Born in Louisiana and raised in Oklahoma, Pittman was a talented writer/director in Hollywood in the 1950s and early 60s before his death, from cancer, at a very young age. He came to Hollywood as an actor from Broadway, but turned to writing and directing soon thereafter. Pittman's career is marked by the number of times he both wrote and directed episodes of various television series so that he might have more creative control over the end product. Though chiefly remembered today for his fine work on the many television series produced by Warner Brothers at the time, he also wrote and directed memorable episodes of Alacakaranlık Kuşağı (1959) and other programs of the period. As Army Archerd noted in "Variety" on June 26, 1962, "Monty Pittman was braver than any character he wrote or directed. He fought cancer to the last."