Peter S. Fischer, the late-blooming TV writer and producer who co-created Murder, She Wrote after serving on such other crime-solving series as Columbo, Baretta and Ellery Queen, has died. He was 88.
Fischer died Monday at a care facility in Pacific Grove, California, his grandson Jake McElrath announced.
He became a prolific novelist after he exited Hollywood, writing murder mysteries, of course.
Fischer, who had worked with Columbo co-creators Richard Levinson and William Link on the iconic Peter Falk series as well as on the Jim Hutton-starring Ellery Queen, accompanied the pair to a meeting with CBS executives in 1984, he recalled in a 2011 interview.
“CBS wanted to do a murder mystery and they called Dick, who was our ringleader. He said, ‘Ok, I’ll bring the boys,'” Fischer said. “We went over there and pitched a premise called Blacke’s Magic, about a retired magician who solves mysteries. It became...
Fischer died Monday at a care facility in Pacific Grove, California, his grandson Jake McElrath announced.
He became a prolific novelist after he exited Hollywood, writing murder mysteries, of course.
Fischer, who had worked with Columbo co-creators Richard Levinson and William Link on the iconic Peter Falk series as well as on the Jim Hutton-starring Ellery Queen, accompanied the pair to a meeting with CBS executives in 1984, he recalled in a 2011 interview.
“CBS wanted to do a murder mystery and they called Dick, who was our ringleader. He said, ‘Ok, I’ll bring the boys,'” Fischer said. “We went over there and pitched a premise called Blacke’s Magic, about a retired magician who solves mysteries. It became...
- 11/2/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
While the first Primetime Emmys battle involving two male drama series costars occurred in 1957, it took until 1980 for there to be such a showdown in the corresponding female category. In the time since on-screen mother and daughter Sada Thompson and Kristy McNichol (“Family”) faced off, 10 more pairs of dramatic lead actresses have been pitted against each other at the Emmys between one and six times each. Scroll through our chronological photo gallery to learn more about the 22 separate cases of dual Best Drama Actress nominations.
The largest portion of this category’s costar face-offs is credited to Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless of “Cagney & Lacey.” After Gless replaced Daly’s first season costar, Meg Foster, the pair never failed to jointly earn TV academy recognition, leading to a record four wins for Daly and two for Gless (1986-1987). The other series that account for multiple entries on this list are “L.A. Law,...
The largest portion of this category’s costar face-offs is credited to Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless of “Cagney & Lacey.” After Gless replaced Daly’s first season costar, Meg Foster, the pair never failed to jointly earn TV academy recognition, leading to a record four wins for Daly and two for Gless (1986-1987). The other series that account for multiple entries on this list are “L.A. Law,...
- 9/26/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
That noise you hear is the Best Drama Actress Emmy category emptying out this year. Of last year’s six nominees, only one, “Yellowjackets” star Melanie Lynskey, is back in the running. Reigning champ Zendaya (“Euphoria”) and Reese Witherspoon (“The Morning Show”) are missing this cycle, while Laura Linney (“Ozark”) and “Killing Eve” duo Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh competed for the final time for their concluded shows. Assuming Lynskey is safely in — she’s in first in the odds — there are five spots up for grabs. Could she have some company this year from her co-stars Juliette Lewis and Tawny Cypress? If they join Lynskey in the lineup, it’ll mark the first time one show has yielded three nominees in the category in a single year.
Eleven shows have produced two nominees, including “Killing Eve” (Comer and Oh), “Six Feet Under” (Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths), “The Sopranos...
Eleven shows have produced two nominees, including “Killing Eve” (Comer and Oh), “Six Feet Under” (Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths), “The Sopranos...
- 3/21/2023
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
A year after “Schitt’s Creek” made history by sweeping all the comedy prizes at the Emmy Awards, “The Crown” just accomplished the same feat, this time in drama.
After four years, the Netflix drama finally clinched the trophy for Outstanding Drama Series at the 2021 Emmys, giving the show the clean sweep of all seven drama categories — a first in the history of the Emmys.
