Stephen J. Cannell Biography (1941-)

Full name, Stephen Joseph Cannell; born February 5, 1941, in Los Angeles, CA;son of Joseph Knapp (a decorator) and Carolyn (maiden name, Baker) Cannell;married Marcia C. Finch, August 8, 1964; children: Derek (deceased), Tawnia,Chelsea, Cody. Addresses: Agent: Writers & Artists, 8383 WilshireBlvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024-6095.

Nationality
American
Gender
Male
Occupation
Producer, director, screenwriter, actor, executive
Birth Details
February 5, 1941
Los Angeles, California, United States

Famous Works

  • CREDITS
  • Television Work
  • Series
  • Executive story editor, Adam-12, ABC, 1968
  • Producer and creator, Chase, NBC, 1973
  • Executive producer (with Jo Swerling, Jr.) Toma, ABC, 1973-1974
  • Executive producer (with Meta Rosenberg), creator (with Roy Huggins), andsupervising producer, The Rockford Files (also known as Jim Rockford, Private Investigator), NBC, 1974-1980
  • Creator, Baretta, 1975
  • Executive producer and creator, Baa-Baa Blacksheep, NBC, 1976-1977retitled The Black Sheep Squadron, NBC, 1977-1978
  • Executive producer (with Steven Bochco) and creator (with Bochco), Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, NBC, 1978
  • Executive producer, The Duke, NBC, 1979
  • Producer, Henderson Monsters, 1980
  • Executive producer, Tenspeed and Brownshoe, ABC, 1980
  • Executive producer (with Donald P. Bellisario), Stone, ABC, 1980
  • Executive producer (with Juanita Bartlett) and creator, The Greatest American Hero, ABC, 1981-1983
  • Executive producer (with Bartlett), The Quest, ABC, 1982
  • Executive producer, The Rousters, NBC, 1983-1984
  • Executive producer (with Patrick Harsburgh), Hardcastle and McCormick, ABC, 1983-1986
  • Executive producer (with Frank Lupo), The A-Team, NBC, 1983-1987
  • Executive producer (with Swerling and Lupo), Riptide, NBC, 1984-1986
  • Executive producer, Hunter, NBC, 1984-1991
  • Executive producer (with Lupo), The Last Precinct, NBC, 1986
  • Executive producer (with Lawrence Hertzog) and creator, Stingray,NBC, 1986-1987
  • Executive producer (with Hertzog and Babs Greyhosky) and creator, J. J. Starbuck, NBC, 1987-1988
  • Executive producer (with Harsburgh and Steven Beers) and creator, 21 Jump Street, Fox, 1987-c. 1990
  • Executive producer (with Lupo) and creator, Wiseguy, CBS, 1987-1991
  • Executive producer and creator, Sonny Spoon, NBC, 1988
  • Executive producer, UNSUB (also known as Unknown Subject),NBC, 1989
  • Executive producer and creator, Booker (also known as Booker, P.I.), Fox, 1989
  • Executive producer, Top of the Hill (also known as Lame Duck), CBS, 1989
  • Executive producer and creator, Thunder Boat Row, ABC, 1989
  • Co-executive producer, Broken Badges, CBS, 1990
  • Executive producer and creator, Silk Stalkings, syndicated, 1991
  • Executive producer and creator, Palace Guard, CBS, 1991
  • Executive producer and creator, The Commish, ABC, 1991
  • Creator and executive producer, Scene of the Crime, 1991
  • Executive producer, Disney Presents the 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage, NBC, 1991
  • Producer, Street Justice, 1991
  • Executive producer and creator, The Hat Squad, CBS, 1992
  • Creator, Renegade, syndicated, 1992
  • Producer and creator, Cobra (also known as Viper), syndicated, 1993
  • Executive producer, Missing Persons, ABC, 1993
  • Executive producer, Hawkeye, syndicated, 1994
  • Executive producer and creator, Traps, CBS, 1994
  • Executive producer and creator, Marker, syndicated, 1995
  • Executive producer, Profit, Fox, 1996
  • Pilots
  • Associate producer, Chase, NBC, 1973
  • Producer, The Rockford Files (also known as The Rockford Files:Backlash of the Hunter), NBC, 1974
  • Executive producer (with Steven Bochco), Richie Brockelman: The Missing 24 Hours, NBC, 1976
  • Executive producer (with Meta Rosenberg), Scott Free, NBC, 1976
  • Executive producer, Dr. Scorpion, ABC, 1978
  • Executive producer, The Gypsy Warriors, CBS, 1978
  • Executive producer, Stone, ABC, 1979
