The Iranian-born, US-based director set a record for directing the most hours of episodic series television.

Iranian born film and television director Reza Badiyi, whose credits included iconic TV series Mission Impossible and Hawaii Five-O, has died aged 81.

Badiyi began his career making documentaries in Iran before moving to the US in 1955, where he started out as a cinematogprapher.

He went on to direct TV series including The Six Million Dollar Man, Cagney & Lacey and The Trails of Rosie O’Neill.

In 1998, Badiyi he received a Directors Guild of America award for directing the most hours of episodic series television when he finished his 400th TV episode, for the sci-fi series Sliders.

He worked as assistant director on Robert Altman’s The Delinquents in 1957. In 2006 he directed the family drama The Way Back Home, with Julie Harris and Ruby Dee.

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