Early victories came in the writing and directing fields, with series creator Peter Morgan and director Jessica Hobbs taking home wins for the fourth season episode, “War.” They were followed later in the night by Gillian Anderson and Tobias Menzies, in the supporting actor categories and stars Josh O’Connor and Olivia Colman for lead actor and actress.
The closest any drama has come to sweeping in the past was “Hill Street Blues” in 1981. The cop drama picked up six awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and lead...
After four years, the Netflix drama finally clinched the trophy for Outstanding Drama Series at the 2021 Emmys, giving the show the clean sweep of all seven drama categories — a first in the history of the Emmys.
Early victories came in the writing and directing fields, with series creator Peter Morgan and director Jessica Hobbs taking home wins for the fourth season episode, “War.” They were followed later in the night by Gillian Anderson and Tobias Menzies, in the supporting actor categories and stars Josh O’Connor and Olivia Colman for lead actor and actress.
The closest any drama has come to sweeping in the past was “Hill Street Blues” in 1981. The cop drama picked up six awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and lead...
- 9/20/2021
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
For the first time, “The Crown” is fielding two drama actress contenders, in Emma Corrin and Olivia Colman, and both have gotten in everywhere so far. If they do it at the Emmys as expected, they’ll be one of the few duos from the same show to accomplish it in the category this century.
At the turn of the century, we got four straight years of co-star nominees in Best Drama Actress. “The Sopranos'” Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco were nominated from 1999-2001, with Falco prevailing in 1999 and 2001 (Sela Ward won for “Once and Again” in 2000). In 2002, “Six Feet Under” landed bids for Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffith, but they lost to Allison Janney, who upgraded to lead for “The West Wing” after two consecutive victories in supporting.
After that, it was crickets for drama actress pairs — until “Killing Eve.” Sandra Oh got in by herself in 2018, becoming the...
At the turn of the century, we got four straight years of co-star nominees in Best Drama Actress. “The Sopranos'” Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco were nominated from 1999-2001, with Falco prevailing in 1999 and 2001 (Sela Ward won for “Once and Again” in 2000). In 2002, “Six Feet Under” landed bids for Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffith, but they lost to Allison Janney, who upgraded to lead for “The West Wing” after two consecutive victories in supporting.
After that, it was crickets for drama actress pairs — until “Killing Eve.” Sandra Oh got in by herself in 2018, becoming the...
- 6/17/2021
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Last year, Christina Applegate earned a surprise Best Comedy Actress Emmy nomination for her then-new show “Dead to Me,” while her leading lady co-star Linda Cardellini was left out in a cold. But the pair may have double to celebrate this year as Cardellini has just entered the top six in sixth place in our odds, setting the stage for them to be just the 13th pair of co-stars to be nominated in the category and just the third in 31 years.
Since the Emmys established genre-specific categories in 1966, these are the only times co-stars have been nominated for Best Comedy Actress in the same year:
1. Elizabeth Montgomery and Agnes Moorehead, “Bewitched” (1967)
2. Cathryn Damon and Katherine Helmond, “Soap” (1978)
3. Cathryn Damon and Katherine Helmond, “Soap” (1980) (Damon won)
4. Cathryn Damon and Katherine Helmond, “Soap” (1981)
5. Jane Curtin and Susan Saint James, “Kate & Allie” (1984) (Curtin won)
6. Jane Curtin and Susan Saint James, “Kate & Allie” (1985) (Curtin won)
7. Bea Arthur,...
Since the Emmys established genre-specific categories in 1966, these are the only times co-stars have been nominated for Best Comedy Actress in the same year:
1. Elizabeth Montgomery and Agnes Moorehead, “Bewitched” (1967)
2. Cathryn Damon and Katherine Helmond, “Soap” (1978)
3. Cathryn Damon and Katherine Helmond, “Soap” (1980) (Damon won)
4. Cathryn Damon and Katherine Helmond, “Soap” (1981)
5. Jane Curtin and Susan Saint James, “Kate & Allie” (1984) (Curtin won)
6. Jane Curtin and Susan Saint James, “Kate & Allie” (1985) (Curtin won)
7. Bea Arthur,...
- 4/28/2020
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
“Killing Eve” made a killing with Tuesday’s Primetime Emmy Awards nominations with nine total. Two of those are for Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer in Best Drama Actress, marking the first time since 2002 that a show produced double nominations in the category.
