Television writer and creator Stephen J. Cannell died 30 September 2010 of complications from melanoma. Born in Los Angeles, California, on 5 February 1941, he won an Emmy in 1978 for Outstanding Drama Series (The Rockford Files), and a Writers Guild of America award for scriptwriting in 1981 (for Tenspeed and Brown Shoe). He was nominated for four more Emmys one more WGA Award, and three Edgars, and won lifetime achievement awards from the WGA (2006), the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (2005), and the Casting Society of America (1989).
He was born into a wealthy family, but suffered from extreme (and undiagnosed) dyslexia, which caused him to fail three grades and lose a football scholarship to the University of Oregon. His New York Times obituary notes that “a professor there recognized his writing gifts and encouraged him. Once he tried to break into television writing, Cannell quickly found he had a knack for its basics.” He went on to write more than 1,000 television episodes, and to create nearly 20 series, including The Rockford Files, The A-Team, and The Greatest American Hero.
Late in life, he turned to another career—crime writing—and he produced sixteen novels.
In addition to writing and producing, he occasionally appeared on-screen (notably in the credit for his production company). His genre work includes: Ice Spiders (2007, as an actor), Left in Darkness (2006, producer), The Tooth Fairy (2006, writer/producer), The Garden (2006, producer), It Waits (2005, writer/producer), Demon Hunter (2005, producer), Threshold (2003, actor), Dead Above Ground (2002, writer/producer/actor), Them (1996, executive producer), The Greatest American Hero (1981-83, executive producer/writer/creator), and Midnight Offerings (1981, executive producer).
Cannell married his grade-school sweetheart, Marcia Finch, in 1964. She survives him, as do their two daughters (Tawnia and Chelsea), one son (Cody), and three grandchildren.