Glen A. Larson

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name = Glen A. Larson


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birth_date = 1937-01-03
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nationality = American flagicon|US
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occupation = Television producer, screenwriter
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religion = Mormon
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Glen A. Larson (born January 3, 1937) is an American television producer and writer best known as creator of the series "Battlestar Galactica" and "Knight Rider" in their original 1970s and 1980s incarnations, respectively.

Biography

Larson began his career in the entertainment industry as a member of the singing group The Four Preps (with whom he appeared in one of the "Gidget" films). The Four Preps ultimately produced three gold records for Capitol, all of which Larson wrote and/or composed: "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)," "Big Man," and "Down By The Station." A later member of the Four Preps, David Somerville, and a session singer he knew, Gail Jensen, later collaborated with him on "The Unknown Stuntman," the theme from "The Fall Guy".

After working for Quinn Martin Sr. on productions like "The Fugitive," Larson signed a production deal with Universal Studios. His first hit series was "Alias Smith and Jones."

Larson was involved in the development of "The Six Million Dollar Man," based on Martin Caidin's novel "Cyborg," and was one of the series' executive producers.

Larson later secured a then-unprecedented $1 million per episode budget for "Battlestar Galactica." Originally, the series was intended to be called "Adama's Ark," and the show incorporated many themes from Mormon theology, such as marriage for "time and eternity" and a "council of twelve." Larson is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [ [http://www.adherents.com/people/pl/Glen_Larson.html The Religious Affiliation of Glen A. Larson] ] Larson had been working on it since 1968, and Gene L. Coon had been providing guidance and mentoring to him through the writing of its earliest incarnations. Larson is credited with coining the word "battlestar," a contraction of the phrase "line-of-"battle star"ship," after being convinced to rename "Adama's Ark" to include the word "star" in the title in some way. He is also credited with creating the faux curse word "frak". [ [http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/02/tv.what.the.frak.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview The curse word 'Battlestar Galactica' created] ]

Even with its generous budget, the series was marred by substandard scripts and recycled effects shots, which could be blamed on the financial stinginess of both ABC and Universal, and it was cancelled after only one season. The pilot episode of "Galactica," called "Saga of a Star-World" in the program continuity, was refashioned as a theatrical release in North America and Europe, and in some European markets, it was the top grossing film of 1979.

Larson re-used sets, props, costumes, and effects work from "Galactica" to create the light-hearted sci-fi series "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" (1979).

Larson was successful as one of the creators of Magnum P.I. and is credited as a writer on 149 episodes. Additionally, Larson created "The Fall Guy," starring Lee Majors, which made much use of stock footage as well. Larson's most influential series was probably "Knight Rider," which starred David Hasselhoff and featured science-fiction elements with a light-hearted action-adventure scenario and limited violence. These basic elements characterised Larson's output through the 1980s with "Automan," "Manimal," and "The Highwayman." But few of these were renewed, and Larson's popularity declined. He made a brief comeback in the 1990s with an adaptation of the Ultraverse comic "Night Man", which lasted two seasons and became a small cult favorite, but failed to make a larger impact.

Honors

Larson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the television industry.

Awards

*Emmy Award
**1978: Nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, for "Quincy, M.E."
*Grammy Award
**1979: Nominated for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special, for "Battlestar Galactica"
*Edgar Award
**1973: Won for Best Episode in a TV Series Teleplay, for "McCloud", "The New Mexico Connection"
**1981: Won for Best Episode in a TV Series Teleplay, for "Magnum, P.I.", "China Doll" (with Donald Bellisario)

Producer filmography

*"It Takes a Thief" (1968) (TV series) (associate producer)
*"McCloud" (1970) (TV series) (executive producer) (producer)
*"The Virginian" (1962) (TV series) (executive producer) (1970-1971)
*"Alias Smith and Jones" (1971) (TV series) (producer)
*"The Six Million Dollar Man: Wine, Women and War" (1973) (TV movie) (executive producer)
*"The Six Million Dollar Man: The Solid Gold Kidnapping" (1973) (TV movie) (executive producer)
*"Sin, American Style" (1974) (TV) (executive producer)
*"Get Christie Love!" (1974) TV Series (executive producer)
*"Switch" (1975) (TV series) (executive producer)
*"Quincy, M.E." (1976) (TV series) (executive producer)
*"" (1977) (TV) (producer)
*"The Hardy Boys Mysteries" (1977) TV Series (executive producer)
*"Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" (1977) TV Series (executive producer)
*"Battlestar Galactica" (1978)
*"The Islander" (1978) (TV movie) (producer)
*"Sword Of Justice" (1978) TV Series (executive producer) (producer)
*"Evening in Byzantium" (1978) (TV) (executive producer)
*"A Double Life" (1978) (TV) (executive producer)
** Note: This is the pilot installment of "Sword of Justice."
*"B.J. and the Bear" (1979)
*"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" (1979)
*"The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo" (1979) TV Series (producer)
*"" (1980) (TV) (executive producer, uncredited)
*"Galactica 1980" (1980)
*"Magnum, P.I." (1980)
*"Nightside (1980) (TV movie) (executive producer)
*"The Fall Guy" (1981) TV Series (executive producer)
*"Fitz and Bones" (1981) TV Series (producer)
*"Knight Rider" (1982)
*"Terror at Alcatraz" (1982) (TV) (executive producer)
*"Rooster" (1982) (TV movie) (executive producer)
*"Manimal" (1983) TV Series (producer)
*"Automan" (1983) TV Series (executive producer)
*"Cover Up" (1984) TV Series (executive producer)
*"In Like Flynn" (1985) (TV) (executive producer)
*"The Highwayman" (1988) (TV series) (executive producer)
*"The Road Raiders" (1989) (TV) (executive producer)
*"Chameleons" (1989) (TV movie) (executive producer)
*"P.S.I. Luv U" (1991) TV Series (executive producer)
*"One West Waikiki" (1994) TV Series (executive producer)
*"Team Knight Rider" (1997) TV Series (executive producer)
*"The Darwin Conspiracy" (1999) (TV) (executive producer)
*"Millennium Man" (1999) (TV) (executive producer)
*"Battlestar Galactica" (2003) (mini) TV Series ("consulting producer")
*"Battlestar Galactica" (2004) TV series ("consulting producer")

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0488991|name=Glen A. Larson
*isfdb name|name=Glen A. Larson|id=Glen_A._Larson