Oh, who last year became the first nominee of Asian descent in the category, and Comer are up against Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”), Viola Davis (“How to Get Away with Murder”), Laura Linney (“Ozark”) and Mandy Moore (“This Is Us”).
The last duo to make the cut were Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths from “Six Feet Under.” They lost to Allison Janney, who upgraded to lead that year after back-to-back wins in supporting for “The West Wing.” For the three years before that, “The Sopranos” co-stars Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco competed against each other in lead, with the former winning twice in 1999 and 2001.
See 2019 Emmy...
Oh, who last year became the first nominee of Asian descent in the category, and Comer are up against Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”), Viola Davis (“How to Get Away with Murder”), Laura Linney (“Ozark”) and Mandy Moore (“This Is Us”).
The last duo to make the cut were Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths from “Six Feet Under.” They lost to Allison Janney, who upgraded to lead that year after back-to-back wins in supporting for “The West Wing.” For the three years before that, “The Sopranos” co-stars Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco competed against each other in lead, with the former winning twice in 1999 and 2001.
See 2019 Emmy...
- 7/16/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Can “Killing Eve” make a killing in the Best Drama Actress Emmy race? Our early odds have Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer making the cut, which would be the first time in 17 years one show has produced two nominees in the category.
“Six Feet Under” was the last show to do so, with Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths, who lost to Allison Janney (“The West Wing”). For the three years before that, “The Sopranos” stars Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco competed against each other, with the former winning twice.
The ‘90s yielded co-star nominees in 1997 (“ER’s” Julianna Margulies and Sherry Stringfield) and 1994. But it was ’80s where co-star nominees ruled since there were far fewer shows back then compared to the 500 now. “Cagney & Lacey” (Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless) and “L.A. Law” (Susan Dey and Jill Eikenberry) dominated, but others included “Dallas” (Barbara Bel Geddes and Linda Gray...
“Six Feet Under” was the last show to do so, with Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths, who lost to Allison Janney (“The West Wing”). For the three years before that, “The Sopranos” stars Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco competed against each other, with the former winning twice.
The ‘90s yielded co-star nominees in 1997 (“ER’s” Julianna Margulies and Sherry Stringfield) and 1994. But it was ’80s where co-star nominees ruled since there were far fewer shows back then compared to the 500 now. “Cagney & Lacey” (Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless) and “L.A. Law” (Susan Dey and Jill Eikenberry) dominated, but others included “Dallas” (Barbara Bel Geddes and Linda Gray...
- 3/6/2019
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Could Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell take home his-and-her Emmys? The “Americans” stars (and real-life couple) have a decent shot, with Rhys sitting in second place in our Best Drama Actor Emmy odds and Russell lodged in fourth in our Best Drama Actress predictions. If they do pull off the wins, this would only be the seventh time in Emmy history that the drama lead races went to the same show.
The Emmys’ acting categories weren’t genre-specific in its nascent years, so we didn’t get separate comedy and drama acting races until 1966. Since then, only six times, across five shows, have co-stars won drama lead actor and actress. They are:
See Last chance, best chance? ‘The Americans’ could be latest show to win top Emmy for its final season
1973: Richard Thomas and Michael Learned, “The Waltons”
1981: Daniel J. Travanti and Barbara Babcock, “Hill Street Blues”
1993: Tom Skerritt and Kathy Baker,...
The Emmys’ acting categories weren’t genre-specific in its nascent years, so we didn’t get separate comedy and drama acting races until 1966. Since then, only six times, across five shows, have co-stars won drama lead actor and actress. They are:
See Last chance, best chance? ‘The Americans’ could be latest show to win top Emmy for its final season
1973: Richard Thomas and Michael Learned, “The Waltons”
1981: Daniel J. Travanti and Barbara Babcock, “Hill Street Blues”
1993: Tom Skerritt and Kathy Baker,...
