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 aged 74.

Wilson died on January  14 at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia.

His wife, Charters Smith Wilson, said on Wednesday that he had been suffering from lung cancer and emphysema.

Wilson 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.