Richard Levinson and William Link were American television writers and producers who collaborated for 43 years, until Levinson's death. They wrote for the CBS anthology drama The DuPont Show with June Allyson, and they created classic television detective series such as Columbo; Mannix; Ellery Queen; and Murder, She Wrote; and made-for-TV movies including 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, Murder by Natural Causes, Rehearsal for Murder, and Guilty Conscience. They also collaborated on two feature films: The Hindenburg (1975) and Rollercoaster (1977).
Levinson and Link occasionally used the pseudonym "Ted Leighton", most notably on the telefilm Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You, where their work was substantially re-written by other hands, and Columbo when they came up with stories to be scripted by their collaborators.
In 1979, Levinson and Link received a Special Edgar Award from the Mystery 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 Mystery Writers of America's Ellery Queen Award, which honors outstanding mystery writing teams. In November 1995, they were jointly elected to the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
Credits YearTitleCreatorProducer/Executive ProducerWriterNotes1959Westinghouse Desilu PlayhouseEpisode: "Chain of Command"1959General Motors Presents2 episodes1959-1960Johnny Ringo3 episodes1959Black SaddleEpisode: "The Deal"1959The DuPont Show with June AllysonEpisode: "The Crossing"1959The RebelEpisode: "Gun City"1960Richard Diamond, Private DetectiveEpisode: "Seven Swords"1960The Chevy Mystery ShowEpisode: "Enough Rope"1960-1961Michael Shayne6 episodes1961The Brothers BrannaganEpisode: "Mistaken Identity"1961-1962Adventures in Paradise2 episodes1961-1962Alfred Hitchcock Presents2 episodes1962-1964The Alfred Hitchcock Hour5 episodes1963Stoney BurkeEpisode: "A Matter of Percentage"1963The Third Man2 episodes1963Dr. Kildare2 episodes1964Arrest and TrialEpisode: "The Best There Is"1964The RoguesEpisode: "The Boston Money Party"1964-1965Burke's Law3 episodes1964-1965The Fugitive2 episodes1965-1966Honey West4 episodes1966-1967JerichoCreated with Merwin A. Bloch1967-1975Mannix1968Prescription: MurderTelevision film; backdoor pilot for Columbo1968Istanbul ExpressTelevision film1968The Name of the Game2 episodes1969Trial RunTelevision film1969The Whole World Is WatchingTelevision film1970My Sweet CharlieTelevision film1970McCloudEpisode: "Portrait of a Dead Girl"1970San Francisco International AirportEpisode: "Crisis"1970The PsychiatristEpisode: "God Bless the Children"1971Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?Television film1971Ransom for a Dead ManTelevision film; second Columbo pilot1971-2003ColumboSeries continued after Levinson's death1971Two on a BenchTelevision film1971Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind YouTelevision film; credited as "Ted Leighton"1972That Certain SummerTelevision film1972The Judge and Jake WylerTelevision film1973Tenafly1973SavageTelevision film1974The Execution of Private SlovikTelevision film1974The GunTelevision film1975The HindenburgTheatrical film1975-1976Ellery Queen1977Charlie Cobb: Nice Night for a HangingTelevision film1977RollercoasterTheatrical film1977The StorytellerTelevision film1979Murder by Natural CausesTelevision film1979-1980StoneCreated with Stephen J. Cannell1981Crisis at Central HighTelevision film1982DarkroomEpisode: "Exit Line"1982Rehearsal for MurderTelevision film1982Take Your Best ShotTelevision film1983PrototypeTelevision film1984-1996Murder, She WroteCreated with Peter S. Fischer, series continued after Levinson's death1984The GuardianTelevision film1985Guilty ConscienceTelevision film1986Vanishing ActTelevision film1986Blacke's MagicCreated with Peter S. Fischer1987Hard CopyCreated with Daniel Pyne, only Link produced1988Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim AjamiTelevision film
See also Richard Levinson William Link
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