- 8/22/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
Is “Killing Eve” going to end a 16-year long drought in Best Drama Actress? No show since 2002 has fielded two nominees in the category, but two of our Emmy Experts believe the BBC America drama can break that duck.
Robert Rorke (New York Post) and Glenn Whipp (Los Angeles Times) are predicting nominations for Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer in the tough-as-nails category. A five-time nominee for her supporting role on “Grey’s Anatomy,” Oh has risen to sixth place in our odds within the past month on the heels of “Killing Eve’s” escalating buzz and the show’s leading five Television Critics Association Awards nominations. Newcomer Comer trails in ninth place.
See Emmy predictions: Sandra Oh (‘Killing Eve’) hits top 6 after TCA Awards nomination
“Six Feet Under” was the last show to produce two leading lady nominees in Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths, who lost to Allison Janney...
Robert Rorke (New York Post) and Glenn Whipp (Los Angeles Times) are predicting nominations for Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer in the tough-as-nails category. A five-time nominee for her supporting role on “Grey’s Anatomy,” Oh has risen to sixth place in our odds within the past month on the heels of “Killing Eve’s” escalating buzz and the show’s leading five Television Critics Association Awards nominations. Newcomer Comer trails in ninth place.
See Emmy predictions: Sandra Oh (‘Killing Eve’) hits top 6 after TCA Awards nomination
“Six Feet Under” was the last show to produce two leading lady nominees in Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths, who lost to Allison Janney...
- 7/11/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
When I was a wee one, we used to live right behind a valley that skirted our town. In the summer my friends and I would be out after dark running around the neighborhood, on one condition: we had to take tennis rackets with us. Why you ask? Well, because of the bats, you see; swooping around the street lights with the occasional dive towards an unsuspecting victim, we were forever on the lookout for the winged mammals. Now, we never had to try out our serves; but I’ve always been leery of the buggers (even at the movies) and the interesting sci-fi/horror hybrid Chosen Survivors (1974) does not change my opinion one little bit.
Released by Columbia Pictures in late May and made for under a million, Chosen Survivors did not set the box office on fire nor endear itself to critics at the time, referring to it...
Released by Columbia Pictures in late May and made for under a million, Chosen Survivors did not set the box office on fire nor endear itself to critics at the time, referring to it...
- 7/7/2018
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
“Killing Eve” could make a killing at the Emmys — specifically in Best Drama Actress. The BBC America series has two leading ladies, Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, and if they both get shortlisted, the category would feature two co-stars for the first time in 16 years.
The last time a show double-dipped in Best Drama Actress was “Six Feet Under” in 2002, when Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths lost to Allison Janney (“The West Wing”). For the three years before that, “The Sopranos” stars Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco faced off, with the former winning twice. The ‘90s had two more co-star pairings in 1997 (“ER”’s Julianna Margulies and Sherry Stringfield) and 1994.
Drama actress co-star nominees occurred with regularity in the ‘80s, thanks to “Cagney & Lacey” (Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless) and “L.A. Law” (Susan Dey and Jill Eikenberry). “Dallas” (Barbara Bel Geddes and Linda Gray), “Hill Street Blues” (Barbara Babcock...
The last time a show double-dipped in Best Drama Actress was “Six Feet Under” in 2002, when Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths lost to Allison Janney (“The West Wing”). For the three years before that, “The Sopranos” stars Edie Falco and Lorraine Bracco faced off, with the former winning twice. The ‘90s had two more co-star pairings in 1997 (“ER”’s Julianna Margulies and Sherry Stringfield) and 1994.
Drama actress co-star nominees occurred with regularity in the ‘80s, thanks to “Cagney & Lacey” (Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless) and “L.A. Law” (Susan Dey and Jill Eikenberry). “Dallas” (Barbara Bel Geddes and Linda Gray), “Hill Street Blues” (Barbara Babcock...
- 4/12/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
When nuclear war threatens to obliterate life on Earth, an eclectic group of people are taken below the surface to preserve the human race. Things get complicated when they realize their shelter is under siege by bats… very hungry bats. An underground showdown ensues in 1974’s Chosen Survivors, which Kino Lorber will release on Blu-ray this October.
