Glen Larson. Photo by Judd Gunderson (LAT).

Glen A. Larson, producer of Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider, and Six Million Dollar Man, passed away November 14 of cancer.

He also had many non-genre hits: Quincy, M.E., Magnum, P.I. and The Fall Guy, plus a few that weren’t hits – Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Adventures of Sheriff Lobo and Manimal.

Although he was not well-regarded by sf fans during his heyday, who demanded better writing and effects for his shows, by now most fans have developed a nostalgic appreciation for all the sf icons he brought to TV.

He spent his early career at Universal Studios before moving to 20th Century Fox in 1980 with a multiseries, multimillion-dollar deal.

Six Million Dollar Man was based on Martin Caidin’s 1972 novel Cyborg.

Harlan Ellison, in a 1996 book about his Star Trek episode “City on the Edge of Forever,” infamously called him “Glen Larceny” and accused him of using others’ movie concepts for his TV shows.

However, Fox in 1978 sued Battlestar studio Universal for infringing on Star Wars copyrights but eventually lost the suit, providing a degree of vindication.

[Via Andrew Porter and Paul Di Filippo.]