Producer and Director David Yarnell ’51 Leaves Notable Mark on Entertainment Industry

David Yarnell ’51, a prolific producer and director whose work spanned classic early TV and radio programs—including the practical joke reality series Candid Camera—to the critically acclaimed 2018 Melissa McCarthy drama Can You Ever Forgive Me?, has died. He was 96. 

Yarnell passed away on Jan. 28, 2026 at his home in Los Angeles with his wife, Toni Howard, by his side, talent agency CAA confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter.   

Born in Brooklyn on March 14, 1929, Yarnell graduated from Brooklyn Law School after attending the Cooper Union School of Art in Manhattan, and soon thereafter began a long, groundbreaking career in the entertainment industry that spanned radio, film, and television.  

His earliest work was in New York City, where he was a program director for Channel 5. A big career break came after the alumnus persuaded political commentator William F. Buckley to star in a weekly show he produced called Firing Line in the early 1960s. He also produced broadcasts of early boxing matches with Muhammad Ali, who at that time was still using his original name of Cassius Clay. 

Later, Yarnell’s many producing and/or directing credits include the 11-year-run of TNT programming with Joe Bob Briggs, which earned him an Emmy nomination as producer and director. He also produced popular TV programs such as Candid Camera; Love, American Style; and That’s Incredible.  

Recognizing opportunities on the West Coast, he moved to Los Angeles to launch ABC’s groundbreaking In Concert late-night series in 1972, which for the first time brought rock acts such as Alice Cooper, The Allman Brothers Band, the Bee Gees, and Steely Dan, among other notable acts, to network TV. The series evolved into a nine-season syndicated Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, which featured acts such as The Rolling Stones, Queen, and Black Sabbath, for which a total of 180 ninety-minute shows were produced, reports Deadline.  

For HBO, Yarnell produced comedy-variety specials featuring Roseanne Barr and Dolly Parton. Next, he formed the production company DY Productions to focus on documentaries, including the first television biography of director Billy Wilder for PBS’ American Masters series in 1998. Other production credits included AFI 100 Years, the TNT series of 10 one-hour specials celebrating American cinema, and, for ABC, Television’s Greatest Performances Part I & II. 

Most recently, in 2018, Yarnell produced and was the driving force behind the Fox Searchlight film Can You Ever Forgive Me?, which earned McCarthy and Richard E. Grant Oscar nominations.  

Yarnell is survived by Toni Howard, his wife of 35 years. The couple established the Toni and David Yarnell Merit Award of Excellence in Architecture and Art at Cooper to assist those aspiring to go into creative work.