Charles R. Fagan

Charles R. Fagan of Easton, MD, died peacefully at his home on August 1, 2012, after a five-year battle with chronic lung disease. Born on January 2, 1929, in New York City to Florence Murphy Fagan and Charles Frederick Fagan, he was 83 years old. He leaves his three children, Beth Fagan-Wallace, Kathy Fagan-Rocha, and James Fagan; nine grandchildren; many nieces and nephews, including his niece, Judy Hruska-Shook, with whom he was especially close; and dear companion, Diane Woods. Mr. Fagan and his beloved late wife, Jana Hruska Fagan, fell in love with the Eastern Shore and purchased a summer home on Tilghman Island in the 1970s. They became full-time residents of Royal Oak in the mid-1980s. In 2004, following Jana’s death, he moved to Easton. Mr. Fagan started his career with CBS Television in New York in 1950 and was associated with such notable programs as Studio One, The Ed Sullivan Show, and the award-winning Omnibus series. In 1962, one of his projects, “The Road to the Wall,” produced for the Department of Defense, was nominated for an Academy Award. He was then appointed Director of the Commercial Film Division of United Press International in Washington, DC. In addition to creating and writing scores of documentary films and promotional projects, he wrote and directed “Cyprus in Flames,” filmed in the midst of the civil strife that had riddled Cyprus for more than two decades. In 1966, Mr. Fagan became the principal writer and director of Art Linkletter’s annual CBS Thanksgiving Television Specials – filmed on location throughout the world. He also wrote and directed the NBC Linkletter Special, “A Kid’s Eyes View of Washington.” In 1970, he instituted a series of projects for the U.S. Military. Among these was the Armed Forces Music Festival, a series of fifteen, two-hour shows staged at major military installations around the world. These programs starred celebrities including Roy Clark, Alan King ,Theresa Graves, Jeannie C. Riley, and Louis Nye. Filmed highlights of these shows, along with appearances by the stars, were featured on two Ed Sullivan Shows in 1971. As a result of these activities with the military, Mr. Fagan was asked by the Department of Defense to develop a number of his concepts into educational/motivational films for the troops. In 1974, he was named Director of the Defense Department’s “Salute to International Women’s Year.” In 1975, he was appointed program consultant to Westinghouse and the National Conference of State Legislators in the development and production of energy-awareness programs for legislators, community leaders and opinion-shapers throughout the country. Several significant energy-information programs evolved: State Legislative Energy Briefings; Regional Issue Workshops, and the highly successful Energy Roundtable series which ran, on a monthly basis, from 1980 through 1989. In the early 1990s, Mr. Fagan and Art Linkletter completed the production of six, one-hour specials for the Nostalgia Cable Network, focusing on Linkletter’s admonition that “old age is not for sissies.” These were taped around the country and featured active senior Americans who “do the darndest things.” Mr. Fagan, who believed that Maryland should be a force in the film and TV industry, was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to a two-year term as a member of the Motion Picture and Television Development Advisory Council in 1988. Following his retirement in 1995, Mr. Fagan signed-on as a volunteer for the Talbot Hospice Foundation. The challenge was community awareness. He wrote and produced commercials and public service announcements for the local radio station and hosted interviews with Hospice staff members on Community Access TV. He was also a regular participant in the Hospice Care-Givers’ Support Group. A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 4, at 3 p.m. at Fellows, Helfenbein, & Newnam Funeral Home, 200 South Harrison Street, in Easton. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are welcomed by Shore Home Health & Hospice, 121 Federal Street, No. 3, Easton, MD 21601 and/or Talbot Hospice Foundation, 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton, MD 21601.

Charles R. Fagan

January 2, 1929 - August 1, 2012