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Richard Levinson Biography (1934-1987)

Full name, Richard Leighton Levinson; born August 7, 1934, in Philadelphia, PA; died of a heart attack, March 12, 1987, in Los Angeles, CA; son of William(in business) and Georgia (Harbert) Levinson; married Rosanna Huffman (an actress), April 12, 1969; children: Christine.

Richard Levinson's long collaboration with William Link yielded some of television's most popular mystery series, including Columbo, starring Peter Falk,and Murder, She Wrote, starring Angela Lansbury. The team also earned numerous awards for such issue- oriented television movies as My Sweet Charlie, concerning an interracial friendship, and That Certain Summer, about homosexuality. Levinson's New York Times obituary quoted him about the duo's philosophy:"What we try to do is the highest quality popular entertainment we can do, with an occasional thought sticking through."

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Birth Details

August 7, 1934

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Death Details

March 12, 1987

Los Angeles, California, United States

Famous Works

• Credits; PRINCIPAL TELEVISION WORK; ALL WITH WILLIAM LINK; SERIES
• Creator, Mannix, CBS, 1967-75.
• creator of "The Lawyers" segments of The Bold Ones, NBC, 1969-73.
• creator, The Psychiatrist, NBC, 1971.
• creator and producer, Tenafly, NBC, 1971.
• creator and producer, Columbo, NBC, 1971-76.
• developer and producer, Ellery Queen, NBC, 1975-76.
• creator (also with Peter S. Fischer), Murder, She Wrote, CBS, 1984- 87.
• Credits; PILOTS
• Executive producer, Tenafly, NBC, 1973.
• producer, Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects, NBC, 1975.
• executive producer, Charlie Cobb: Nice Night for a Hanging, NBC, 1977.
• Credits; MOVIES
• Producer, My Sweet Charlie, NBC, 1970.
• producer, Two on a Bench, ABC, 1971.
• producer, That Certain Summer, ABC, 1972.
• producer, The Judge and Jake Wyler, NBC, 1972.
• executive producer, Savage, NBC, 1973.
• executive producer, Partners in Crime, NBC, 1973.
• producer, The Gun, ABC, 1974.
• executive producer, The Execution of Private Slovik, NBC, 1974.
• executive producer, A Cry for Help, ABC, 1975.
• producer, The Storyteller, NBC, 1977.
• executive producer, Murder by Natural Causes, CBS, 1979.
• executive producer (also with David Susskind), Crisis at Central High, CBS, 1981.
• executive producer, Rehearsal for Murder, CBS, 1982.
• executive producer, Take Your Best Shot, CBS, 1982.
• executive producer, Prototype, CBS, 1983.
• executive producer (also with Stanley Chase), The Guardian, HBO, 1984.
• executive producer, Guilty Conscience, CBS, 1985.
• executive producer, Murder in Space, Showtime, 1985.
• executive producer, Vanishing Act, CBS, 1986.
• Writings;ALL WITH WILLIAM LINK SERIES
• Contributor of more than one hundred scripts for various series, beginning with "Chain of Command" for Desilu Playhouse, 1959, and including General Motors Presents, Dr. Kildare, The Fugitive, and Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
• TELEPLAYS; MOVIES (SEE ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION DETAILS ABOVE) Prescription:Murder, NBC, 1968.
• Istanbul Express, NBC, 1968.
• The Whole World Is Watching, NBC, 1969.
• My Sweet Charlie, NBC, 1970.
• (also with Stanford Whitmore) McCloud: Who Killed Miss U.S.A.?, NBC, 1970.
• Sam Hill: Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?, NBC, 1971.
• Two on a Bench, ABC, 1971.
• (also with David Shaw) The Judge and Jake Wyler, NBC, 1972.
• That Certain Summer, ABC, 1972.
• Savage, NBC, 1973.
• Tenafly, NBC, 1973.
• The Execution of Private Slovik, NBC, 1974.
• The Gun, ABC, 1974.
• Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects, NBC, 1975.
• The Storyteller, NBC, 1977.
• Murder by Natural Causes, CBS, 1979.
• Crisis at Central High, CBS, 1981.
• Rehearsal for Murder, CBS, 1982.
• Take Your Best Shot, CBS, 1982.
• Prototype, CBS, 1983.
• The Guardian, HBO, 1984.
• Guilty Conscience, CBS, 1985.
• Vanishing Act, CBS, 1986.
• Also with William Link: Prescription: Murder (three-act play), Samuel French, Inc., 1963; Fineman (novel), Laddin Press, 1972; Stay Tuned: An Inside Look at the Making of Prime-Time Television, St.
• Martin's, 1981; book for Merlin (two-act musical play), produced on Broadway at Mark Hellinger Theatre, 1983; The Playhouse (novel), Berkeley, 1984; and more than thirty short stories for such periodicals as Playboy.

Further Reference

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

• Richard Levinson and William Link, Stay Tuned: An Inside Look at the Making of Prime-Time Television, St. Martin's, 1981.
• American Film, December, 1983.
• Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, Vol. 13, Gale, 1984.
• New York Times, March 13, 1987.
• Variety, March 18, 1987.