Stephen Downing obit

Stephen Downing Dies: LAPD Cop-Turned-‘MacGyver’ Writer & Producer Was 87

 He was not on the list.

Stephen Downing, a Los Angeles Police Department officer who turned to a TV writing and producing career that included work on such series as Adam-12, Kojak and MacGyver, died of sepsis November 20 in Long Beach, California, hospital. He was 87.

His death was announced by his son Michael, a retired deputy chief of the L.A.P.D.

“Throughout his law enforcement career, dating back to 1965, he brought his deep knowledge of policing to the screen,” his son wrote in an online tribute. “As a screenwriter, producer and showrunner, he worked on many acclaimed series and made for television movies: MacGyver, T.J. Hooker, Emergency, Kojak, Quincy, Knight Rider, F/X the TV Series, Police Story, Police Woman, RoboCop The TV Series, Dragnet, Adam-12, and Walking Tall.

According to The New York Times, Downing was the assistant watch commander at the 77th Division in South Los Angeles when in 1968 Jack Webb, the Dragnet actor and producer, phoned the precinct seeking a technical adviser for a new cop show he was planning to be called Adam-12. Downing, who had studied creative writing in college, got the job and soon advanced from adviser to script writer.

Downing, born October 28, 1938, in Hanford, California, would go on to work on episodes of numerous police dramas throughout the 1970s and ’80s, moving into producing in 1982 with Knight Rider. His longest stint was with MacGyver, where he took various producing titles for the show’s entire 1985-1992 run. It was Downing who suggested that the show’s star, Richard Dean Anderson, portray the title character armed only with a Swiss Army knife and lots of ingenuity.

In a 2015 interview with the MacGyver Project blog, Downing explained the origins of the gadget-happy title character. “You may note that in the pilot that MacGyver uses a gun,” he said. “It was my suggestion that we should demonstrate to our audience that a guy like MacGyver should have the moral constitution against using a gun and the smarts to avoid its use – which also made for many interesting ways to get around it.“

Downing joined the LAPD in 1960 and retired from the department in 1980. He often wrote about law enforcement issues, most recently on Substack, and was an outspoken critic of the war on drugs and the militarization of policing. In an October 26, 2025, post, Downing criticized the Trump Administration’s policy authorizing deadly airstrikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

“The doctrine being written at sea today will be the justification for domestic violence tomorrow,” Downing wrote. “Once a president learns he can kill without due process abroad, the temptation to do it on U.S. soil follows close behind.” Recalling a big 1970s-era drug bust by the LAPD, Downing, calling the Trump policy “extrajudicial killing,” continued, “We relied on evidence, not ideology. We honored the Constitution, not a political fantasy. Everyone came home alive. We could do that again—if we remembered that the mission of law enforcement is to serve justice, not bury it at sea.”

Downing is survived by his wife of 67 years, Adrienne, children Michael, Tambree, and Julie; son-in-law Hank and daughter-in-law Michele six grandchildren, three and six great grandchildren.

Producer

The F Word (2011)

The F Word

Short

executive producer

2011

 

In Your Dreams (2006)

In Your Dreams

5.8

Short

producer (as Stephen J. Downing)

2006

 

Young MacGyver (2003)

Young MacGyver

4.6

TV Movie

executive producer

2003

 

Shannon Tweed in Dead by Dawn (1998)

Dead by Dawn

4.3

producer

1998

 

Christina Cox, Cameron Daddo, and Jacqueline Torres in F/X: The Series (1996)

F/X: The Series

6.6

TV Series

executive producer

1996–1998

22 episodes

 

Richard Eden in RoboCop (1994)

RoboCop

5.5

TV Series

executive producer

1994

5 episodes

 

Witchcraft V: Dance with the Devil (1993)

Witchcraft V: Dance with the Devil

3.3

Video

associate producer

1993

 

Without Warning: Terror in the Towers (1993)

Without Warning: Terror in the Towers

4.4

TV Movie

producer

1993

 

Richard Dean Anderson in MacGyver (1985)

MacGyver

7.6

TV Series

executive producersupervising producerco-executive producer

1985–1992

138 episodes

 

T.J. Hooker (1982)

T.J. Hooker

6.1

TV Series

producer

1984–1985

14 episodes

 

David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider (1982)

Knight Rider

6.9

TV Series

co-producer

1983

3 episodes

 

Writer

Sin by Murder (2004)

Sin by Murder

4.8

Video

screenplaystory

2004

 

Shannon Tweed in Dead by Dawn (1998)

Dead by Dawn

4.3

Writer (as Stephen J. Downing)

1998

 

Christina Cox, Cameron Daddo, and Jacqueline Torres in F/X: The Series (1996)

F/X: The Series

6.6

TV Series

written by

1997

1 episode

 

Witchcraft IX: Bitter Flesh (1997)

Witchcraft IX: Bitter Flesh

2.7

Video

Writer

1997

 

Without Warning: Terror in the Towers (1993)

Without Warning: Terror in the Towers

4.4

TV Movie

written by

1993

 

Richard Dean Anderson in MacGyver (1985)

MacGyver

7.6

TV Series

opening gambit written byteleplay bywritten by ...

