Stephen J. Cannell

On his early life and influences; on being diagnosed with dyslexia

On his earliest memories of television, and his mentor Roy Huggins; on deciding what he wanted to do as a career; on deciding to become a writer

On a college teacher praising his talent, which led to him pursuing a writing career; on how his first job in television came about; on being hired to write for Adam-12 and becoming the head writer within a week

On working at KTLA; on his first script sale, to It Takes a Thief; on working with the writing staff of Adam-12 as head writer

On creating the unsold pilot Chase for producer Jack Webb at the behest of Sid Sheinberg; on writing quirky characters; on producer Jo Swerling Jr.

On producer Jo Swerling Jr.; on what he learned from Roy Huggins

On creating The Rockford Files with Roy Huggins; on bringing James Garner on to play "Jim Rockford" on The Rockford Files, and on selling the show to ABC; on ABC's initial concerns about The Rockford Files

On writing for Toma; on "Jim Rockford" as an anti-hero on The Rockford Files ; on The Rockford Files making the transition from movie of the week to series

On working with James Garner as "Jim Rockford" on The Rockford Files, and on his ability to "save" a subpar script; on Tom Selleck as "Lance White" on The Rockford Files; on the answering machine opening to each episode of The Rockford Files

On Mike Post's theme song for The Rockford Files; on "Jim Rockford's" car on The Rockford Files; on "Jim Rockford's" home, Paradise Cove in Malibu, on The Rockford Files

On coming up with stories for The Rockford Files; on the evolution of "Jim Rockford" on The Rockford Files; on what he learned from The Rockford Files and from working with David Chase and Juanita Bartlett

On Rita Moreno as "Rita Capkovic," a character created by Juanita Bartlett on The Rockford Files; on the popularity of "Jim Rockford" on The Rockford Files; on creating Richie Brockelman, Private Eye with Steven Bochco, starring Dennis Dugan

On creating Baretta starring Robert Blake; on Robert Blake as "Tony Baretta" on Baretta; on the cockatoo "Fred" on Baretta

On the title and concept of Baretta; on the theme song and catch phrases of Baretta

On difficulties with Robert Blake during the run of Baretta; on creating Baa-Baa Black Sheep

On creating Baa-Baa Black Sheep; on leaving Universal Television to start his own production company; on creating and producing Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, the first series from Stephen J. Cannell Productions

On going seriously over budget with Tenspeed and Brownshoe; on growing Stephen J. Cannell Productions to become the third largest studio in television with the help of his father on the board of directors; on the premise of Tenspeed and Brownshoe starring Ben Vereen and Jeff Goldblum

On his knack for casting the right people in the right roles; on creating and producing The Greatest American Hero; on Mike Post's theme song to The Greatest American Hero

On the theme song of The Greatest American Hero becoming a hit; on creating and producing The A-Team starring Mr. T and George Peppard; on creating and producing Hunter

On the genesis of 21 Jump Street and working with a newly created Fox network; on the creation of Hardcastle and McCormick starring Brian Keith and Daniel Hugh Kelly; on creating and producing Wiseguy starring Ken Wahl

On creating and producing The Commish starring Michael Chiklis; on leaving television and on then-current projects

On writing novels, and on the kind of writer he is; on his daily schedule when he's writing a script for an television episode

On the tools and physical methods he uses to write; on the famous Stephen J. Cannell Productions logo

On his writing process and how it's developed over the years; on how the television industry has changed since he started; on advice to an aspiring television writer

On career achievements and regrets; on being a mentor to young television writers

On television's responsibility to its audience; on how he would like to be remembered