- William Link
William Link (born
December 15 ,1933 ) is a film and television writer and producer who often worked in collaboration withRichard Levinson . Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he earned aBachelor of Science degree from theUniversity of Pennsylvania prior to serving in theUnited States Army from 1956-1958.William Link and Richard Levinson co-created and produced "Columbo", "
Mannix ", "Ellery Queen" and "Murder, She Wrote ".They also collaborated on several made-for-TV movies, including "
My Sweet Charlie ", "That Certain Summer ", "The Judge and Jake Wyler ", "The Execution of Private Slovik ", "Charlie Cobb: A Nice Night for a Hanging", and "Blacke's Magic"; the latter, which starredHal Linden andHarry Morgan , was also developed into a short-lived TV series. The partners also collaborated on two feature films: "The Hindenburg" (1975) and "Rollercoaster" (1977). Other collaborations in television included the teleplay of an episode of TheAlfred Hitchcock Hour entitled "Day of Reckoning" (original air date 11/22/1962), which was based on a novel by John Garden.Following the sudden death of
Richard Levinson in 1987, William Link continued his writing and producing career in many media. He is a frequent contributor to many mystery magazines including "Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine " and "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine ". His post-Levinson TV work includes "The Cosby Mysteries " (1994-95), starringBill Cosby , and the short-lived science fiction/detective series "Probe", created withIsaac Asimov .In 1979, Levinson and Link received a Special
Edgar Award from theMystery Writers of America 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 theTelevision Academy Hall of Fame .The William Link Theatre on the campus of
California State University, Long Beach is named for Link in honor of his work and donation of plays. [cite news | last =Browning | first =Paul | title =CSULB to Dedicate William Link Theatre with Formal Dinnerand Reading of the Award-Winning Writer/Producer’s Play | work =This Week @ The Beach | language = | publisher =California State University, Long Beach | date =2008-09-02 | url= | accessdate =2008-09-05 ]Notes
References
* [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/L/htmlL/linkwilliam/linkwilliam.htm Museum of Broadcast Communications website]
*imdb name|id=0512894|name=William Link
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