Glen A Larson: Father of Thomas Magnum, Colt Seavers and Michael Knight

Glen A. Larson, who created some of the biggest action shows
of the 1980s, including "Magnum P.I.", "The Fall Guy", and
"Knight Rider", sitting in KITT, the car from "Knight Rider".
Source: https://geeksofdoom.com/2014/11/16/
famed-tv-producer-glen-a-larson-battlestar-galactica-knight-rider-dies
(May be subject to copyright)

If he walked through the door and sat down in front of me, there is no way I would recognize him. Yet, he had a profound effect on my TV watching habits throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

One of the things you would see at the beginning and conclusion of everything from “The Six Million Dollar Man” to “Knight Rider” was “Executie Producer Glen A. Larson” or a “Glen A. Larson Production”.

He died awhile back, and it just reminded me of how prolific a producer, director and writer he was.

Glen A. Larson produced his share of hits and flops, but they all filled the airwaves of the peasant vision dial all those years in the ‘80s I was growing up on the farm.

In the beginning
Larson got his start on “The Fugitive” in 1966, and proceeded to “It Takes a Thief”, “The Virginian” and “McCloud” before he had his first hit series with “Alias Smith and Jones”.

He went on to develop “The Six Million Dollar Man” for television, starting with a TV movie in 1973 based on the novel “Cyborg”.

Larson also created “Switch” about an ex-cop and ex-con working together to solve crimes, and “Quincy, M.E.” about a medical examiner. He brought Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries to the small screen, as well as “Battlestar Galactica”, “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”, “B.J. and the Bear”, and its spin-off, “The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo”.

The credits that became synonymous with some
of the most popular shows of the 1980s.
Source: www.atvtoday.co.uk/62111-larsonrip/
(May be subject to copyright)

Dawn of the decade
Glen A. Larson had built quite a resumé, but his career was ready to explode in the ‘80s.

He got off to an inauspicious start with “Galactica 1980”, a sequel of the science fiction show that lasted just 10 episodes.

His luck would soon change.

That same year, 1980, Larson launched a show that would propel a then unknown pitch man for Salem cigarettes to stardom as a private investigator solving crimes in Hawaii. The show was “Magnum P.I.” and the unknown actor was Tom Selleck. It would be a ratings smash running from 1980 to 1988.

Larson followed that up in 1981 with “The Fall Guy”. It starred the “Six Million Dollar Man” himself, Lee Majors, as Colt Seavers, a Hollywood stunt man who supplemented his income as a bounty hunter. “The Fall Guy ran for five season, from 1981 to 1986.

The hits kept on coming in 1982, when Larson launched “Knight Rider”, a show about a police man disfigured during a double cross. He is then rescued by a mysterious organization, given a new face, new identity and a high tech car to track down criminals operating above the law. “Knight Rider” lasted four seasons, from 1982 to 1986.

The rest
Not everything Glen A. Larson did in the 1980s was a hit. He had his share of also rans, most of which I saw in the three-channel universe.

Those shows included “Manimal” in 1983, about a man who can change into animals; “Trauma Center”, also in 1983, about a trauma team; “Automan” in 1983-1984 about a scientist and the holographic man and car who help him solve crimes; “Masquerade” in 1983-1984, about a spy agency that utilizes everyday citizens in its adventures; “Cover Up” in1984-1985 about spies who use their cover as a fashion photographer and model to solve crimes; and “Half Nelson” in 1985, starring a then-unknown Joe Pesci as a bodyguard for celebrities who also moonlighted as a private investigator.

There were others, that continued on into the 1990s and beyond, but never with the same success as he had in the 1980s.

One of the moguls
“TV Guide” did a series in the mid-1980s on what they called TV moguls. They were the creators of some of the most popular shows on TV and the four of them were responsible for a lot of TV.

There was Aaron Spelling, best known for “Dynasty”, but also “Charlie’s Angels”, “Hart to Hart”, “T.J. Hooker”, “The Love Boat”, “Fantasy Island”, “Hotel”, and lesser-known shows such as “Glitter” and “Finder of Lost Loves”.

There was Donald Bellisario, co-creator of “Magnum P.I.” with Larson; “Tales of the Gold Monkey”, “Airwolf” and later “Quantum Leap” and “JAG”.

There was Stephen J. Cannell, who created “The Greatest American Hero”, “The A-Team”, “Hardcastle and McCormick”, “Riptide”, “Hunter”, “Tenspeed and Brownshoe”, and later “Stingray” and “Wise Guy”.

And of course there was Glen A. Larson.

The four of them accounted for a good chunk of TV of the era.

Parting thoughts
The name Glen A. Larson is synonymous with action TV in the 1980s. Whenever an episode of “Knight Rider” aired on Sunday night on Channel 13, it was all the talk on Monday morning at school. Same went for “The Fall Guy”.

The name Glen A. Larson has reappeared on the screen the last few years. Three of his series have or had been re-imagined in the past few years.

“Battlestar Galactica” was the first, with a miniseries in 2003, followed by a TV series from 2004 to 2009.

“Knight Rider” was less successful, re-imagined in 2008 and lasting just 17 episodes, in addition to the TV movie that acted as a pilot.

“Magnum P.I.” was re-imagined in 2018, and is about to start its third season in December.

It is testament to the impact he left on viewers in the 1980s