  • Executive producer (with Alex Beaton), The Night Rider, ABC, 1979
  • Executive producer, Boston and Kilbride, CBS, 1979
  • Executive producer, Tenspeed and Brownshoe, ABC, 1980
  • Executive producer (with Glen A. Larson), Nightside, ABC, 1980
  • Executive producer and creator, Brothers-in-Law, ABC, 1980
  • Executive producer (with Frank Lupo), Four Eyes, NBC, 1984
  • Executive producer, Hunter, NBC, 1984
  • Executive producer, Stingray, NBC, 1985
  • Executive producer (with Lupo), The Last Precinct, NBC, 1986
  • Executive producer (with Patrick Harsburgh), Destination: America,ABC, 1987
  • Executive producer, Broken Badges, CBS, 1990
  • Executive producer, Palace Guard, CBS, 1991
  • Executive producer, Disney Presents the 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage, NBC, 1991
  • Movies
  • Executive producer (with Juanita Bartlett), Midnight Offerings, ABC, 1981
  • Sound editor, You Ruined My Life, 1987
  • Executive producer, The Great Pretender (also known as Dead EndBrattigan), NBC, 1991
  • Executive producer, Greyhounds, CBS, 1994
  • Creator and supervising producer, The Rockford Files: I Still Love L.A., CBS, 1994
  • Executive producer, Jake Lassiter: Justice on the Bayou (also known as Lassiter and Jake Lassiter: To Speak for the Dead), NBC, 1995
  • Executive producer, A Child Is Missing (also known as The Dog Hermit), CBS, 1995
  • Executive producer and creator, The Commish: Father Image, ABC, 1995
  • Executive producer and creator, The Commish: In the Shadow of the Gallows, ABC, 1995
  • Executive producer, The Return of Hunter (also known as The Return of Hunter: Everyone Walks in L.A.), NBC, 1995
  • Executive producer, The Surrogate, ABC, 1995
  • Creator and supervising producer, The Rockford Files: A Blessing in Disguise, CBS, 1995
  • Executive producer, Two, 1995
  • Creator and supervising producer, The Rockford Files: Godfather KnowsBest, CBS, 1996
  • Creator and supervising producer, The Rockford Files: If the Frame Fits (also known as Rockford Files: Suitable for Framing), CBS, 1996
  • Executive producer and creator, The Commish: Redemption, ABC, 1996
  • Supervising producer and creator, The Rockford Files: Crime and Punishment, CBS, 1996
  • Executive producer, Them, UPN, 1996
  • Supervising producer, The Rockford Files: Murder and Misdemeanors,CBS, 1997
  • Production consultant, The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds ... It Leads, CBS, 1999
  • Episodic
  • Director, Jigsaw, ABC, 1972
  • Associate producer and director, Chase, NBC, 1973
  • Director, The Rockford Files (also known as Jim Rockford, Private Investigator), NBC, 1974-1980
  • Director, Tenspeed and Brownshoe, ABC, 1980
  • Director, Stone, ABC, 1980
  • Executive producer, "Sirens," CBS Summer Playhouse, CBS, 1987
  • Television Appearances
  • Series
  • Host, Scene of the Crime (also known as L'heure du crime),1991
  • District Attorney Roy Conroy, Silk Stalkings, 1991
  • Narrator, U.S. Customs Classified, syndicated, 1995
  • Lieutenant "Dutch" Dixon, Renegade, USA Network and syndicated, c.1997
  • Movies
  • Bendix, CHiPs '99, TNT, 1998
  • Pilots
  • Host, On Top All over the World, syndicated, 1983
  • Roscoe Tanner, Charley Hannah, ABC, 1986
  • Host, Scene of the Crime, CBS, 1991-1992
  • Specials
  • Today at Night, Volume II, NBC, 1986
  • Host, U.S. Customs: Classified, syndicated, 1995
  • Episodic
  • Stephen J. Cannell, "This One's Gonna Kill Ya," Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, ABC, 1980
  • Ray Lemon, "A.A.P.I.," Magnum, P.I., 1986
  • Chauffeur, Santa Barbara, 1991
  • Silk Stalkings, syndicated, 1991
  • Lt. Donald "Dutch" Dixon, "Val's Song," Renegade, USA Network andsyndicated, 1993
  • "Dutch" Dixon, "Sawed-Off Shotgun Wedding," Renegade, USA Networkand syndicated, 1995
  • Marshal "Dutch" Dixon, "Stationary Target," Renegade, USA Networkand syndicated, 1995
  • Marshal "Dutch" Dixon, "Sins of the Father," Renegade, USA Networkand syndicated, 1996
  • Swede Mason, "Rio Reno," Renegade, USA Network and syndicated, 1996
  • BMW salesman, "Loyalty," Silk Stalkings, USA Network, 1996
