Roy Huggins

Stephen J. Cannell, the prolific television writer and producer who co-created "The Rockford Files" and "The A-Team" and later became a bestselling novelist, has died. He was 69. Cannell died Thursday evening of complications associated with melanoma at his home in Pasadena, his family said. In a career that began in the late 1960s when he sold his first TV script and took off as he soon became the hottest young writer on the Universal lot, Cannell created or co-created more than 40 TV shows, including "Baa Baa Black Sheep," "Baretta," "The Greatest American Hero" and "21 Jump Street.

Stephen J. Cannell, the prolific television writer and producer who co-created "The Rockford Files" and "The A-Team" and later became a bestselling novelist, has died. He was 69. Cannell died Thursday evening of complications associated with melanoma at his home in Pasadena, his family said. In a career that began in the late 1960s when he sold his first TV script and took off as he soon became the hottest young writer on the Universal lot, Cannell created or co-created more than 40 TV shows, including "Baa Baa Black Sheep," "Baretta," "The Greatest American Hero" and "21 Jump Street.

"Networks are run by people whose weakest suit is that they can't understand the importance of the craft of storytelling, which is what film and television are all about. . . . They can do statistical things, but they can't quantify storytelling and put it into a computer." Writer-producer Roy Huggins, in Television & Families magazine

Adele Mara, a film and television actress whose many credits included the 1949 John Wayne film "Sands of Iwo Jima," died of natural causes Friday at her home in Pacific Palisades, her family said. She was 87. Born Adelaide Delgado on April 28, 1923, in Highland Park, Mich., she started dancing as a youth and was discovered by bandleader Xavier Cugat. She moved with her parents to Philadelphia to dance with Cugat's band, then moved to Hollywood and began working in movies regularly in the 1940s.

Adele Mara, a film and television actress whose many credits included the 1949 John Wayne film "Sands of Iwo Jima," died of natural causes Friday at her home in Pacific Palisades, her family said. She was 87. Born Adelaide Delgado on April 28, 1923, in Highland Park, Mich., she started dancing as a youth and was discovered by bandleader Xavier Cugat. She moved with her parents to Philadelphia to dance with Cugat's band, then moved to Hollywood and began working in movies regularly in the 1940s.

Television, which seduces even its detractors into occasional viewing, can exert an irresistible pull on those working on the other side of the screen. Just ask Roy Huggins. After 25 years as a writer-producer, Huggins quit in 1980 to write the definitive work on what he considered Phase Two of television, the era unchallengingly dominated by three networks airing filmed series from the major studios.

Roy Huggins, the prolific writer-producer whose name is associated with many of television's biggest hits, including "Maverick," "The Fugitive" and "The Rockford Files," has died. He was 87. Huggins, whose long television career was marked by a flair for creating series concepts and characters that defied convention, died of natural causes Wednesday in Santa Monica.

Thirty-three years ago tonight the running stopped. On Aug. 29, 1967, ABC aired the finale of "The Fugitive," and 72% of the viewing audience tuned in--a record for a single episode of a series that stood until the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode of "Dallas" 13 years later.

Up in Roy Huggins' bedroom is a picture taken of him in 1960, smiling smugly at the camera. It was shot by his wife just moments after he came up with the idea for a television series called "The Fugitive." "I felt it was a great idea, and I wanted to record the moment in history when I thought of it," Huggins explained. Twenty-three years later, "The Fugitive" still brings that smile to Huggins' face.

'Rockford' Legal Files: The creator of the 1970s "Rockford Files" TV series has sued Universal Studios, claiming he is owed $5 million in profits. The Los Angeles Superior Court suit claims Roy Huggins originated the series concept, and was promised 25% of net profits from the detective show. Huggins claims the show, which ran from 1974 to 1980, grossed more than $120 million. A Universal attorney refused to comment.

Roy Huggins, the prolific writer-producer whose name is associated with many of television's biggest hits, including "Maverick," "The Fugitive" and "The Rockford Files," has died. He was 87. Huggins, whose long television career was marked by a flair for creating series concepts and characters that defied convention, died of natural causes Wednesday in Santa Monica.

Thirty-three years ago tonight the running stopped. On Aug. 29, 1967, ABC aired the finale of "The Fugitive," and 72% of the viewing audience tuned in--a record for a single episode of a series that stood until the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode of "Dallas" 13 years later.

Up in Roy Huggins' bedroom is a picture taken of him in 1960, smiling smugly at the camera. It was shot by his wife just moments after he came up with the idea for a television series called "The Fugitive." "I felt it was a great idea, and I wanted to record the moment in history when I thought of it," Huggins explained. Twenty-three years later, "The Fugitive" still brings that smile to Huggins' face.

"Networks are run by people whose weakest suit is that they can't understand the importance of the craft of storytelling, which is what film and television are all about. . . . They can do statistical things, but they can't quantify storytelling and put it into a computer." Writer-producer Roy Huggins, in Television & Families magazine

Television, which seduces even its detractors into occasional viewing, can exert an irresistible pull on those working on the other side of the screen. Just ask Roy Huggins. After 25 years as a writer-producer, Huggins quit in 1980 to write the definitive work on what he considered Phase Two of television, the era unchallengingly dominated by three networks airing filmed series from the major studios.

"Hunter" co-star Stepfanie Kramer said Friday she has reached "a mutual agreement" with producers that removes a planned rape scene from an upcoming three-part episode of the NBC television series. Kramer had threatened to walk off the crime drama if the producers went through with a script calling for her character, Sgt. Dee Dee McCall, to be raped a second time. The first came two seasons ago.