He soon became involved in producing early TV dramas such as “China Smith,” “Meet McGraw,” “Yancy Derringer” and “Man with a Camera.” [2] Houghton reached a pinnacle in his career when he was hired by Bill Self at CBS to produce the first 39 episodes of Rod Serling's “The Twilight Zone” in its original half-hour format.

[3] Other credits include seasons of “High Chaparral,” “Harry O.,” “Hawaii 5-O” and the American Zoetrope film, "The Escape Artist."

Houghton was born in Denver, CO. His parents moved to Los Angeles because of his mother's ill health; she died when he was eleven years old.

[4] He attended UCLA, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, majored in Economics and English[5] and lettered in varsity track and field as a high-jumper.

[6] While attending high school and college, he helped out backstage on several films by Cecil B. DeMille, along with his close friend and classmate Horace Hahn.