Who is Glen A. Larson? See Net-worth, Quote, Awards, Fact, Wiki

Glen Albert Larson Wiki Biography

Born on January 3, 1937 in Los Angeles, California, Glen A. Larson was the man behind some of the world’s best-known prime-time television series. His highly successful productions (successful both financially and popularly, less often critically) include Knight Rider (1982), The Fall Guy (1981), Magnum, P.I. (1980), Battlestar Galactica (1978), … 

Net Worth $50 Million
Date Of Birth January 3, 1937
Died 2014-11-14
Place Of Birth Long Beach, California, USA
Profession Writer, Producer, Music Department
Nationality American
IMDB http://imdb.com/name/nm5900346
Trademark
1 Often copies ideas from feature films and makes small screen versions of them.
2 Famed sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison once referred to him as “Glen Larceny” because of his notorious reputation for stealing ideas from films and other series. Most of Larson’s television productions are copycat versions of successful feature films (e.g. – Battlestar Galactica (1978) from Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), The Fall Guy (1981) from Hooper (1978), Automan (1983) from TRON (1982), B.J. and the Bear (1978) from Every Which Way But Loose (1978), Alias Smith and Jones (1971) from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), etc.).
3 In-movie business jokes and references
4 Wholesome family entertainment often revolving around technology.
Quote
1 [on the TV shows that he created] [They were] enjoyable, they had a pretty decent dose of humor and they all struck a chord out there in the mainstream. What we weren’t going to win … was a shelf full of Emmys. Ours were not the shows that were doing anything more than reaching a core audience. I would like to think that they brought a lot of entertainment into the living room.
2 You don’t think you talk about science fiction; you do it.
3 Finding a murderer is not as important as finding the salvation of mankind and our origins or its future.
Fact
1 35 girls and not one boy showed up to audition for the annual Hollywood High School talent show in the fall of 1955. The next day the school bulletin pleaded for “any guys out there who can do anything” and a show business story began that sounds a little like an MGM Musical. Unable to resist such amorously appealing odds, four talented and highly motivated teenagers in the school choir, Lead Singer Bruce Belland, baritone Glen Larson, bass Ed Cobb and high tenor Marvin Ingram, literally formed a quartet overnight and stepped into the crinoline void as “The Four Preps.” After stealing the show with choice hits by their idols, The Crew Cuts and The Four Lads, they quickly found themselves in demand for every kind of event imaginable. “We didn’t turn anything down”, Bruce Belland remembers. “We once performed on the back of a flatbed truck for the opening of a parking lot. They paid us $75.00; enough to buy gas and our first matching sport coats. We were totally stoked.” A short time later, legendary Capitol Records Producer Voyle Gilmore, who recorded stars like Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and Louie Prima & Keely Smith, heard a tape of a live performance by The Four Preps and signed them to a long term recording contract. At the time the Preps were the youngest act ever to sign with a major record label. (In an article about their signing, Variety dubbed them “Capitol’s jolly juveniles”.) While The Preps started searching for a hit, their old