. He eventually gravitated to television (then a new medium), and got a job writing short story "fillers" for various programs, which evolved into a series called Little Theatre. From this work, he gained a contract with Columbia Pictures to work on a film musical for Harry Cohn.
Asher was first married in 1951 to Danny Sue Nolan, with whom he had two children; the couple divorced in 1961. Asher then married Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery in 1963. They had three children and divorced in 1973 (soon after the series' cancellation). His third marriage was to Joyce Bulifant from 1976–1993. He adopted her son, actor, John Mallory Asher. This marriage also ended in divorce. In his last years, Asher resided in Palm Desert, California, with his fourth and final wife, Meredith Asher.
Asher received an offer from CBS Studios to direct Our Miss Brooks, starring Eve Arden, a television version of the popular radio show. In 1952, Desi Arnaz asked Asher to direct an episode of his series I Love Lucy; by that show's end in 1957, Asher had directed 110 of the series' 179 episodes, Asher later commented that even though the creators knew the show was good, they did not believe it would become an American icon. "When we did the show, we thought, 'That's it, we're done with it.' We never dreamed it would last this long. Lucille Ball, obviously, was one of TV's true pioneers."
In addition to Our Miss Brooks and I Love Lucy, Asher directed episodes of The Colgate Comedy Hour, Make Room for Daddy, The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), The Patty Duke Show, Gidget, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Alice. Asher and Montgomery befriended President John F. Kennedy, and, together with Frank Sinatra, planned Kennedy's 1961 inaugural ceremony.
Asher was nominated for an Emmy four times, winning once for directing Bewitched in 1966. He was also nominated for the DGA award in 1951 for I Love Lucy.
Asher's best-known work was Bewitched, which he produced for its entire eight-year run. At that time, he was married to the show's star Elizabeth Montgomery. They divorced soon after the series' cancellation in 1972.
Asher received a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in November 2003.
Asher died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at age 90 on July 16, 2012.
