William Link

American screenwriter and producer (1933–2020)

For the politician, see William W. Link.

William Link

Born| (1933-12-15)December 15, 1933

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Died| December 27, 2020(2020-12-27) (aged 87)

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Other names| William O. Link
Bill Link
Occupation(s)| Screenwriter, producer
Known for| Co-creator of
Columbo
Murder, She Wrote
Mannix
Spouse|

Margery Nelson

(m. 1980)​

William Theodore Link (December 15, 1933 – December 27, 2020) was an American film and television screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson.[1]

## Biography[edit]

### Early life[edit]

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, William Link was the son of Elsie (née Roerecke) and William Theodore Link, a textile broker.[2] His mother had German Huguenot heritage. Link discovered late in life that his father's parents were Jewish. Link's niece, Amy, examined a suitcase William Theodore had left to his son, which they had kept in their attic. She opened it in 2011 and it turned out to contain genealogical research and evidence done by William Theodore during World War II. Amy had discovered that Link's paternal grandparents were Jewish.[3] Link earned a degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business prior to serving in the United States Army from 1956 to 1958.

### Levinson partnership[edit]

See also: Richard Levinson

William Link and Richard Levinson met on their first day of junior high school. Each had enjoyed doing magic tricks and other students repeatedly mentioned to each of them that they should meet. They began writing together soon after.[4] In high school, they created radio scripts. While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, they wrote film criticism for the college newspapers. Some of their short stories were published in Playboy.[1]

They sold their first short story, "Whistle While You Work", to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, which published it in the November 1954 issue.[4] In 1959, their play Chain of Command was produced by the Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. This was followed by script-writing for Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Day of Reckoning, original air date November 22, 1962, based on a novel by John Garde), Dr. Kildare, and The Fugitive. In 1965, they wrote three episodes of Honey West (TV series) including the final episode. They co-created and sometimes produced such TV series as Mannix in 1968, Columbo in 1969, Ellery Queen, and Murder, She Wrote (co-created with Peter S. Fischer).[1][5] The character of Columbo was first introduced by Link and Levinson in a 1960 episode of The Chevy Mystery Show.[6] For the Jessica Fletcher character they created in 1983 when CBS contacted them to create a new mystery TV show, they found inspiration in a mix of Agatha Christie and her Miss Marple character. At first, they wanted Jean Stapleton for the role, but she ended up declining the offer.[5]

They collaborated on several made-for-TV movies, including The Gun, My Sweet Charlie, That Certain Summer, The Judge and Jake Wyler, Guilty Conscience, The Execution of Private Slovik, Charlie Cobb: A Nice Night for a Hanging, and Blacke's Magic; the last, which starred Hal Linden and Harry Morgan, was also developed into a short-lived TV series. The partners collaborated, as well, on two feature films: The Hindenburg (1975) and Rollercoaster (1977). Levinson and Link occasionally used the pseudonym "Ted Leighton", most notably on the telefilm Ellery Queen: Don't Look Behind You (1971), where their work was substantially rewritten by other hands, and on Columbo when they came up with stories to be scripted by their collaborators.

They co-wrote the Broadway musical magic show Merlin starring Doug Henning and co-scripted the film The Execution of Private Slovik.[1]

### Post 1990s[edit]

Following the sudden death of Levinson in 1987, Link continued his writing and producing career in many media. In 1991, in tribute to Levinson, he wrote the script for the 1991 TV film The Boys, starring James Woods and John Lithgow. He was a frequent contributor to such mystery fiction publications as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. His post-Levinson TV work includes The Cosby Mysteries (1994–95), starring Bill Cosby. Link also was executive story consultant on the short-lived science fiction/detective series Probe in 1988.

In 2010, the specialist mystery publishing house, Crippen & Landru, released The Columbo Collection, a book featuring a dozen original short stories about Lieutenant Columbo, all written by Link.[6] In 2021, a further collection of stories, Shooting Script, was edited for C&L by Joseph Goodrich.

Link died from heart failure in Los Angeles, on December 27, 2020, twelve days after his 87th birthday.[7]

## Publications[edit]

* William Link (January 19, 2010). The Columbo Collection by William Link. Crippen & Landru Publishers. ASIN B01B98WOZK.

