Free Republic

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 voracious writer-producer of dozens of series that included TV favorites "The Rockford Files," "The A-Team" and "The Commish," has died at age 69. During three decades as an independent producer, he distinguished himself as a rangy, outgoing chap with a trim beard who was generally identified with action dramas full of squealing tires and tough guys trading punches.

Hollywood writer Stephen Cannell, the producer of TV shows like "The A-Team" and "The Rockford Files", has died at the age of 69, his family said on Friday. "Stephen J. Cannell passed away at his home in Pasadena on Thursday evening due to complications associated with melanoma. He was surrounded by his family and loved ones," the producer's family said in a statement. Cannell, who struggled with dyslexia at school, wrote hundreds of episodes for television shows in the 1970s and 1980s and created the character of private investigator Jim Rockford. "The Rockford Files", starring James Garner, ran for six...