William H. Carruthers (September 27, 1930 – March 2, 2003) was an American television executive who gained his first fame as the director of The Soupy Sales Show at Detroit television station WXYZ-TV. He also directed the Ernie Kovacs-helmed game show, Take a Good Look, for ABC from 1959 to 1961. Carruthers was born in Detroit, Michigan. He served in the Air Force for four years, and after serving, he took up a job at Detroit's then-ABC owned and operated station, WXYZ-TV. One day, he showed up to the station to work when he was told at the last minute, the regular director was unable to direct The Soupy Sales Show, he stepped in to direct the show. He was named the permanent director, and moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1959 upon the show becoming nationally distributed. He went on to be the director on
The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game before starting his own production company in 1968. His company, The William Carruthers Company, produced the ABC country music series The Johnny Cash Show in 1969 with his partner Joel Stein for Screen Gems. He also produced and directed game shows including Give-n-Take, The Neighbors,
()