## Accolades[edit]

Link received the following awards and nominations jointly with Levinson :

Year  | Association  | Category  | Work  | Result

|
|
|
|

1966 | Edgar Awards | Best Episode in a TV Series | Honey West: "The Gray Lady" | Nominated
1970 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Dramatic Program | My Sweet Charlie | Nominated
Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama | Won
1972 | Outstanding Drama Series | Columbo | Nominated
Outstanding New Series | Nominated
Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama | Columbo: "Death Lends a Hand" | Won
1973 | Outstanding Single Program - Drama or Comedy | That Certain Summer | Nominated
Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama - Original Teleplay | Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards | Episodic Drama | Columbo: "Étude in Black" | Nominated
1974 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Special - Comedy or Drama | The Execution of Private Slovik | Nominated
Best Writing in Drama - Adaptation | Nominated
1978 | Outstanding Writing in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy - Original Teleplay | The Storyteller | Nominated
1980 | Edgar Awards | Best Television Feature or Miniseries | Murder by Natural Causes | Won
1983 | Rehearsal for Murder | Won
1985 | CableACE Award | Movie or Miniseries | The Guardian | Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | Murder, She Wrote | Nominated
1986 | Edgar Awards | Best Television Feature or Miniseries | Guilty Conscience | Won
Writers Guild of America Awards | Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement |  | Won
1999 | Producers Guild of America Awards | PGA Hall of Fame – Television Programs | That Certain Summer | Won

Other recognitions:

* 2002: Named president of the Mystery Writers of America (one of the few television writers to achieve this honor.[8]

## Eponyms[edit]

The William Link Theatre on the campus of California State University, Long Beach, is named after Link in honor of his work and donation of plays.[9]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Belkin, Lisa (March 13, 1987). "RICHARD LEVINSON, 52, WRITER OF TEVELSION MYSTERY SERIES". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
2. ^ "Film Reference". Filmreference.com. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
3. ^ Teicholz, Tom (February 22, 2011). "'Columbo' creator solves his own family mystery". Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
4. ^ a b "The FictionMags Index". Retrieved March 26, 2014.
5. ^ a b Peter S. Fischer (April 19, 1988). "The selling of 'Murder, She Wrote'". Csmonitor.com. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
6. ^ a b Susan King (June 16, 2010). "Classic Hollywood: William Link on 'Columbo'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
7. ^ Countryman, Eli (December 29, 2020). "William Link, 'Columbo' and 'Murder, She Wrote' Co-Creator, Dies at 87". Variety. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
8. ^ "Mystery Writers of America Website, PDF of Past Presidents" (PDF). Retrieved March 26, 2014.
9. ^ Browning, Paul (October 1, 2008). "University Dedicates William Link Theatre". Inside CSULB. Vol. 60, no. 18\. California State University, Long Beach. Retrieved January 17, 2012.

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* William Link at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

1950s|

* Reginald Rose for Twelve Angry Men (1955)

1960s|

* Rod Serling for The Twilight Zone (1960)
* Rod Serling for The Twilight Zone (1961)
* Reginald Rose for The Defenders (1962)
* Robert Thom & Reginald Rose for "The Madman" (1963)
* Ernest Kinoy for "Blacklist" / Rod Serling for "It's Mental Work" (1964)
* David Karp for "The 700 Year Old Gang" (1965)
* Millard Lampell for "Eagle in a Cage" (1966)
* Bruce Geller for "Mission: Impossible" (1967)
* Loring Mandel for "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" (1968)
* JP Miller for "The People Next Door" (1969)

1970s|

* Richard Levinson & William Link for "My Sweet Charlie" (1970)
* Joel Oliansky for "To Taste of Death But Once" (1971)
* Richard Levinson & William Link for "Death Lends a Hand" (1972)
* John McGreevey for "The Scholar" (1973)
* Joanna Lee for "The Thanksgiving Story" (1974)
* Howard Fast for "Benjamin Franklin: The Ambassador" (1975)
* Sherman Yellen for "John Adams: Lawyer" (1976)
* William Blinn & Ernest Kinoy for "Show #2" (1977)
* Gerald Green for "Holocaust" (1978)
* Michele Gallery for "Dying" (1979)

