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R.I.P. Stephen J. Cannell

Wow, very sad. I didn't even know he was ill.

I was waiting for his next series to debut to see whether at the end of it
he would pick-up a laptop and toss it over his head!

R.I.P.
 
If I was Cannell I would want to be remembered for something other than The 'A' Team.
 
Cannell is best remembered for lots of NBC crime dramas, including The A-Team, Rockford Files,
Hunter, and the forgettable Sonny Spoon.
 
RyanHoward said:
Cannell is best remembered for lots of NBC crime dramas, including The A-Team, Rockford Files,
Hunter, and the forgettable Sonny Spoon.
Click to expand...

He was involved with so many shows (producing, creating, even acting), he could fill his own network.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_J._Cannell#Television

Baretta, 21 Jump Street, Wiseguy, The Commish...
 
Of all of Mr. Cannell's numerous accomplishments, what I admired and respected most was his overcoming dyslexia.

I noticed in his obituary that he was married to his eighth grade sweetheart. She must have witnessed some of his life's low moments.

In school, Cannell was called names like "dummy", "moron", "idiot", and the like - by both students and teachers, and some of the latter group told him that he was too stupid to ever amount to anything.

If he was going to school nowadays, he would be treated with dignity and understanding.

Teaching may be a noble profession, but it's not always staffed with the most noble people.

I would have loved to have met the man. RIP
 
quadraphonic said:
I'd rather be remembered for The A-Team than forgotten altogether.
Click to expand...

You mean like Mr. T.?

It just seemed funny to me that, out of all his works - and there were many quality works - the headlines would select The 'A' Team as his legacy. Had I written his obit I would not have even mentioned that pot-boiler.
 
I've seen shows from the 1960's with writer's credit given to Cannell. I don't recall specific shows at the moment but I have seen his name appear on some of the retro shows on RTV excluding the usual A-Team, etc.
 
FreddyE1977 said:
I was waiting for his next series to debut to see whether at the end of it
he would pick-up a laptop and toss it over his head!
Click to expand...

That was actually done in a bonus feature on the last disc of the Castle season 1 DVD set. [Cannell didn't create the show, but was a big influence on its creation.] First, Cannell did the classic bit with the typewriter, complete with the paper turning into the Cannell logo.. Then Nathan Fillion attempted the same thing with the laptop he was working on. It was hilarious. :)

Cannell has made cameo appearances on Csatle as one of Richard Castle's poker buddies, so I fully expect his death to be at least mentioned later this season.
 
As I noted on the Classic TV board, Cannell also owned a small group of TV stations.

His company owned local WUAB/43 (Cleveland market) for a few years in the early 1990s. It is today's MyNetwork TV affiliate in the market, but is better known for its days as a "superstation" independent with wide regional coverage. Any adult of a certain age in Northeast Ohio can probably sing the "Channel 43...plays FAVORITES!" jingle even today.

All of this was mostly before Cannell bought the station.
 
FreddyE1977 said:
I was waiting for his next series to debut to see whether at the end of it
he would pick-up a laptop and toss it over his head!
Click to expand...

I read in one obit that he continued to do his writing on an IBM Selectric, the model seen in the logo. He only used computers for research. A lot of OTs like the feel of the IBM keyboard. For me, I make way to many mistakes.
 
Since Hawaii Five-0 is a hot topic on this board, it is worth noting that in the late 90's Cannell was hired
to produce a Hawaii Five-0 movie for CBS. Supposedly it was actually shot and is in the can, though it
has never been seen outside the building.

It's most glaring problem was that Cannell was not a fan of the original, and in fact, had never seen it.
He watched a handful of episodes to get the gist of it before setting out to to work on the project.
This caused him to cast Kam Fong to reprise his role as Chin Ho Kelly....even though his character
had been killed off! Cannell was unaware of this, and supposedly since Fong was ill and financially
struggling at the time, none of the other cast members had the heart to tell him and cost their
former colleague the paying gig!

Rumor has it some intern noticed it during the screening. By that time Fong had already cashed his
check and spent the money.
 
OhioMediaWatch said:
Any adult of a certain age in Northeast Ohio can probably sing the "Channel 43...plays FAVORITES!" jingle even today...
Click to expand...

Yeah, like that LeBron James fellow... I guess WUAB is no longer carrying games with him in it... ::)
 
DToTheJ said:
Yeah, like that LeBron James fellow... I guess WUAB is no longer carrying games with him in it... ::)
Click to expand...

And I'm pretty sure the Cavs-Heat game is on one of the big networks, so FSOhio won't carry it (and thus, it won't be simulcast on WUAB, which carries about a half-dozen FSOhio games each year).
 
landtuna said:
quadraphonic said:
I'd rather be remembered for The A-Team than forgotten altogether.
Click to expand...

You mean like Mr. T.?

It just seemed funny to me that, out of all his works - and there were many quality works - the headlines would select The 'A' Team as his legacy. Had I written his obit I would not have even mentioned that pot-boiler.
Click to expand...
A-Team was probably his shortest title. Fits better on a headline.
Plus everyone recognizes at least the title. ;)
 
quadraphonic said:
landtuna said:
quadraphonic said:
I'd rather be remembered for The A-Team than forgotten altogether.
Click to expand...

You mean like Mr. T.?

It just seemed funny to me that, out of all his works - and there were many quality works - the headlines would select The 'A' Team as his legacy. Had I written his obit I would not have even mentioned that pot-boiler.
Click to expand...
A-Team was probably his shortest title. Fits better on a headline.
Plus everyone recognizes at least the title. ;)
Click to expand...

Hunter was a short title, too. OK, one more letter, but not if you count the dash. ;D

The A Team is likely mentioned most often in Cannell's obits because it has more name recognition given that the film version was just released recently
 
From what I understand, Cannell was proud of all the shows he wrote. He struggled with dyslexia and always found it amazing that he wound up as a writer. People tend to fixate on "The A-Team" and forget great shows like "21 Jump Street", "The Rockford Files" and my favorite, "Wiseguy". You couldn't have had "The Sopranos" without Vinnie Terranova.
Hey, I'm trying to pitch one tv show concept . He sold and produced hundreds of them. He will always be a hero to me. RIP.
 
It'll be just like when Steven Bochco passes, which hopefully is not too soon... We'll remember "L.A. Law" and "Doogie Howser" and forget about "Cop Rock" and "Capitol Critters"...
 
DToTheJ said:
It'll be just like when Steven Bochco passes, which hopefully is not too soon... We'll remember "L.A. Law" and "Doogie Howser" and forget about "Cop Rock" and "Capitol Critters"...
Click to expand...

although Cop Rock will have a special place in my heart as that program I tuned across one night and
found it so bizarre, I could not believe that I was actually seeing it.
 
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