  • Jackson Burley, "Must Kill TV," Diagnosis Murder, CBS, 1997
  • Jackson Burley, "Trash TV: Parts 1 & 2," Diagnosis: Murder, CBS, 1999
  • Judge J. Gunnar Halloran, "Reckoning," Pacific Blue, USA Network,1999
  • Judge J. Gunnar Halloran, "Disrobed," Pacific Blue, USA Network, 2000
  • Himself, "Get Vallery," V.I.P., syndicated, 2001
  • Film Work
  • Executive producer, Director's Cut, 2001
  • Producer, Dawg, 2001
  • Producer, The A-Team, Fox 2000 Pictures, 2001
  • Film Appearances
  • Jimmy Love, Posse, Gramercy, 1993
  • The Contract, 1999
  • Also appeared in Identity Crisis.
  • WRITINGS
  • Television Pilots
  • Chase, NBC, 1973
  • The Rockford Files (also known as The Rockford Files: Backlashof the Hunter), NBC, 1974
  • (With Steven Bochco) Richie Brockelman: Missing 24 Hours, NBC, 1976
  • Scott Free, NBC, 1976
  • Dr. Scorpion, ABC, 1978
  • (With Philip DeGuere) The Gypsy Warriors, CBS, 1978
  • The Jordan Chance (based on story by Cannell and John Thomas James), CBS, 1978
  • Stone, ABC, 1979
  • The Night Rider, ABC, 1979
  • Boston and Kilbride, CBS, 1979
  • Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, ABC, 1980
  • (With Glen A. Larson) Nightside, ABC, 1980
  • Brothers-in-Law, ABC, 1980
  • (With Herbert Wright) Stingray, NBC, 1985
  • Disney Presents the 100 Lives of Jack Savage, NBC, 1991
  • The Hat Squad, CBS, 1992
  • Renegade, syndicated, 1992
  • Television Movies
  • Midnight Offerings, ABC, 1981
  • The Great Pretender (also known as Dead End Brattigan), NBC, 1991
  • Greyhounds (based on story by Cannell), CBS, 1994
  • The Rockford Files: A Blessing in Disguise, CBS, 1995
  • The Rockford Files: Friends and Foul Play, ABC, 1996
  • (Characters) Wiseguy, ABC, 1996
  • The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds ... It Leads, CBS, 1999
  • Television Episodes
  • It Takes a Thief, ABC, 1968
  • Adam-12, ABC, 1968
  • Columbo, NBC, 1971
  • Toma, ABC, 1973-1974
  • The Rockford Files (also known as Jim Rockford, Private Investigator), NBC, 1974-1980
  • Baa-Baa Blacksheep, NBC, 1976
  • Baretta, ABC, 1978
  • Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, NBC, 1978
  • Brothers-in-Law, ABC, 1980
  • Stone, ABC, 1980
  • The Greatest American Hero, ABC, 1981-1983
  • The Quest, ABC, 1982
  • The Rousters, NBC, 1983
  • Hardcastle and McCormick, ABC, 1983-1986
  • The A-Team, NBC, 1983-1987
  • Riptide, NBC, 1984-1986
  • Hunter, NBC, 1984-1991
  • (With Frank Lupo) The Last Precinct, NBC, 1986
  • Stingray, NBC, 1987
  • J. J. Starbuck, NBC, 1987
  • 21 Jump Street, Fox, 1987
  • Wiseguy, CBS, 1987
  • Sonny Spoon, NBC, 1988
  • Booker (also known as Booker, P.I.), Fox, 1989
  • UNSUB (also known as Unknown Subject), NBC, 1989
  • Thunder Boat Row, ABC, 1989
  • Top of the Hill (also known as Lame Duck), CBS, 1989
  • Broken Badges, CBS, 1990
  • Palace Guard, CBS, 1991
  • The Commish, ABC, 1991
  • Silk Stalkings, syndicated, 1991
  • Scene of the Crime, CBS, 1991
  • Renegade, 1992
  • Cobra (also known as Viper), syndicated, 1993
  • Traps, CBS, 1994
  • Marker, syndicated, 1995
  • Screenplays
  • The November Plan, Universal/CIC, 1976
  • The Plan, 1995
  • Director's Cut, 2001
  • Novels
  • The Plan, William Morrow, 1995
  • Final Victim, William Morrow, 1996
  • The Devil's Workshop, William Morrow, 1999
  • The Tin Collectors, St. Martin's Press, 2001

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

    Books
    • Thompson, Robert J., Adventures on Prime Time: The Television Programsof Stephen J. Cannell, Praeger (New York), 1990
    Periodicals
    • Detroit News, April 8, 1992, p. 9D
    • Newsweek, March 12, 1984, p. 91; December 26, 1988, p. 70
    • New York, October 8, 1984, p. 80; November 26, 1990, p. 78; September 30, 1991, p. 62
    • People Weekly, January 30, 1984, p. 63
    • Rolling Stone, March 23, 1988, p. 41
    • TV Guide, November 7, 1987, p. 48
    • Variety, September 23, 1987, p. 148; February 15, 1989, p. 90; October 4, 1990, p. 103; April 15, 1991, p. 200

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