1980s|

* Seth Freeman for "Cop" (1980)
* Michael Kozoll & Steven Bochco for "Hill Street Station" (1981)
* Steven Bochco & Michael Kozoll & Jeff Lewis & Michael Wagner & Anthony Yerkovich for "Freedom's Last Stand" (1982)
* David Milch for "Trial by Fury" (1983)
* John Ford Noonan, John Masius & Tom Fontana for "The Women" (1984)
* Patricia Green for "Who Said It's Fair, Part 2" (1985)
* Tom Fontana, John Masius & Joe Tinker for "Time Heals, Parts I & II" (1986)
* Steven Bochco & Terry Louise Fisher for "The Venus Butterfly" (1987)
* Paul Haggis & Marshall Herskovitz for "Business as Usual" (1988)
* Joseph Dougherty for "First Day/Last Day" (1989)

1990s|

* David E. Kelley for "Blood, Sweat, and Fears" (1990)
* David E. Kelley for "On the Toad Again" (1991)
* Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider for "Seoul Mates" (1992)
* Tom Fontana for "Three Men and Adena" (1993)
* Ann Biderman for "Steroid Roy" (1994)
* Lance A. Gentile for "Love's Labor Lost" (1995)
* Darin Morgan for "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" (1996)
* David Milch, Stephen Gaghan and Michael R. Perry for "Where's Swaldo?" (1997)
* David Milch, Nicholas Wootton and Bill Clark for "Lost Israel: Part II" (1998)
* James Manos Jr. and David Chase for "College" (1999)

2000s|

* Rick Cleveland & Aaron Sorkin for "In Excelsis Deo" (2000)
* Mitchell Burgess & Robin Green for "Employee of the Month" (2001)
* Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran for "12:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m." (2002)
* Mitchell Burgess & David Chase & Robin Green for "Whitecaps" (2003)
* Terence Winter for "Long Term Parking" (2004)
* David Shore for "Three Stories" (2005)
* Terence Winter for "Members Only" (2006)
* David Chase for "Made in America" (2007)
* Matthew Weiner for "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (2008)
* Kater Gordon & Matthew Weiner for "Meditations in an Emergency" (2009)

2010s|

* Erin Levy & Matthew Weiner for "Shut the Door. Have a Seat." (2010)
* Jason Katims for "Always" (2011)
* Alex Gansa & Howard Gordon & Gideon Raff for "Pilot" (Homeland) (2012)
* Henry Bromell for "Q&A" (2013)
* Moira Walley-Beckett for "Ozymandias" (2014)
* David Benioff & D. B. Weiss for "Mother's Mercy" (2015)
* David Benioff & D. B. Weiss for "Battle of the Bastards" (2016)
* Bruce Miller for "Offred" (2017)
* Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg for "START" (2018)
* Jesse Armstrong for "Nobody Is Ever Missing" (2019)

2020s|

* Jesse Armstrong for "This Is Not for Tears" (2020)
* Peter Morgan for "War" (2021)
* Jesse Armstrong for "All the Bells Say" (2022)

* v
* t
* e

Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement

1970s|

* Rod Serling (1976)
* James Fritzell & Everett Greenbaum (1977)
* Ernest Kinoy (1978)
* James Costigan (1979)

1980s|

* Howard Rodman (1980)
* Larry Gelbart (1981)
* John McGreevey (1982)
* Herbert Baker (1983)
* John Gay (1984)
* Danny Arnold (1985)
* Richard Levinson & William Link (1986)
* Reginald Rose (1987)
* Bob Schiller & Bob Weiskopf (1988)
* Hal Kanter (1989)

1990s|

* David Shaw (1990)
* Carol Sobieski (1991)
* Madelyn Davis, Bob Carroll, Jr. & Jess Oppenheimer (1992)
* Norman Lear (1993)
* Steven Bochco (1994)
* Carl Reiner (1995)
* Paul Henning (1996)
* David W. Rintels (1997)
* James L. Brooks & Allan Burns (1998)
* David Milch (1999)

2000s|

* Paul Monash (2000)
* David Lloyd (2001)
* Glen Charles & Les Charles (2002)
* David E. Kelley (2003)
* Loring Mandel (2004)
* Susan Harris (2005)
* Stephen J. Cannell (2006)
* John Wells (2007)
* David Chase (2008)
* William Blinn (2009)

