Background
Levinson, Richard Leighton was born on August 7, 1934 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of William and Georgia Francis (Harbert) Levinson.
(Drama / Characters: 4 males, 3 females Scenery: 3 inter...)
Drama / Characters: 4 males, 3 females Scenery: 3 interiors The TV series was based on this play. A brilliant psychiatrist and his mistress hatch a plot to murder his neurotic, possessive wife that depends on a bizarre impersonation to create a perfect alibi. Lt. Columbo and the doctor engage in a cat and mouse duel of wits until the doctor succeeds in having Columbo removed from the case. But the mistress is the weak link that leads to a trap and a surprising climax.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0573614245/?tag=2022091-20
screenwriter writer film producer
Levinson, Richard Leighton was born on August 7, 1934 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of William and Georgia Francis (Harbert) Levinson.
Bachelor of Science in Economics, University of Pennsylvania, 1956.
Levinson had a Jewish heritage. Both were avid Ellery Queen fans from boyhood and enjoyed mental puzzles and challenges, a characteristic that would spill over into their work. Beginning with radio scripts, the team wrote plays and then prime-time television scripts.
They went on to co-create and sometimes produce the detective television series Columbo, Mannix, Ellery Queen, Murder, She Wrote (with Peter South Fischer) and Scene of the Crime, as well as made-for-television movies 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, Rehearsal for Murder, and the short-lived television series Blacke"s Magic.
The team were proud of creating "intelligent" rather than violent programs. The team 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.
During the 1980s, they were three-time winners of the Edgar for Best television 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 the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
Levinson died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on March 12, 1987 at the age of 52.
The first Murder, She Wrote spin-off novel, Gin And Daggers, is dedicated to his memory. In tribute to Levinson, Link wrote the script for the 1991 television film The Boys, starring James Woods and John Lithgow.
(Drama / Characters: 4 males, 3 females Scenery: 3 inter...)
(A drama in three acts.)
Served with United States Army, 1957-1958. Member Academy television Arts and Sciences (Emmy award 1970, 72), Caucus for Writers, Producers and Directors (steering committee 1976-1977), Writers Guild American (award 1972).
Son of William and Georgia Francis (Harbert) L. M. Rosanna Huffman, April 20, 1968. 1 daughter, Christine Leighton.