How I Will Remember Stephen J. Cannell
The legendary TV producer and writer Stephen J. Cannell passed away two days ago at the age of 69. He leaves behind his wife of 46 years, three children, three grandchildren and a legacy in U.S. TV history that isn’t easily matched. Cannell rarely wrote anything that critics liked and always catered primarily to undemanding primetime audiences… but he was overwhelmingly productive, creating or co-creating nearly 40 shows. The 1980s was his most successful period and I’m not the only one who remembers the now classic closing logo of his production company where he would pound the keys of his typewriter, then rip the paper out, throw it up in the air… and it would help form the logo. The clip was updated a few times over the years and the YouTube clip above shows all versions. Incidentally, Cannell never did care much for computers.
There are primarily three shows that I will remember Stephen Cannell for:
The A-Team All that action. And all that fun. Plus a terrific cast led by George Peppard. A simple idea by Cannell but the team was cleverly put together and he realized that both kids and adults would take to it.
21 Jump Street Cannell geared this one toward teenagers and at the time I belonged to the target audience. I liked it a lot, but it deteriorated over the years. Still, the show launched the careers of Holly Robinson and Johnny Depp.
The Commish An easygoing cop show about a small-town New York police commissioner, starring Michael Chiklis. The target audiences were women and families who kept it on the air for a few seasons. Much like 21 Jump Street it tried to introduce serious subjects, but always stayed on a superficial level. The same could be said for Cannell… but he always knew how to entertain.
Published by Stefan Hedmark 2010-10-02 14:18
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