2010s|

* Larry David (2010)
* Diane English (2011)
* Marshall Herskovitz & Edward Zwick (2012)
* Joshua Brand & John Falsey (2013)
* Garry Marshall (2014)
* Shonda Rhimes (2015)
* Marta Kauffman & David Crane (2016)
* Aaron Sorkin (2017)
* Alison Cross (2018)
* Jenji Kohan (2019)

2020s|

* Merrill Markoe (2020)
* Yvette Lee Bowser (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Television Hall of Fame Class of 1995

* Michael Landon
* Richard Levinson and William Link
* Jim McKay
* Bill Moyers
* Dick Van Dyke
* Betty White

* v
* t
* e

Agatha Award winners

Best First Novel|

* Elizabeth George (1988)
* Jill Churchill (1989)
* Katherine Hall Page (1990)
* Mary Willis Walker (1991)
* Barbara Neely (1992)
* Nevada Barr (1993)
* Jeff Abbott (1994)
* Jeanne M. Dams (1995)
* Anne George (1996)
* Sujata Massey (1997)
* Robin Hathaway (1998)
* Donna Andrews (1999)
* Rosemary Stevens (2000)
* Sarah Strohmeyer (2001)
* Julia Spencer-Fleming (2002)
* Jacqueline Winspear (2003)
* Harley Jane Kozak (2004)
* Laura Durham (2005)
* Sandra Parshall (2006)
* Hank Phillippi Ryan (2007)
* G. M. Malliet (2008)
* Alan Bradley (2009)
* Avery Aames (2010)
* Sara J. Henry (2011)
* Susan M. Boyer (2012)
* Leslie Budewitz (2013)
* Terrie Farley Moran (2014)
* Art Taylor (2015)
* Cynthia Kuhn (2016)
* Kellye Garrett (2017)
* Dianne Freeman and Shari Randall (2018) (tie)
* Tara Laskowski (2019)
* Erica Neubauer (2020)

Best Contemporary Novel|

* Hank Phillippi Ryan (2013)
* Hank Phillippi Ryan (2014)
* Margaret Maron (2015)
* Louise Penny (2016)
* Louise Penny (2017)
* Ellen Byron (2018)
* Ann Cleeves (2019)
* Louise Penny (2020)

Best Novel|

* Carolyn G. Hart (1988)
* Elizabeth Peters (1989)
* Nancy Pickard (1990)
* Nancy Pickard (1991)
* Margaret Maron (1992)
* Carolyn Hart (1993)
* Sharyn McCrumb (1994)
* Sharyn McCrumb (1995)
* Margaret Maron (1996)
* Kate Ross (1997)
* Laura Lippman (1998)
* Earlene Fowler (1999)
* Margaret Maron (2000)
* Rhys Bowen (2001)
* Donna Andrews (2002)
* Carolyn Hart (2003)
* Jacqueline Winspear (2004)
* Katherine Hall Page (2005)
* Nancy Pickard (2006)
* Louise Penny (2007)
* Louise Penny (2008)
* Louise Penny (2009)
* Louise Penny (2010)
* Margaret Maron (2011)
* Louise Penny (2012)

Best Historical Novel|

* Rhys Bowen (2011)
* Catriona McPherson (2012)
* Caroline and Charles Todd (2013)
* Rhys Bowen (2014)
* Laurie R. King (2015)
* Catriona McPherson (2016)
* Rhys Bowen (2017)
* Sujata Massey (2018)
* Edith Maxwell (2019)
* Rhys Bowen (2020)

Best Non-Fiction|

* Barbara D'Amato (1993)
* Jean Swanson and Dean James (1994)
* Alzina Stone Dale (1995)
* Willeta L. Heisin (1996)
* Willeta L. Heisin (1997)
* Alzina Stone Dale (1998)
* Daniel Stashower (1999)
* Jim Huang (2000)
* Tony Hillerman (2001)
* Jim Huang (2002)
* Elizabeth Peters and Kristen Whitbread (2003)
* Jack French (2004)
* Melanie Rehak (2005)
* Chris Roerden (2006)
* Jon Lellenberg (2007)
* Kathy Lynn Emerson (2008)
* Elena Santangelo (2009)
* John Curran (2010)
* Leslie Budewitz (2011)
* John Connolly (2012)
* Daniel Stashower (2013)
* Hank Phillippi Ryan (2014)
* Martin Edwards (2015)
* Jane K. Cleland (2016)
* Mattias Bostrom (2017)
* Jane Cleland (2018)
* Mo Moulton (2019)
* Christina Lane (2020)

