Stephen J. Cannell, 1941-2010
"You don't make television by yourself. It's a collaborative art form-if it's an art form at all; a craft?-and it really comes down to how good the people are that you accumulate around you. And I expect that a lot of my success is from the fact that I had really good actors working with me, I had really good directors working with me, I had great writers that were on my staff that helped me keep those shows fresh and alive. And I'm a fairly diligent writer. I think if you write for five hours everyday, Saturday and Sunday included, for 40 years, you'd be surprised by how much you can write!"
-Legendary television writer/producer Stephen J. Cannell ("The A-Team," "The Greatest American Hero," "The Rockford Files" and "21 Jump Street" among many others) passed away yesterday. He spoke with Logan Sachon last summer about how he managed to do everything in an impossibly busy career. Cannell was 69.
OMG, I didn't know he was the guy on the typewriter at the end of "Family Ties"! I haz a sad, now.
:(
He was such an interesting man. The Logan Sachon profile captured how talented he was at juggling so many different projects. He was hugely successful despite pretty severe dyslexia. My husband spent some time with him and said he was just a positive, inspiring kind of guy.
I loved the Rockford Files. Not just a great show…what a great song.
Sad.
I've been watching reruns of Rockford on an oldies station nearly every night lately. What a pleasure it is.
He was a genre fiction machine. His website was great, too–lots of good advice for the aspiring writer of popular fiction. May he rest in peace.
What's with the collar popping at 1:27 and 1:39?
But to me he'll always be the bad guy on "RENEGADE".
I was in Orange County for work last year and had a day where I didn't have to clock in until late, so I spent the morning trolling independent book stores.
Randomly, I was browsing in a spot where Cannell was giving a reading and maybe a dozen people where lined up to hear him.
I wasn't aware of his work, so it was a bit awkward to keep browsing in this tiny store while he spoke, but he was fascinating to listen to.
He will…be tivo'd.