NEW YORK — Hugh Wilson, an award-winning director and writer whose credits ranged from the raucous film comedy “Police Academy” to the popular sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati,” has died.

Wilson died Jan. 14 at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia. His wife, Charters Smith Wilson, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he was 74 and had been battling lung cancer and emphysema.

Wilson was a Miami, Florida native who found work with Mary Tyler Moore Productions in the mid-1970s. He was soon writing scripts for “The Bob Newhart Show” and in 1978 created “WKRP,” which drew upon Wilson’s time working at a radio station in Atlanta. He was also successful in movies, directing and co-writing “Police Academy” and later directing the hit “The First Wives Club.”

The Associated Press