Cannell helped put Vancouver on film, TV map

Force behind 21 Jump Street, The Commish died Thursday

BY MARKE ANDREWS, VANCOUVER SUN OCTOBER 3, 2010

Producer Stephen J. Cannell, who helped put Vancouver on the film and television industry map, died Thursday due to complications from melanoma. He was 69.

During the 1980s, Cannell was one of the biggest names in North American television, the force behind popular network TV series The Rockford Files, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street and Wiseguy. In 1986, he moved his TV series Stingray to Vancouver, beginning a long association with the city. He produced 21 Jump Street, which made a star of Johnny Depp, as well as The Commish, Wiseguy and Scene of the Crime in Vancouver. In 1989, he built North Shore Studios to house his productions. The studio is still in operation.

One of the most prolific writer producers in the TV industry, Cannell had a career that spanned three decades, in which he created or co-created more than 40 shows.

“He was a turning point for the industry here,” said Dianne Neufeld, a film instructor at Capilano University who was B.C. Film Commissioner from 1982 to 1994. “We wouldn’t have North Shore Studios if he hadn’t built it.

 “Here we had a private, foreign producer putting down a root and saying, ‘I declare this is a professional production centre,’ which was the drum we had been beating for a number of years.”

The sheer volume of work that Cannell’s series provided quickly multiplied the number of competent crew members in the city, and had a spinoff effect throughout the industry, said Neufeld.

“If you had a producer who was continually turning out shows and turning around crews, people began to build a volume of creative experience and problem-solving experience,” said Neufeld. “It changed the way people worked. Supply companies were changed because of those series, and [it went] all the way down the chain.”

John Smith, a Vancouver producer who worked with Cannell for a decade, said Cannell knew how to get things done.

“A lot of people talked about investing money here and didn’t, but he went ahead and invested here,” said Smith, who worked with Cannell on 21 Jump Street, Unsub, The Commish pilot and the Renegade pilot, among other projects. “He was a man of his word and he always came through.”

No matter how powerful Cannell was in the industry, Smith said, he never forgot the importance of his employees.

“He would have 300 crew members working for him,” recalled Smith. “He would find a big place and throw a Christmas party, and make sure that every kid of his employees had a Christmas present. He really appreciated his people.”

Cannell, born Feb. 5, 1941 in Los Angeles, began as a screenwriter, selling his first TV script, an episode of the Universal series It Takes a Thief, in 1968.

He wrote for shows Ironside and Columbo, was a story editor for Adam-12, then wrote and created a long string of successful series, some of which he produced in Vancouver.

Cannell overcame severe dyslexia and worked as a spokesman to bring about awareness of the learning disorder. In an interview in the coming documentary Dislecksia: The Movie, he mentioned hiring typists to correct his “spelling problem.”

Later in his career, Cannell became a bestselling author, penning 16 books in total, including the critically acclaimed Shane Scully series. The latest book in that series, The Prostitutes’ Ball, is set to be released later this month. He also had a recurring acting role on ABC’s Castle.

Cannell leaves behind his wife of 47 years, Marcia, who had been his sweetheart since the eighth grade, daughters Tawnia and Chelsea, and son Cody. He is pre-deceased by son Derek, who died in 1981.

With a file from Postmedia News

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