Posted on 04/01/2018 7:22:33 PM PDT by Galactic Overlord-In-Chief
The unwavering TV writer-producer, winner of 10 Emmys, butted heads with networks and almost always won.
Steven Bochco, the strong-willed writer and producer who brought gritty realism and sprawling ensemble casts to the small screen with such iconic series as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue, died Sunday morning, a family spokesman told The Hollywood Reporter. He was 74.
Suffering with leukemia, Bochco received a stem cell transplant from an anonymous 23-year-old in late 2014.
"Steven fought cancer with strength, courage, grace and his unsurpassed sense of humor," spokesman Phillip Arnold said. "He died peacefully in his sleep [at home] with his family close by."
In May 2016, he met the man that prolonged his life.
Bochco, a 10-time Primetime Emmy Award winner, also was behind the Neil Patrick Harris ABC comedy-drama Doogie Howser, M.D. and the TNT drama Murder in the First.
A New York City native who began at Universal Studios in the mid-1960s, Bochco time and time again refused to bend to network chiefs or standards and practices execs, thus earning rare creative control during his five decades of envelope-pushing work.
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
Never watched NYPD Blue (I burned out on cop shows at the time, having abandoned “Law & Order”, and the stuff was getting too SJW/PC, which doesn’t reflect reality). Did watch L.A. Law when it was on in prime time (after the second or third season). Hill Street Blues was on past my bedtime as a kid, so didn’t get to see it (I’ve only seen a few eps and would like to see the whole thing from start to finish).
Yes, but we don’t talk about it.
That’s what I thought.
NYPD Blue wasn’t SJW or PC. Very gritty. Sipowicz
NYPD Blue, great show. One of my all-time favorites. Dennis Franz did an amazing job with the Sipowicz character.
Rest in peace. He produced some excellent programs.
Michael Connelly is one of the best writers alive today, although his very last book was a bit pale by comparison to his usual efforts. I like Lee Child a lot, also, but his last two or three books were either phoned in, or ghost written.
My strongest memory of the shoot was that the director was Jackie Cooper, a long time Hollywood figure who was a child star ("Don't shoot my dog!") that made the jump into adult film and television roles but never became a huge star. He did star in two childhood/early teenyears favorites of mine, the first a 1955-58 TV series "The People's Choice" where he shared top billing with a Basset Hound named Cleo plus the second, "Hennesey," where he played a Navy Doc that chased a very comely Abby Dalton as Navy nurse for 3 seasons, 1959-62.
As for my memories of Bochco, none directly. I do recall, as they say. the word on the street was that he was a control freak plus his normal for la-la-land 'liberal to the bone & beyond' politics.
Trust me, I know what I’m doing.
My favorite sitcom.
RIP Steve.
He produced some great shows. Hill Street is still one of my favorites.
I described it on Twitter as a all-time top 5 show and all-time top 1 police show.
Another one with Pittsburgh roots.
Hill Street Blues was based on one of our less
fortunate neighborhoods. RIP.
I remember a local pastor picketed the local TV station that showed HSB for months - he was protesting the nudity and foul language. I still remember the Christmas episode that ended with Belker alone in front of the TV with a frozen dinner.
Silent Running was pretty bad, but I loved it.
Next you’re gonna tell me he wrote Logan’s Run.
I liked all three of the shows named, especially “L.A. Law.” Lots of interesting characters and entertaining episodes.
“Paris sounds interesting, pity it didn’t make it.
That’s what they get for cutting your scene!
BTW "Paris" TV promo on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7O5xp90U0M
Interview with James Earl Jones for "Paris" on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8IJevNpjCo
He did some outstanding work. Hill Street was the only TV show I made a point of watching every week. It wasn’t like anything that had ever been done before, the writing was great, and the quirky ensemble cast was outstanding.
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