HHS classmate, Ricky Nelson, was launching a recording career of his own. As his records began to burn up the airwaves, he and The Four Preps embarked on their first nationwide personal appearance tour which kicked off the very week that Nelson’s picture was on the cover of LIFE magazine with the caption – “RICKY NELSON – Teen Idol” – a phrase the Editors had created expressly for him. The group picked up by Capitol Records and scored a hit in 1957 with “26 Miles (Santa Catalina), co-written by Larson. But Larson wanted to be a television writer, and he turned out scripts he hoped to sell while The Four Preps toured extensively. Glen Larson’s first story credit came in 1966 for an episode of “The Fugitive.” He rose quickly in the television business, becoming an associate producer on “It Takes a Thief” in 1968.
2 Many of the hit television shows Glen Larson produced found little favor with critics, including “B.J. and the Bear” (1979), about a trucker and his pet monkey. And despite his success, sometimes with multiple series running simultaneously, Larson never won an EMMY. But Larson felt he knew what viewers wanted, and he was proved right in many cases. “I’m proudest of the fact that I fell in step with an audience taste level that I knew how to judge and maybe deliver for, and consistently,” he said in a 2009 oral history interview by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. “It wasn’t a one-shot. It wasn’t a lucky this or a that. There’s a consistent body of work here that has some symmetry to it in terms of why it worked and how it worked.” Larson’s formula was derived, in part, from studying both dramatic programs and comedies. He felt humor worked best when it was closely embedded in a protagonist’s unexpected situation. “I call it predicament humor,” Larson said. “You don’t do anything that cuts the star off at the knees or worse. You make him intelligent, you give him great ideas and great things to do. But sometimes, things happen.” Except for some 1990s shows that received disappointing receptions – including “One West Waikiki,” which made its debut in 1994 – he felt vindicated by his career. “There’s nothing that could dampen my enthusiasm,” he said, “for how much fun it has been to do programs that the audience seems to have enjoyed, and enjoyed a lot.”.
3 Glen A. Larson passed away on November 14, 2014, two months from what would have been his 78th birthday on January 3, 2015.
4 Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6673 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on October 23, 1985.
5 Had two daughters with ex-wife, Janet Curtis-Larson.
6 According to “The Garner Files”, the autobiography of James Garner, Garner once got into a physical altercation with Larson on the Universal lot. After Larson had copied a number of scripts from The Rockford Files (1974) and used them for his own shows, Garner’s company complained to the The Writer’s Guild who proceeded to fine Larson for plagiarism. However, this didn’t deter Larson who then ripped-off the theme tune from The Rockford Files for one of his own shows. When Larson approached Garner and asked him if there were any hard feelings, Garner claims that he punched Larson so hard that it knocked him right across a curb, into a motor home and out the other side (The Garner Files, p.129, ISBN 978-1-4516-4260-5.).
7 Attended and graduated from Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, California.
8 Was a member of The Four Preps singing group in the late 1950s.