Best Short Story|

* Robert Barnard (1988)
* Sharyn McCrumb (1989)
* Joan Hess (1990)
* Margaret Maron (1991)
* Aaron Elkins and Charlotte Elkins (1992)
* M. D. Lake (1993)
* Dorothy Cannell (1994)
* Elizabeth Daniels (1995)
* Carolyn Wheat (1996)
* M. D. Lake (1997)
* Barbara D'Amato (1998)
* Nancy Pickard (1999)
* Jan Burke (2000)
* Katherine Hall Page (2001)
* Margaret Maron and Marcia Talley (2002)
* Elizabeth Foxwell (2003)
* Elaine Viets (2004)
* Marcia Talley (2005)
* Toni Kelner (2006)
* Donna Andrews (2007)
* Dana Cameron (2008)
* Hank Phillippi Ryan (2009)
* Mary Jane Maffini (2010)
* Dana Cameron (2011)
* Dana Cameron (2012)
* Art Taylor (2013)
* Art Taylor (2014)
* Barb Goffman (2015)
* Art Taylor (2016)
* Gigi Pandian (2017)
* Leslie Budewitz and Tara Laskowski (2018) (tie)
* Shawn Reilly Simmons (2019)
* Barb Goffman (2020)

Best Young Adult Mystery|

* Cindy Callaghan (2018)

Best Children/Young Adult Fiction|

* Penny Warner (2001)
* Daniel J. Hale & Matthew LaBrot (2002)
* Kathleen Karr (2003)
* Blue Balliett (2004)
* Peter Abrahams (2005)
* Nancy Means Wright (2006)
* Sarah Masters Buckey (2007)
* Chris Grabenstein (2008)
* Chris Grabenstein (2009)
* Sarah Smith (2010)
* Chris Grabenstein (2011)
* Penny Warner (2012)
* Chris Grabenstein (2013)
* Penny Warner (2014)
* Amanda Flower (2015)
* Penny Warner (2016)
* Cindy Callaghan (2017)
* Frances Schoonmaker (2019)
* Richard Narvaez (2020)

Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement|

* Phyllis A. Whitney (1990)
* Mignon G. Eberhart (1994)
* Mary Stewart (1996)
* Emma Lathen (1997)
* Charlotte MacLeod (1998)
* Patricia Moyes (1999)
* Dick Francis (2000)
* Mildred Benson (2001)
* Tony Hillerman (2002)
* Barbara Mertz, Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels (2003)
* Marian Babson (2004)
* H.R.F. Keating (2005)
* Robert Barnard (2006)
* Carolyn Hart (2007)
* Peter Lovesey (2008)
* Anne Perry (2009)
* Mary Higgins Clark (2010)
* Sue Grafton (2011)
* Simon Brett (2012)
* Aaron Elkins (2013)
* Dorothy Cannell, Joan Hess and Margaret Maron (2014)
* Sara Paretsky (2015)
* Katherine Hall Page (2016)
* Charlaine Harris (2017)
* Nancy Pickard (2018)

Malice Domestic Poirot Award|

* David Suchet (2003)
* Ruth Cavin (2004)
* Angela Lansbury (2005)
* Douglas G. Greene (2006)
* Janet Hutchings and Linda Landrigan (2008)
* Kate Stine and Brian Skupin (2009)
* William Link (2010)
* Janet Rudolph (2011)
* Lee Goldberg (2012)
* Tom Schantz (2014)
* Barbara G. Peters (2016)
* Martin Edwards (2017)
* Brenda Blethyn (2018)

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* Norway
* Spain
* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* Israel
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Korea
* Netherlands
* Poland

Academics|

* CiNii

Other|

* SNAC
* IdRef

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