David Ernest Peckinpah (September 5, 1951 – April 23, 2006) was a television writer, producer and director. David was the nephew of film director

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institut ...

and son of Denver "Denny" Peckinpah, a Fresno County Superior Court Judge. He was the writer and producer of several series including the cable TV shows ''

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

'', ''

Silk Stalkings ''Silk Stalkings'' is an American crime drama television series that premiered on CBS on November 7, 1991, as part of the network's late-night ''Crimetime After Primetime'' programming package. Broadcast for two seasons until CBS ended the ''Crim ...

'', ''

Sliders Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

'' and ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

.'' He also had a number of series in development at the time of his death.

''Sliders''

Fox brought Peckinpah onto the television series ''

'' in its third season. Peckinpah has been derided by fans, who argue that his involvement (and by extension Fox's more hands-on involvement) caused the show to " jump the shark". Peckinpah is believed to be responsible for the departure of cast member

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor best known for portraying Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and Gimli in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. His other roles include Michael Malone in the 1993 series ''The Untouch ...

. While John Rhys-Davies had been an outspoken critic of the show's writing quality since the first season, Fox supported him; only David Peckinpah, who was assigned to the show in its third season, wanted him out. Rhys-Davies later vowed that he would not return to ''Sliders'' as long as Peckinpah had a hand in the show. Sliders co-creator

Tracy Tormé Tracy Tormé (born April 12, 1959) is an American screenwriter and television producer, known for his work on the science fiction series ''Sliders'' and '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', and the film '' Fire in the Sky''. Early life Tormé ...

was highly critical of ''Sliders'' in its third season. When the show was cancelled and the show was picked up by the

Sci-Fi Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. ...

, Tormé attempted to retake control of the series. One of Tormé's conditions was the removal of David Peckinpah from the series. Peckinpah had already signed a two-year contract with Universal, and Universal elected to keep Peckinpah. Tormé left the series.

Personal life

David was married to actress and producer Sandy Peckinpah from 1974 until his death in 2006. They had four children: Garrett (b. 1978 d. 1994), Trevor (born 1982), Julianne Belle (born 1988), and Jackson (born 1992). Julianne was born with a bilateral cleft lip, which inspired David's wife to write books about children born with special needs. Some books are "Rosey the Imperfect Angel," "Chester the Imperfect All-Star" (inspired by baseball pitcher

Jim Abbott James Anthony Abbott (born September 19, 1967) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers, from 1989 to 1999. He ...

), and "Fairy Tale Life . . . Interrupted." David and Sandy were writing partners and co-founders of DASAN Productions. The couple were very close friends with actors

Melissa Gilbert Melissa Ellen Gilbert (born May 8, 1963) is an American actress, television director, producer, politician, and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. Gilbert began her career as a child actress in the late 1960s, appearing in numerous co ...

and

Bruce Boxleitner Bruce William Boxleitner (born May 12, 1950) is an American actor and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series '' How the West Was Won'', '' Bring 'Em Back Alive'', ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King ...

. Melissa gave birth to a very premature son in October 1994. She named him Michael Garrett Boxleitner (in honor of Michael Landon and Garrett Peckinpah). When Garrett was 16, he died suddenly from meningitis. Following the death of his first son, David relapsed into drug and alcohol abuse, after nearly 20 years of sobriety. In 2004 David began renting a home in Vancouver which he would use as a creative space for writing and production, commuting to and from his family home in California. However this arrangement proved to be tragic. On April 23, 2006 David died of heart failure caused by drug overdose in Vancouver B.C. He was 55. Today his widow, Sandy, is a realtor and writer in Murrieta, California.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peckinpah, David 1951 births 2006 deaths American television directors Television producers from California American television writers American male television writers Writers from Fresno, California Screenwriters from California 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American male writers