Glen A. Larson
Glen A. Larson was an American television producer and writer best known as creator of the series Battlestar Galactica and Knight Rider in their original 1970s and 1980s incarnations, respectively. Larson was born January 3, 1937 in Los Angeles, California. He died on November 14, 2014, in Santa Monica, California. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Larson began his show business career in 1956 as a member of the singing group, The Four Preps. The Four Preps ultimately produced three gold records for Capitol, all of which Larson wrote and/or composed: "26 Miles (Santa Catalina)", "Big Man" and "Down By The Station". A later member of the Four Preps, David Somerville, and a session singer he knew, Gail Jensen, later collaborated with Larson to write and compose "The Unknown Stuntman," the theme from The Fall Guy (Wikipedia.org). Larson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to honor his contributions to the entertainment industry.
After working for Quinn Martin Sr. on productions including The Fugitive, Larson signed a production deal with Universal Studios. His first hit series was Alias Smith and Jones. Larson was involved in the development of The Six Million Dollar Man, based on Martin Caidin's novel Cyborg, and was one of the program's executive producers. Larson later secured a then-unprecedented $1 million per episode budget for Battlestar Galactica. The show incorporated many themes from Mormon theology, such as marriage for "time and eternity" and a "council of twelve." When characters got married, they were "sealed." A Mormon temple wedding ceremony is called a "sealing." The show never shied away from religious themes. In one episode the characters encounter a group of angels who paraphrase LDS Church President Lorenzo Snow, “As you are, we once were,” the angels tell the Galactica crew. “As we are, you may become.”
Battlestar Galactica was cancelled after only one season. Its theme was carried on as "Saga of a Star World," a theatrical release, which was successful. Larson went on to create a low-budget sequel to the series entitled Galactica 1980, which was set many years later when the Galactica had reached Earth. However, this series was even less successful than the original and was cancelled after only 10 episodes.
Larson re-used sets, props, costumes, and effects work from Galactica to create the light-hearted sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979). The feature-length pilot episode was released as a theatrical film in March 1979 and grossed $21 million at the North American box office. In the 1980s, Larson garnered further success as one of the creators of Magnum, P.I., which ran from 1980-88. Additionally, Larson created The Fall Guy, starring Lee Majors, which made much use of stock footage and ran from 1981-86. Larson's next prominent series was Knight Rider.
Battlestar Galactica was revived as a series on cable TV in 2004 with great success. Created by David Eick and Ronald D. Moore, it was military-oriented, a re-imagining of the original series. The series ran for four seasons, ending in March, 2009. The series was critically acclaimed and garnered many awards. In February 2009, internet media sources reported that Larson is currently in talks with Universal Pictures to bring Battlestar Galactica to the big screen, though any potential feature film will not be based on the recent Sci Fi Channel series remake, but may possibly be based on the original series. On August 14, 2009, it was reported that the new film was "a complete reimagination" and Bryan Singer had signed to direct and produce the new film with Larson as producer.
To see Glen Larson's filmography, click here.