From Kino Lorber: “Coming October 4th on Blu-ray!
Chosen Survivors (1974) Starring Jackie Cooper, Alex Cord, Richard Jaeckel, Bradford Dillman, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Diana Muldaur, Lincoln Kilpatrick and Barbara Babcock – Directed by Sutton Roley.”
Synopsis (via Blu-ray.com): “A group of diverse individuals are suddenly taken from their homes and flown via helicopter to a futuristic bomb shelter in the desert, nearly two miles below the surface of the Earth. There they learn that a nuclear holocaust is taking place and that they’ve been “chosen” by computer to survive in the...
From Kino Lorber: “Coming October 4th on Blu-ray!
Chosen Survivors (1974) Starring Jackie Cooper, Alex Cord, Richard Jaeckel, Bradford Dillman, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Diana Muldaur, Lincoln Kilpatrick and Barbara Babcock – Directed by Sutton Roley.”
Synopsis (via Blu-ray.com): “A group of diverse individuals are suddenly taken from their homes and flown via helicopter to a futuristic bomb shelter in the desert, nearly two miles below the surface of the Earth. There they learn that a nuclear holocaust is taking place and that they’ve been “chosen” by computer to survive in the...
- 5/3/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
On Sunday (September 22) the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will take over Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre, and a who’s who of top-name celebrities will compete for media attention by getting all gussied up in designer duds. In fact, over the past six decades Tinseltown favorites have set the fashion pace with their red carpet choices, and it all got started way back in January 1949.
Hosted by NBC radio legend Walter O’Keefe, the 1st Annual Emmy Awards (the ‘Primetime’ didn’t get added until the Daytime Emmys debuted in 1974) was minuscule compared to today’s fanfare. The Hollywood Athletic Club played host to stars like Shirley Dinsdale, Rita LeRoy, Patricia Morrison, Mike Stokey, and Bill Welsh.
And given the shortage of European-designed clothing due to the recent ending of World War II, American designers Gilbert Adrian, Claire McCardell, Bonnie Cashin, and Tom Brigance had all taken a step forward...
Hosted by NBC radio legend Walter O’Keefe, the 1st Annual Emmy Awards (the ‘Primetime’ didn’t get added until the Daytime Emmys debuted in 1974) was minuscule compared to today’s fanfare. The Hollywood Athletic Club played host to stars like Shirley Dinsdale, Rita LeRoy, Patricia Morrison, Mike Stokey, and Bill Welsh.
And given the shortage of European-designed clothing due to the recent ending of World War II, American designers Gilbert Adrian, Claire McCardell, Bonnie Cashin, and Tom Brigance had all taken a step forward...
- 9/20/2013
- GossipCenter
Character actor who played the psychiatrist Major Sidney Freedman in the TV comedy M*A*S*H
The long-running Us television comedy M*A*S*H, set during the Korean war, was often perceived as an allegorical look at the Vietnam war, which was still being fought when it began in 1972. But the television show focused less on the specific mindsets of Vietnam which had driven the nihilistic Robert Altman film on which it was based, and in tone was much closer to Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22, with its comedic take on the intrinsic absurdity of war.
No character brought that home more clearly than Major Sidney Freedman, the psychiatrist who appeared in 12 episodes over the show's 11-year run. Freedman was played by Allan Arbus, who has died aged 95. His approach to the mental health of the soldiers, and medics, at the 4077th mobile army surgical hospital unit relied...
The long-running Us television comedy M*A*S*H, set during the Korean war, was often perceived as an allegorical look at the Vietnam war, which was still being fought when it began in 1972. But the television show focused less on the specific mindsets of Vietnam which had driven the nihilistic Robert Altman film on which it was based, and in tone was much closer to Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22, with its comedic take on the intrinsic absurdity of war.
No character brought that home more clearly than Major Sidney Freedman, the psychiatrist who appeared in 12 episodes over the show's 11-year run. Freedman was played by Allan Arbus, who has died aged 95. His approach to the mental health of the soldiers, and medics, at the 4077th mobile army surgical hospital unit relied...
- 4/25/2013
- by Michael Carlson
- The Guardian - Film News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.