William Blinn
Writer/ Producer
About This Interview
William Blinn was interviewed for four hours in Encino, CA. Blinn talked about some of his first writing for television in a variety of dramatic genres for such series as Bonanza, Here Comes the Bride s, and The Interns. He spoke thoroughly about writing the teleplay for the landmark television movie Brian’s Song, for which he won an Emmy and a Peabody Award. For Brian’s Song, he talked about the casting of the telefilm, researching the real-life people on which it was based, and the audience reaction to the movie. He detailed his work on the popular 1970s series The Rookies and Starsky and Hutch. For Starsky, Blinn described his creation of the series and talked about the 2004 feature film adaptation. Blinn spoke in great detail about his work as the head writer of the landmark television miniseries Roots. He talked about working with Roots author Alex Haley on the miniseries outline, talked about cast members, discussed many of the miniseries’ dramatic moments, and offered his opinion of its legacy. He also talked about producing the popular series Eight Is Enough and Fame, describing the ups and downs of working on both of these shows. Additionally, he spoke about his teleplay for the movie A Question of Love, one of the first television dramas involving a lesbian theme. The interview was conducted by Gary Rutkowski on October 7, 2005.
Related To This Video
Resources
Book available:Brian's Song (Screenplay)
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Chapters
- Chapter 1
- On his early childhood and education
- On first beginning to write for television in the early 1960s
- Chapter 2
- On Bonanza, The Invaders, Gunsmoke and working for Screen Gems
- On Brian's Song and adapting it from the book
- Chapter 3
- On Brian's Song; James Caan; on the racial issues with the show
- On winning an Emmy for Brian's Song; The Rookies with Aaron Spelling
- Chapter 4
- On Starsky and Hutch; getting the film rights
- On the genesis of Roots and adapting the book for television
- Chapter 5
- On Alex Haley and Roots; on the research, casting, and other details about the miniseries
- On why he believes he was hired to adapt Roots for television; on specific characters, why it had to be filmed in English
- Chapter 6
- On Roots; specific scenes
- On the reaction of the African-American community to Roots; on its legacy
- Chapter 7
- On Eight is Enough; its concept and casting; on a project with Gena Rowlands
- On Fame and adapting it from the movie to television
- On a typical workweek on Fame; on the choreography by Debbie Allen; on fan favorites; on leaving the show
- On his proudest achievements; on advice to aspiring writers



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