Gene Reynolds, an Emmy-winning producer and director who was a force behind two of the most acclaimed television series of the 1970s and early ‘80s — “M*A*S*H” and “Lou Grant” — died Feb. 3 in Burbank, CA. He was 96.

Mr. Reynolds started his prolific career as a performer, appearing in some 80 films and television shows. In the 1960s, he directed numerous episodes of television comedies, including “Hogan’s Heroes” and “F Troop,” both of which found humor and absurdity in military settings. That experience served him well in 1972, when he helped Larry Gelbart develop “M*A*S*H,” the sitcom about an Army hospital during the Korean War. Immediately after that success, he helped create “Lou Grant,” about a fictional newspaper that twice won the Emmy Award for outstanding drama series.

“M*A*S*H” has been described as a classic example of ensemble acting, and members of the cast credit Mr. Reynolds with the chemistry that made the show work.