class=”alignleft size-full wp-image-47240″ title=”Stephen J. Cannell” src=”https://www.heyuguys.com/images/2010/10/Stephen-J.-Cannell.jpg” alt=”” width=”228″ height=”163″ />On Thursday evening US TV writer and series creator, Stephen J. Cannell, passed away, having lost his fight with cancer.
For any kid growing up on the 80’s, Stephen J. Cannell was a name synonymous with all the popular (mostly family-friendly) US imports of the day. Saturday morning was home to his superhero comedy The Greatest American Hero, and in the evenings, you could find his slightly edgier offerings, including both Hunter and Hardcastle & McCormick.
He was also the creator of The Rockford Files (which won him an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 1978) but arguably, his best known production was the weekly escapades of those soldiers of fortune, The A-Team.
Who can also forget his appearance at the end of the credits to all his shows, where was sat with a typewriter, pulling out the latest sheet of paper, which would then magically morph into a Capital ‘C’ above his logo (Stephen J. Cannell Productions).
The big screen version of Hannibal and co. hit the cinemas this summer, and with a reworking of another of his favourites (21 Jump Street) currently in pre-production, his legacy lives on.
