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William Blinn

Highly acclaimed writer and producer William Blinn had success in multiple genres, creating the detective show "Starsky and Hutch" and writing for the groundbreaking miniseries "Roots." He began his career in the 1960s as a writer-for-hire on shows like the Western "Bonanza" and the lighthearted adventure "Here Come the Brides." His first producing credits came on the police drama "The Rookies" in 1972, writing episodes for the series as well. He went on to serve in that dual role on the musical drama "Fame" and the family show "Our House" in the 1980s. As creator of the popular buddy-cop show "Starsky and Hutch," he was closely involved in the show's writing and also developed the family drama "Eight is Enough." In addition to his series writing assignments, he wrote the Emmy-winning TV film "Brian's Song" in 1971 and helped pen "Roots." He co-wrote the script for Prince's musical film "Purple Rain" in 1984 and won a WGA Award in 1997 for his adapted screenplay for the TV film "The Boys Next Door." William Blinn died on October 22, 2020 in Burbank, CA at the age of 83.