Knight Rider creator Glen Larson dies, aged 77

Knight Rider creator Glen Larson dies, aged 77

"A list of nearly four dozen TV credits also includes The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, BJ and the Bear, The Fall Guy and the TV movie of The Six Million Dollar Man. The executive was responsible for a string of action-packed hits, including Knight Rider, Magnum PI, Quincy ME and Battlestar Galactica. Also an accomplished singer and composer, he co-wrote the theme songs for many of his shows, including the frequently sampled tune from Knight Rider and the orchestral score for Battlestar Galactica."

He also wrote hundreds of episodes of the shows he produced, although his authorship was not without controversy:

From his IMDb page:

"Famed sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison once referred to him as "Glen Larceny" because of his notorious reputation for stealing ideas from films and other series. According to 'The Garner Files,' the autobiography of James Garner, Garner once got into a physical altercation with Larson on the Universal lot. After Larson had copied a number of scripts from The Rockford Files (1974) and used them for his own shows, Garner's company complained to the The Writer's Guild who proceeded to fine Larson for plagiarism. However, this didn't deter Larson who then ripped-off the theme tune from The Rockford Files for one of his own shows. When Larson approached Garner and asked him if there were any hard feelings, Garner claims that he punched Larson so hard that it knocked him right across a curb, into a motor home and out the other side ('The Garner Files,' p.129, ISBN 978-1-4516-4260-5.)."