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

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and producer who often worked in collaboration with William Link.

Life and career

Levinson was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, where he earned a

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

in Economics in 1956. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

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

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

heritage. William Link and Richard Levinson began a 41-year friendship in 1946, on their first day of junior high school. Both were avid

Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1928 by the American detective fiction writers Frederic Dannay (1905–1982) and Manfred Bennington Lee (1905–1971). It is also the name of their main fictional detective, a mystery writer in New York City ...

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. In 1965, they wrote three episodes of '' Honey West'' including the final episode. 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 Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

'', ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

'', ''

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), as well as made-for-TV movies '' The Gun'', '' My Sweet Charlie'', '' That Certain Summer'', '' The Judge and Jake Wyler'', '' The Execution of Private Slovik'', ''Charlie Cobb: A Nice Night for a Hanging'', '' Rehearsal for Murder'', '' Guilty Conscience'', and the short-lived TV series '' Blacke's Magic''. The team were proud of creating "intelligent" rather than violent programs. The partners also collaborated on two feature films, '' The Hindenburg'' (1975) and '' Rollercoaster'' (1977), and the Broadway show ''Merlin,'' featuring the magician Doug Henning. The team occasionally used the pseudonym "Ted Leighton," drawn from each of their middles names—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'' 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''. 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 which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional 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 E ...

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.

Death

Levinson died of a heart attack at his home in Brentwood, Los Angeles early on March 12, 1987. He was interred at

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary is a cemetery and Morgue, mortuary located in the Westwood, Los Angeles, Westwood area of Los Angeles. It includes a crematory for cremation services. Its location is at 1218 Glendon Av ...

. 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 and

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

Publications

Accolades

Posthumous

* 1999 -

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing the interests Television producer, television producers, Film producer, film producers and emerging media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership inclu ...

Hall of Fame – Television Programs for ''That Certain Summer''

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 Screenwriters from Philadelphia 20th-century American screenwriters American television show creators