Terry Louise Fisher obit

Terry Louise Fisher Dies: ‘L.A. Law’ Co-Creator & ‘Cagney & Lacey’ Writer Was 79

 

She was not on the list.

Terry Louise Fisher, the co-creator of L.A. Law and a writer for Cagney & Lacey, has died. She was 79.

The three-time Emmy winner died in her sleep Tuesday in Laguna Hills, CA following a long, undisclosed illness, Fisher’s cousin Sharone Rosen told Variety.

Born February 21, 1946 in Chicago, Fisher attended law school at UCLA in the ’60s before working at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office and going into entertainment law. After publishing two novels, A Class Act (1976) and Good Behavior (1979), she quit law to pursue writing full time.

Fisher began writing for Cagney & Lacey in 1983 before co-creating NBC’s L.A. Law with Steven Bochco in 1986, running for eight seasons until 1994. Her time on the show ended following a 1988 legal battle with Bochco and 20th Century Fox.

“One thing that I don’t want women to feel is … that they can’t take on the big boys, because they’ll get you — that was the one thing I was upset about,” Fisher told the Los Angeles Times in 1988. “Some people think (the TV industry) is an old boys network. I’ve never thought so. I got a lot of really upsetting letters from women who viewed it that way.”

Fisher and Bochco also co-created the ABC series Hooperman, which ran for two seasons, starring John Ritter as the titular San Francisco police inspector.

She later created the short-lived Aaron Spelling CBS drama 2000 Malibu Road in 1992, featuring a young Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Beals.

 

Writer

Corbin Bernsen, Susan Dey, Harry Hamlin, Larry Drake, Richard Dysart, Jill Eikenberry, Michele Greene, Susan Ruttan, and Michael Tucker in L.A. Law: The Movie (2002)

L.A. Law: The Movie

6.0

TV Movie

television series

2002

 

Cagney & Lacey: Together Again (1995)

Cagney & Lacey: Together Again

6.8

TV Movie

written by

1995

 

Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless in Cagney & Lacey: The Return (1994)

Cagney & Lacey: The Return

6.9

TV Movie

written by

1994

 

L.A. Law (1986)

L.A. Law

7.1

TV Series

created bywritten bystory by (creator) ...

1986–1994

171 episodes

 

2000 Malibu Road (1992)

2000 Malibu Road

6.5

TV Series

writer

1992

3 episodes

 

John Spencer in L.A. Law 100th Episode Celebration (1991)

L.A. Law 100th Episode Celebration

TV Special

created by (creator)

1991

 

Joanna Cassidy and Marcy Walker in Bar Girls (1990)

Bar Girls

5.2

TV Movie

written by

1990

 

Blue Bayou (1990)

Blue Bayou

6.5

TV Movie

Writer

1990

 

Hooperman (1987)

Hooperman

7.0

TV Series

creatorwritten by

1987

4 episodes

 

Sister Margaret and the Saturday Night Ladies (1987)

Sister Margaret and the Saturday Night Ladies

5.9

TV Movie

screenplaystory

1987

 

Cagney & Lacey (1981)

Cagney & Lacey

6.9

TV Series

written bystory byteleplay by

1983–1985

8 episodes

 

Cutter to Houston (1983)

Cutter to Houston

4.8

TV Series

written by

1983

1 episode

 

This Girl for Hire (1983)

This Girl for Hire

5.5

TV Movie

teleplay

1983

 

The Mississippi (1982)

The Mississippi

6.6

TV Series

written by

1983

1 episode

 

Your Place... or Mine (1983)

Your Place... or Mine

5.9

TV Movie

Writer

1983

 

Second Thoughts (1983)

Second Thoughts

5.2

story

1983

 

Producer

2000 Malibu Road (1992)

2000 Malibu Road

6.5

TV Series

executive producer

1992

6 episodes

 

Joanna Cassidy and Marcy Walker in Bar Girls (1990)

Bar Girls

5.2

TV Movie

executive producer

1990

 

Blue Bayou (1990)

Blue Bayou

6.5

TV Movie

executive producer

1990

 

L.A. Law (1986)

L.A. Law

7.1

TV Series

supervising producer

1986–1988

35 episodes

 

Cagney & Lacey (1981)

Cagney & Lacey

6.9

TV Series

producer

1983–1985

29 episodes

 

Additional Crew

Cagney & Lacey (1981)

Cagney & Lacey

6.9

TV Series

creative consultant

1984–1986

15 episodes

 

Self

John Spencer in L.A. Law 100th Episode Celebration (1991)

L.A. Law 100th Episode Celebration

TV Special

Self - Creator

1991

 

The 39th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1987)

The 39th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

6.2

TV Special

Self - Winner

1987

 

The Media Show (1987)

The Media Show

5.4

TV Series

Self

1987

1 episode

 

Diana Muldaur in The 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1985)

The 37th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

7.1

TV Special

Self - Winner

1985