Richard Leighton Levinson (August 7, 1934 – March 12, 1987) was an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and producer who often worked in collaboration with

William Link William Theodore Link (December 15, 1933 – December 27, 2020) was an American film and television screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson. Biography Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...

Life and career

Levinson was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Economics in 1956. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1957 to 1958 and married actress Rosanna Huffman in 1969. Levinson was of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

heritage.

and Richard Levinson began a 43-year-long friendship in 1946, on their first day of junior high school. Both were avid

Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...

fans from boyhood and enjoyed mental puzzles and challenges, a characteristic that would spill over into their work. Beginning with radio scripts, the team wrote plays and then prime-time TV scripts. They went on to co-create and sometimes produce the detective television series ''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...

'', ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private inves ...

'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'' (with

Peter S. Fischer Peter Steven Fischer is an American television writer and television producer, whose work includes '' Murder, She Wrote'', which he co-created with Richard Levinson and William Link. He was also the executive producer of the series for the first ...

) and ''Scene of the Crime'', as well as made-for-TV movies '' The Gun'', ''

My Sweet Charlie ''My Sweet Charlie'' is a 1970 American made-for-television drama film directed by Lamont Johnson. The teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link is based on the novel of the same name by David Westheimer. Produced by Universal Television and br ...

'', ''

That Certain Summer ''That Certain Summer'' is a 1972 American made-for-television drama film directed by Lamont Johnson. The teleplay by Richard Levinson and William Link was considered the first sympathetic depiction of gay people on American television. Produc ...

'', ''

The Judge and Jake Wyler ''The Judge and Jake Wyler'' is a 1972 American TV movie directed by David Lowell Rich. The teleplay was written by Richard Levinson, William Link, and David Shaw. It was produced by Universal Television and broadcast by NBC on December 2, 1972. T ...

'', ''

The Execution of Private Slovik ''The Execution of Private Slovik'' is a nonfiction book by William Bradford Huie, published in 1954, and an American made-for-television movie that aired on NBC on March 13, 1974. The film was written for the screen by Richard Levinson, Wil ...

'', ''Charlie Cobb: A Nice Night for a Hanging'', ''

Rehearsal for Murder ''Rehearsal for Murder'' is an American murder mystery television film starring Robert Preston (actor), Robert Preston and Lynn Redgrave, and directed by David Greene (director), David Greene. The script, written by Richard Levinson and William ...

'', '' Guilty Conscience'', and the short-lived TV series ''

Blacke's Magic ''Blacke's Magic'' is an American crime drama television series that aired for 13 episodes on NBC, from January 5 to May 7, 1986. Reruns later aired during the fall of 1988, to fill scheduling gaps caused by the 1988 Writers Guild of America stri ...

''. The team were proud of creating "intelligent" rather than violent programs. The partners also collaborated on two feature films, '' The Hindenburg'' (1975) and ''

Rollercoaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

'' (1977), and the Broadway show ''Merlin,'' featuring the magician Doug Henning. The team occasionally used the pseudonym ''Ted Leighton'', most notably on the telefilm ''Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You'', (where their work was substantially rewritten by other screenwriters), and ''Columbo'' when they came up with stories to be scripted by their collaborators. They used the name as early as 1959 for short stories published in ''

Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine ''Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine'' (AHMM) is a bi-monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime and detective fiction. ''AHMM'' is named for Alfred Hitchcock, the famed director of suspense films and television. History ''AHM ...

'' when the magazine already contained stories appearing as by Levinson and Link. They also used the name for their contribution to the script for Steve McQueen's final movie, '' The Hunter''. Leighton was Levinson's middle name. In 1979, Levinson and Link received a Special

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

for their work on ''Ellery Queen'' and ''Columbo''. During the 1980s, they were three-time winners of the Edgar for Best TV Feature or MiniSeries Teleplay, and in 1989 they were given the MWA's Ellery Queen Award, which honors outstanding mystery-writing teams. In November 1995, they were jointly elected to the

Television Academy Hall of Fame The Television Academy Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. television. The hall of fame was founded by former Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) president John H. Mitchell (1921–1988). In ...

Death

Levinson died of a heart attack at his home in

Brentwood, Los Angeles Brentwood is a suburban neighborhood in the Los Angeles Westside, Westside region of Los Angeles. History General Modern development began after the establishment of the Sawtelle Veterans Home, Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disab ...

early on March 12, 1987. He was interred at

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue. The cemetery was ...

. The first ''

'' spin-off novel, ''Gin and Daggers'', is dedicated to his memory. In tribute to Levinson, Link wrote the script for the 1991 TV film '' The Boys'', starring

James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off-Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in '' The Trial of the ...

and

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levinson, Richard 1934 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists American crime fiction writers American film producers American male novelists American male screenwriters American male television writers American television writers Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Columbo Edgar Award winners Novelists from Pennsylvania People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania Television producers from Pennsylvania Writers from Philadelphia 20th-century American screenwriters