Writer

Title Year Status Character
Knight Rider 2018 screenplay announced
Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome 2012 TV Movie creator
Caprica 2009-2010 TV Series based on characters created by – 18 episodes
Battlestar Galactica TV Series 24 episodes, 2007 – 2009 based on the series created by: “Battlestar Galactica” – 49 episodes, 2004 – 2007
Knight Rider 2008-2009 TV Series characters – 18 episodes
Battlestar Galactica: Razor 2007 TV Movie based on the series created by: “Battlestar Galactica”
Battlestar Galactica TV Mini-Series based on a teleplay by – 2 episodes, 2003 written by – 2 episodes, 2003
Millennium Man 1999 TV Movie written by
NightMan TV Series created by – 44 episodes, 1997 – 1999 written by – 6 episodes, 1997 – 1999
The Darwin Conspiracy 1999 TV Movie written by
NightMan 1997 TV Movie
One West Waikiki 1994-1996 TV Series created by – 19 episodes
Staying Afloat 1993 TV Movie story – as Glen Larson
P.S.I. Luv U TV Series created by – 12 episodes, 1991 – 1992 writer – 2 episodes, 1991 story – 1 episode, 1991 teleplay – 1 episode, 1991
Knight Rider 2000 1991 TV Movie characters
Masquerade 1990 TV Movie written by
Chameleons 1989 TV Movie
The Road Raiders 1989 TV Movie story / teleplay
Magnum, P.I. TV Series created by – 158 episodes, 1980 – 1988 written by – 2 episodes, 1980
The Highwayman TV Series 6 episodes, 1987 – 1988 writer – 1 episode, 1988
The Highwayman 1987 TV Movie
The Fall Guy TV Series created by – 111 episodes, 1981 – 1986 written by – 8 episodes, 1981 – 1983 story – 1 episode, 1983 teleplay – 1 episode, 1982
Knight Rider TV Series created by – 86 episodes, 1982 – 1986 written by – 2 episodes, 1982 excerpts written by – 1 episode, 1985 excerpts – 1 episode, 1984
Crazy Dan 1986 TV Movie written by
In Like Flynn 1985 TV Movie written by
Half Nelson 1985 TV Series created by – 8 episodes
Cover Up TV Series created by – 20 episodes, 1984 – 1985 written by – 2 episodes, 1984
Half Nelson 1985 TV Movie written by
Automan TV Series created by – 13 episodes, 1983 – 1984 writer – 2 episodes, 1983
Masquerade TV Series created by – 13 episodes, 1983 – 1984 written by – 1 episode, 1983
Manimal TV Series created by – 8 episodes, 1983 writer – 1 episode, 1983
Quincy M.E. TV Series 3 episodes, 1978 created by – 145 episodes, 1976 – 1983 writer – 2 episodes, 1976 – 1977 story – 1 episode, 1977 written by – 1 episode, 1976
Trauma Center 1983 TV Series created by – 13 episodes
Simon & Simon 1982 TV Series story – 1 episode
Rooster 1982 TV Movie
Terror at Alcatraz 1982 TV Movie teleplay
B.J. and the Bear TV Series created by – 42 episodes, 1979 – 1981 story – 9 episodes, 1979 – 1980 teleplay – 2 episodes, 1979 – 1980 written by – 2 episodes, 1979 teleplay and story – 1 episode, 1978
Conquest of the Earth 1981 TV Movie creator / written by
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo TV Series created by – 37 episodes, 1979 – 1981 story – 6 episodes, 1979 – 1981 writer – 3 episodes, 1980 – 1981 teleplay – 3 episodes, 1979
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV Series developed for television by – 24 episodes, 1979 – 1981 written by – 1 episode, 1979
Nightside 1980 TV Movie teleplay
Galactica 1980 TV Series created by – 10 episodes, 1980 writer – 9 episodes, 1980
Battles: The Murder That Wouldn’t Die 1980 TV Movie written by
Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack 1979 TV Movie characters / screenplay / story
Sword of Justice TV Series created by – 9 episodes, 1978 – 1979 writer – 1 episode, 1979 written by – 1 episode, 1978
Battlestar Galactica TV Series created by – 21 episodes, 1978 – 1979 written by – 8 episodes, 1978 – 1979 teleplay – 4 episodes, 1978 story – 2 episodes, 1978
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 1979 written by
A Double Life 1978 TV Movie
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries TV Series television developer – 14 episodes, 1977 developed for television by – 9 episodes, 1977 – 1978 written by – 6 episodes, 1977 – 1978 teleplay – 4 episodes, 1977 – 1978 story – 2 episodes, 1977
The Islander 1978 TV Movie
Evening in Byzantium 1978 TV Movie
Switch TV Series created by – 70 episodes, 1975 – 1978 writer – 4 episodes, 1975 – 1976 teleplay – 1 episode, 1975
Battlestar Galactica 1978 written by
McCloud TV Series written by – 8 episodes, 1970 – 1977 story – 2 episodes, 1975 – 1976 teleplay – 1 episode, 1972
Benny and Barney: Las Vegas Undercover 1977 TV Movie
Get Christie Love! TV Series teleplay – 1 episode, 1975 written by – 1 episode, 1975
Fools, Females and Fun 1974 TV Movie creator
The Six Million Dollar Man: Wine, Women and War 1973 TV Movie
Alias Smith and Jones TV Series created by – 49 episodes, 1971 – 1973 teleplay – 7 episodes, 1971 – 1972 writer – 1 episode, 1972 story – 1 episode, 1971
The Virginian 1970 TV Series writer – 1 episode
It Takes a Thief TV Series writer – 11 episodes, 1969 – 1970 written by – 7 episodes, 1968 – 1969 teleplay – 1 episode, 1969
12 O’Clock High 1966 TV Series writer – 1 episode
The Fugitive 1966 TV Series story – 1 episode

