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Peter S. Fischer, the late-blooming TV writer and producer who co-created Murder, She Wrote after serving on such other crime-solving series as Columbo, Baretta and Ellery Queen, has died. He was 88.

Fischer died Monday at a care facility in Pacific Grove, California, his grandson Jake McElrath announced.

He became a prolific novelist after he exited Hollywood, writing murder mysteries, of course.

Fischer, who had worked with Columbo co-creators Richard Levinson and William Link on the iconic Peter Falk series as well as on the Jim Hutton-starring Ellery Queen, accompanied the pair to a meeting with CBS executives in 1984, he recalled in a 2011 interview.

“CBS wanted to do a murder mystery and they called Dick, who was our ringleader. He said, ‘Ok, I’ll bring the boys,'” Fischer said. “We went over there and pitched a premise called Blacke’s Magic, about a retired magician who solves mysteries. It became...

Chick Vennera, a prolific voice actor perhaps most recognizable for his scene-stealing disco dance performance atop a parked car in the 1978 hit comedy Thank God It’s Friday, died from cancer yesterday at his home in Burbank.

Vennera, who voiced characters for Animaniacs and Batman Beyond, among many other series, and appeared during the late 1980s in the recurring role of Enrique on the NBC sitcom The Golden Girls, was 74. His death was confirmed by his daughter Nicky Vennera.

Born Francis Vennera in Herkimer, New York, the actor known professionally as Chick Vennera moved to California after high school, studying at the Pasadena Playhouse where he would later teach acting. After a stint in the Army, Vennera returned to the West Coast to perform musically in nightclubs and, for two years, as a singer and dancer in the Disney on Parade tour. He also toured in the national company of Grease...

Kip Niven, a veteran character actor whose career ranged from early-’70s TV and the first two Sensurround films to regional theater and starring in 2014’s Jayhawkers, has died. He was 73. Local media outlets in his native Kansas City, Mo, said Niven died Monday of a heart attack.

Born on May 27, 1945, he got his start with guest roles in such 1970s TV dramas as Night Gallery, Escape and Emergency! before landing a key role in the first Dirty Harry sequel. In 1973’s Magnum Force, Niven played “Red” Astrachan, one of the vigilante rookie cops who terrorize San Francisco’s underworld — and eventually Clint Eastwood, who eventually gets his revenge. Astrachan’s comrades were played by future stars Robert Urich, Tim Matheson and David Soul.

After that, Niven would appear in dozens of TV shows and more than a dozen features including Earthquake (1974) and Midway (1976), the first two movies released in...

Exclusive: Sam Elliott has been set to narrate the four-part docuseries Honor Guard, the follow-up to Time To Kill Productions’ 2016 feature documentary The Unknowns.

Honor Guard follows U.S. Army soldiers who volunteer for the grueling training required to serve at the 3rd Infantry Regiment, aka The Old Guard, the oldest active infantry regiment in the Army. Those who pass earn a spot at The Regiment, in the Honor Guard Caisson Platoon, on the U.S. Army Drill Team, or participate in a full-honors funeral ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery.

Creators Neal Schrodetzki (who is also writing and directing) and Ethan Morse will film the never-before-documented training cycles. The pair met while serving together in the Army as guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, whose training was spotlighted in The Unknowns. It would later allow them exclusive access to film Honor Guard.

“We wanted Mr. Elliott to narrate Honor Guard...