Friday, October 01, 2010

Cannell Signs Off

This is terrible news with which to end the week. TV producer, screenwriter, and novelist Stephen J. Cannell--the man who gave us such memorable shows as The Rockford Files, City of Angels, The A-Team, Wiseguy, Hardcastle and McCormick, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Riptide, and Tenspeed and Brown Shoe--died at his home in Pasadena, California, last evening “due to complications associated with melanoma.” He was 69 years old.

Cannell’s latest book, The Prostitute’s Ball (St. Martin’s Press)--the 10th installment in his detective Shane Scully series--is due to arrive in bookstores on October 12.

UPDATE: In the video segment below, Cannell’s gorgeous daughter Chelsea, star of E!’s That Morning Show, looks back at one of her dad’s earliest hit shows for television.



READ MORE:Stephen J. Cannell Dies,” by Jaime Weinman (Macleans); “Stephen J. Cannell,” by Tony Figueroa (TV Confidential); “David Chase, Steven Bochco, and Other Hollywood Folks Remember Stephen J. Cannell,” by T.L. Stanley (Los Angeles Times); “Remembering Stephen J. Cannell: His Best Shows,” by Bob Sassone (TV Squad); “TV Producer Stephen J. Cannell Created 40 Shows,” by Paige Wiser (Chicago Sun-Times); “Stephen J. Cannell Passes On,” by Mercurie (A Shroud of Thoughts); “Legendary TV Producer Stephen J. Cannell Was Also a Strong Voice for Indie Producers,” by Joe Flint (Los Angeles Times); “Remembering Steve,” by Lee Goldberg (A Writer’s Life); “Stephen Cannell,” by Tod Goldberg; “A Stephen J. Cannell Production” (The Lipstick Chronicles); “Better Late Than ...,” by Max Allan Collins (Friends/Family/Fans of Max Allan Collins).

5 comments:

David Cranmer said...

Sad to see this. My youth was spent watching his creations. R.I.P.

Scott D. Parker said...

Dang! I read my first Scully book just this summer. And I was reading his thoughts on writing at his website on a regular basis. Most recently, he showed up on the extras for Lost, season 6. Like David, I spent many, many years watching his characters. Loved seeing him playing himself on "Castle."

Lesa said...

As David said, I was so sad to learn this. As a fan of crime dramas, I watched so many of his shows. And, my husband and I both loved his book, King Con. I thought it was a terrific con story. He's going to be missed so much. And, I'm not even a person who knew him. Those of us who were just fans will miss him.

Kiwicraig said...

I was very sad to hear this news. It's strange - but he appeared in a poker game scene (with Michael Connelly) in the episode of Castle that aired in New Zealand last week, and I was trying to pick who this crime writer called 'Stephen' was, who looked familiar, but I couldn't think of which books he wrote.

Then I came into work and saw the news this morning, and realised that I'd vaguely recognised him from all his TV work, rather than any novels I'd read. And that credits with the torn off paper from the typewriter etc.

Such a shame. So many terrific series. A loss to the crime fiction community.

RIP Mr Cannell. You gave us a lot. Thank you.

Picks by Pat said...

Very sad news. I enjoyed his shows for years but haven't read his novels. That's about to change.

The Wall Street Journal just printed a nice obit on Oct 2nd. See it here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703859204575526083710761978.html?KEYWORDS=Cannell