Producer

Title Year Status Character
Knight Rider 2018 executive producer announced
Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome 2012 TV Movie consulting producer
Caprica 2009-2010 TV Series consulting producer – 18 episodes
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan 2009 Video consulting producer
Battlestar Galactica 2004-2009 TV Series consulting producer – 73 episodes
Knight Rider 2008-2009 TV Series executive producer – 18 episodes
Battlestar Galactica: Razor 2007 TV Movie consulting producer
Battlestar Galactica: Razor Flashbacks 2007 TV Mini-Series consulting producer – 7 episodes
Battlestar Galactica 2003 TV Mini-Series consulting producer – 2 episodes
Millennium Man 1999 TV Movie executive producer
The Darwin Conspiracy 1999 TV Movie executive producer
Team Knight Rider 1997-1998 TV Series executive producer – 22 episodes
NightMan 1997 TV Series executive producer – 3 episodes
One West Waikiki 1994-1996 TV Series executive producer – 19 episodes
P.S.I. Luv U 1991-1992 TV Series executive producer – 13 episodes
Chameleons 1989 TV Movie executive producer
The Road Raiders 1989 TV Movie executive producer
Magnum, P.I. 1980-1988 TV Series executive producer – 152 episodes
The Highwayman 1987 TV Series executive producer
The Fall Guy 1981-1986 TV Series executive producer – 112 episodes
Knight Rider 1982-1986 TV Series executive producer – 85 episodes
In Like Flynn 1985 TV Movie executive producer
Cover Up 1984-1985 TV Series executive producer – 7 episodes
Automan 1983-1984 TV Series executive producer – 13 episodes
Masquerade 1983-1984 TV Series executive producer – 13 episodes
Manimal 1983 TV Series producer
Trauma Center 1983 TV Series executive producer – 13 episodes
Rooster 1982 TV Movie executive producer
Terror at Alcatraz 1982 TV Movie executive producer
Fitz and Bones 1981 TV Series producer
B.J. and the Bear 1978-1981 TV Series executive producer – 47 episodes
Conquest of the Earth 1981 TV Movie executive producer
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo 1979-1981 TV Series executive producer – 38 episodes
Nightside 1980 TV Movie executive producer
Galactica 1980 1980 TV Series executive producer – 10 episodes
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 1979-1980 TV Series executive producer – 21 episodes
Battles: The Murder That Wouldn’t Die 1980 TV Movie executive producer – uncredited
Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack 1979 TV Movie executive producer
Sword of Justice 1978-1979 TV Series executive producer – 10 episodes
Battlestar Galactica 1978-1979 TV Series executive producer – 21 episodes
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 1979 executive producer
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977-1979 TV Series executive producer – 46 episodes
A Double Life 1978 TV Movie executive producer
The Islander 1978 TV Movie producer
Evening in Byzantium 1978 TV Movie executive producer
Battlestar Galactica 1978 executive producer
Quincy M.E. 1976-1977 TV Series executive producer – 17 episodes
McCloud TV Series executive producer – 32 episodes, 1972 – 1977 producer – 5 episodes, 1970
Benny and Barney: Las Vegas Undercover 1977 TV Movie producer
Switch TV Series executive producer – 24 episodes, 1975 – 1976 producer – 1 episode, 1975
Get Christie Love! 1975 TV Series executive producer – 10 episodes
Fools, Females and Fun 1974 TV Movie executive producer
The Six Million Dollar Man: Solid Gold Kidnapping 1973 TV Movie executive producer
The Six Million Dollar Man: Wine, Women and War 1973 TV Movie executive producer
Alias Smith and Jones 1971-1972 TV Series producer – 38 episodes
The Virginian 1970-1971 TV Series producer – 6 episodes
It Takes a Thief TV Series associate producer – 22 episodes, 1968 – 1969 producer – 16 episodes, 1969 – 1970

Music Department

Title Year Status Character
NightMan 1997 TV Series composer – 2 episodes
P.S.I. Luv U 1991 TV Series composer – 2 episodes
The Road Raiders 1989 TV Movie composer: title theme
The Fall Guy 1981-1986 TV Series composer – 112 episodes
Knight Rider 1982-1986 TV Series composer – 84 episodes
In Like Flynn 1985 TV Movie composer: main title theme
Quincy M.E. 1976-1983 TV Series composer – 148 episodes
B.J. and the Bear 1978-1981 TV Series composer – 47 episodes
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo 1979-1981 TV Series composer – 38 episodes
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 1979-1981 TV Series composer – 29 episodes
Galactica 1980 1980 TV Series composer – 10 episodes
Battles: The Murder That Wouldn’t Die 1980 TV Movie composer: theme music
Sword of Justice 1978-1979 TV Series composer – 10 episodes
Battlestar Galactica 1978-1979 TV Series composer – 21 episodes
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 1979 composer: theme music
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977-1979 TV Series composer – 52 episodes
Switch 1975-1978 TV Series composer – 64 episodes
McCloud 1970 TV Series composer: theme music

Miscellaneous

Title Year Status Character
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan 2009 Video original creator
Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy 2008-2009 TV Mini-Series original creator – 10 episodes
Battlestar Galactica: Razor 2007 TV Movie original creator
Battlestar Galactica: Razor Flashbacks 2007 TV Mini-Series original creator – 7 episodes
Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance 2006 TV Mini-Series original creator – 10 episodes
Hollywood’s Magical Island: Catalina 2003 Documentary additional interviewee – as Glen Larson
Battlestar Galactica 1978 director: epilogue – uncredited
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977 TV Series developer – 1 episode
It Takes a Thief 1968 TV Series script consultant – 16 episodes

