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"Rockford Files" creator Stephen Cannell dead at 69
Reuters ^ | 10-1-10

Posted on 10/01/2010 12:15:34 PM PDT by Justaham

Hollywood writer Stephen Cannell, the producer of TV shows like "The A-Team" and "The Rockford Files", has died at the age of 69, his family said on Friday.

"Stephen J. Cannell passed away at his home in Pasadena on Thursday evening due to complications associated with melanoma. He was surrounded by his family and loved ones," the producer's family said in a statement.

Cannell, who struggled with dyslexia at school, wrote hundreds of episodes for television shows in the 1970s and 1980s and created the character of private investigator Jim Rockford.

"The Rockford Files", starring James Garner, ran for six years until 1980 and won an Emmy for best drama series.

Cannell also created or co-created almost 40 TV series including "Baretta," "The Greatest American Hero,", "Hardcastle and McCormick," "21 Jump Street," "The A-Team" and "Wiseguy."

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: cannell
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To: Justaham

Just damn. Gave us some great entertainment.

Rip, SC.


21 posted on 10/01/2010 12:47:59 PM PDT by mad_as_he$$ (Playing by the rules only works if both sides do it!)
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To: Justaham

22 posted on 10/01/2010 1:03:19 PM PDT by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: Justaham
Dang, grew up with the Rockford Files..he also did one of my guilty pleasures of the 90’s..Renegade
23 posted on 10/01/2010 1:12:43 PM PDT by Bottom_Gun (Crush depth dummy - proud NRA member & Certified Instructor)
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To: Justaham

Man, some of my favorite 80s TV memories there...

Didn’t he do Magnum PI too?


24 posted on 10/01/2010 1:13:39 PM PDT by Kommodor (Terrorist, Journalist or Democrat? I can't tell the difference.)
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To: skeeter

I enjoyed his stuff too.

Well, that makes 3; Fisher, Curtis and Cannell.


25 posted on 10/01/2010 1:15:43 PM PDT by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote; then find me a real conservative to vote for)
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To: Justaham

Dang. I really enjoyed a lot of his programming. A lot of action stuff- the sort of thing you don’t see on TV much anymore. RIP.


26 posted on 10/01/2010 1:22:10 PM PDT by GenXteacher (He that hath no stomach for this fight, let him depart!)
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To: stephenjohnbanker

“Rockford was fun. Ex-nay on the A Team ;-)”

My exact feelings.


27 posted on 10/01/2010 1:29:55 PM PDT by GatĂșn(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)
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To: Kommodor

No that was Don Bellisario


28 posted on 10/01/2010 1:38:57 PM PDT by Hazzardgate
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To: Hazzardgate
I always confused Cannell & Bellisario as well (I blame that on the Post/Carpenter theme music they both used).

I think they collaborated once or twice, but I can't remember the series.

29 posted on 10/01/2010 2:02:34 PM PDT by skeeter
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To: Justaham

He wrote many a good show. He will be missed..

Tony Curtis yesterday and Stephen Cannell today ... who will be Number 3?


30 posted on 10/01/2010 3:17:53 PM PDT by K-oneTexas (I'm not a judge and there ain't enough of me to be a jury. (Zell Miller, A National Party No More))
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

One of the best TV shows of all time. I have them all on DVD and tape. About to watch an episode in a few minutes while enjoying a “Montgomery.”

Montgomery

The montgomery cocktail is a very strong variant of the classic martini. It is made by mixing fifteen parts dry gin with one part extra dry vermouth, and shaking with ice over a cocktail shaker. It is named after the odds field marshall Bernard Montgomery supposedly preferred on the battlefield; fifteen of his men to every one of the enemies.


31 posted on 10/01/2010 3:23:36 PM PDT by abb ("What ISN'T in the news is often more important than what IS." Ed Biersmith, 1942 -)
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To: Drawsing

LOL, that scene just about sums up his character.


32 posted on 10/01/2010 4:07:45 PM PDT by Canedawg (...still not digging this tyranny thing.)
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To: Justaham

Cannell’s shows always ended with a clip of him in his office, typing and then throwing the page up in the air.

Here it is, over the years:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd_3fXqZeMM


33 posted on 10/01/2010 4:40:04 PM PDT by LibFreeOrDie (Obama promised a gold mine, but will give us the shaft.)
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To: LibFreeOrDie
Cannell’s shows always ended with a clip of him in his office, typing and then throwing the page up in the air.

That was the first thing I thought of.

34 posted on 10/01/2010 4:41:23 PM PDT by dfwgator (Texas Rangers - AL West Champions)
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To: dfwgator
The first thing I thought of was his role as "Dutch" Dixon, the villain from Renegade.
35 posted on 10/01/2010 6:48:53 PM PDT by eclecticEel (Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: 7/4/1776 - 3/21/2010)
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To: Justaham

You could make a cable channel with just his shows on it.


36 posted on 10/01/2010 7:30:20 PM PDT by Tanniker Smith (I didn't know she was a liberal when I married her.)
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To: Kommodor; All

Here’s a list of all of his work:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004798/


37 posted on 10/01/2010 8:46:09 PM PDT by rdl6989 (January 20, 2013- The end of an error.)
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