Soundtrack

Title Year Status Character
Ted 2 2015 writer: “Knight Rider Main Title” – as Glen Larson
Mike & Mike 2013 TV Series writer – 1 episode
Ted 2012 writer: “Knight Rider Main Title” – as Glen Larson
Pastor Mike Online 2011 TV Series writer – 1 episode
Cop Out 2010 writer: “Knight Rider”
(500) Days of Summer 2009 writer: “Knight Rider Main Title”
Kickin’ It Old Skool 2007 writer: “Knight Rider Theme” – as Glenn Larson
Stick It 2006 writer: “Beware of the Boys Beware Breaks” – as Glen Larson
The Benchwarmers 2006 writer: “Knight Rider Main Title”
Hollywood’s Magical Island: Catalina 2003 Documentary writer: “26 Miles Santa Catalina” 1958
Hinter Gittern – Der Frauenknast 2000 TV Series writer – 1 episode
Can’t Hardly Wait 1998 writer: “Turn It Up Remix/Fire It Up”
Northern Exposure 1994 TV Series writer – 1 episode
Screen Two 1986 TV Series writer – 1 episode
Airplane II: The Sequel 1982 writer: “Theme from ‘Battlestar Galactica'”
The Fall Guy 1981 TV Series writer: “The Ballad of the Unknown Stuntman”
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 1980 TV Series lyrics – 1 episode
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo 1979 TV Series lyrics: “The Ballad of Sheriff Lobo” / music: “The Ballad of Sheriff Lobo”
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 1979 lyrics: “SUSPENSION”
Good Old Days Part II 1978 TV Special writer: “26 Miles”
B.J. and the Bear 1978 TV Series writer: “B.J. and the Bear”
Battlestar Galactica 1978 TV Series “It’s Love, Love, Love”
Battlestar Galactica 1978 “It’s Love, Love, Love”
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977 TV Series “Theme”
The Graham Kennedy Show 1973 TV Series writer – 1 episode
The Six Million Dollar Man: Solid Gold Kidnapping 1973 TV Movie lyrics: “Six Million Dollar Man” – as Glen Larson / music: “Six Million Dollar Man” – as Glen Larson
McCloud 1973 TV Series writer – 1 episode
The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet 1960 TV Series performer – 1 episode
Gidget 1959 writer: “Cinderella”

Composer

Title Year Status Character
Knight Rider 1984 TV Series 1 episode
Sword of Justice 1978-1979 TV Series 10 episodes
Fools, Females and Fun 1974 TV Movie

Director

Title Year Status Character
NightMan 1997 TV Movie
Chameleons 1989 TV Movie
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977 TV Series 1 episode
Switch 1975 TV Series 1 episode
Get Christie Love! 1974 TV Series
It Takes a Thief 1970 TV Series 1 episode

Actor

Title Year Status Character
The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet 1957-1962 TV Series Glen / Member: The Four Preps / The Four Preps
Gidget 1959 Group Member (uncredited)

Thanks

Title Year Status Character
Rumpelstiltskin 1995 the producers wish to thank – as Glen Larson
Leprechaun 1993 special thanks
Picasso Trigger 1988 thanks

Self

Title Year Status Character
Calling Automan: The Auto Feature 2012 Video documentary short Himself
The Great 80’s TV Flashback 2006 Video documentary short Himself
TV’s Greatest Cars 2004 TV Movie documentary Himself
Knight Rider: Under the Hood – ‘Knight Rider’ Season 1 DVD 2004 Video documentary short Himself
Knight Sounds: ‘Knight Rider’ Season 1 DVD 2004 Video documentary short Himself
Glen Larson on the Creation of ‘Battlestar Galactica’ 2004 Video documentary short Himself
Remembering ‘Battlestar Galactica’ 2004 Video documentary Himself
Hollywood’s Magical Island: Catalina 2003 Documentary The Four Preps (as Glen Larson)
TVography: Lee Majors – Hollywood’s Bionic Hero 2002 TV Movie documentary Himself
I Love 1980’s 2001 TV Series documentary Himself
Top Ten 2001 TV Series documentary Himself
E! True Hollywood Story 1999-2001 TV Series documentary Himself – Interviewee / Himself
Sciography 2000 TV Series Himself

Won Awards

Year Award Ceremony Nomination Movie
1985 Star on the Walk of Fame Walk of Fame Television On 23 October 1985. At 6673 Hollywood Blvd.
1981 Edgar Edgar Allan Poe Awards Best Television Episode Magnum, P.I. (1980)
1973 Edgar Edgar Allan Poe Awards Best Television Episode McCloud (1970)

Nominated Awards

Year Award Ceremony Nomination Movie
1979 Grammy Grammy Awards Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special Battlestar Galactica (1978)
1978 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Quincy M.E. (1976)
1975 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Limited Series McCloud (1970)
1974 Primetime Emmy Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Limited Series McCloud (1970)
1973 WGA Award (TV) Writers Guild of America, USA Episodic Drama McCloud (1970)
1973 WGA Award (TV) Writers Guild of America, USA Episodic Drama McCloud (1970)

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