1985–1991

5 episodes

 

Christopher Plummer, Simon MacCorkindale, and James Purcell in Counterstrike (1990)

Counterstrike

7.2

TV Series

Writer (as Michael L. Donovan)

1991

1 episode

 

Police Story: Gladiator School (1988)

Police Story: Gladiator School

6.3

TV Movie

Writer (as Adrian Leeds)

1988

 

Alone in the Neon Jungle (1988)

Alone in the Neon Jungle

5.5

TV Movie

written by

1988

 

T.J. Hooker (1982)

T.J. Hooker

6.1

TV Series

written byteleplay bystory by

1982–1985

9 episodes

 

Stacy Keach and Lindsay Bloom in The New Mike Hammer (1984)

The New Mike Hammer

6.8

TV Series

writer

1984

1 episode

 

More Than Murder (1984)

More Than Murder

6.6

TV Movie

teleplay by

1984

 

Yaphet Kotto, Gary Grubbs, Cliff Potts, and Shelley Smith in For Love and Honor (1983)

For Love and Honor

6.5

TV Series

writer

1983

2 episodes

 

The 25th Man

TV Movie

Writer (as Sean Baine)

1982

 

Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox in CHiPs (1977)

CHiPs

6.5

TV Series

written by

1982

1 episode

 

James Arness and Marshall Colt in McClain's Law (1981)

McClain's Law

7.7

TV Series

executive story consultantwritten by

1981–1982

15 episodes

 

Josh Taylor in Riker (1981)

Riker

7.1

TV Series

written by (as Sean Baine)

1981

1 episode

 

William Conrad in Nero Wolfe (1981)

Nero Wolfe

7.2

TV Series

writer

1981

2 episodes

 

Bo Svenson in Walking Tall (1981)

Walking Tall

7.1

TV Series

writer

1981

1 episode

 

Joe Don Baker in Eischied (1979)

Eischied

7.5

TV Series

written by (as Sean Baine)

1979

2 episodes

 

Emergency! (1972)

Emergency!

7.9

TV Series

teleplaywritten by (as Michael Donovan, as Michael Donovan)

1972–1979

13 episodes

 

The Rebels (1979)

The Rebels

6.5

TV Mini Series

Writer (as Sean Bain)

1979

2 episodes

 

Crisis in Mid-air (1979)

Crisis in Mid-air

6.7

TV Movie

Writer (as Sean Baine)

1979

 

David Cassidy and Simon Oakland in David Cassidy - Man Undercover (1978)

David Cassidy - Man Undercover

6.8

TV Series

written bywriter (as Sean Baine, as Sean Baine)

1978

2 episodes

 

Project U.F.O. (1978)

Project U.F.O.

7.1

TV Series

storyteleplaywriter (as Michael Donovan, as Michael Donovan)

1978

4 episodes

 

Mark Harmon in Sam (1978)

Sam

7.4

TV Series

written by (as Michael Donovan)

1978

1 episode

 

Robert Forster, David Birney, and Richard E. Kalk in Police Story (1973)

Police Story

7.5

TV Series

writerwritten by (as Sean Baine)

1973–1978

10 episodes

 

Angie Dickinson in Police Woman (1974)

Police Woman

6.6

TV Series

written by

1975–1978

8 episodes

 

Robert Blake in Baretta (1975)

Baretta

6.7

TV Series

written by

1977–1978

2 episodes

 

Jack Klugman in Quincy, M.E. (1976)

Quincy, M.E.

7.3

TV Series

written by

1977

2 episodes

 

Telly Savalas in Kojak (1973)

Kojak

7.1

TV Series

teleplaywritten bystory (as Sean Baine, as Sean Baine, as Sean Baine)

1974–1977

3 episodes

 

The Streets of San Francisco (1972)

The Streets of San Francisco

7.3

TV Series

written byteleplay (as Sean Baine, as Sean Baine)

1975–1977

3 episodes

 

Joe Forrester (1975)

Joe Forrester

7.1

TV Series

written by (as Sean Baine)

1975–1976

3 episodes

 

Kurt Russell and Tim Matheson in The Quest (1976)

The Quest

7.1

TV Series

writer (as Sean Baine)

1976

1 episode

 

Serpico (1976)

Serpico

6.8

TV Series

story (as Sean Bain)

1976

1 episode

 

Bert D'Angelo/Superstar (1976)

Bert D'Angelo/Superstar

5.7

TV Series

writer (as Sean Baine)

1976

1 episode

 

The Rookies (1972)

The Rookies

6.9

TV Series

writer (as Sean Baine)

1974–1976

4 episodes

 

S.W.A.T. (1975)

S.W.A.T.

6.7

TV Series

written by (as Sean Baine)

1975

1 episode

 

The Rangers (1974)

The Rangers

6.7

TV Movie

writer (as Michael Donovan, as Michael Donovan)

1974

 

Ernest Thompson in Sierra (1974)

Sierra

6.9

TV Series

creatorwritten by (as Michael Donovan, as Michael Donovan, as Michael Donovan)

1974

3 episodes

 

Teresa Graves in Get Christie Love! (1974)

Get Christie Love!

6.5

TV Series

written by (as Sean Baine)

1974

1 episode

 

Brian Fong, Michael Richardson, Mitchell Ryan, and Reid Smith in Chase (1973)

Chase

7.1

TV Series

written by (as Michael Donovan)

1973–1974

5 episodes

 

Emergency +4 (1973)

Emergency +4

7.2

TV Series

stories (as Michael Donovan)

1973

11 episodes

 

Kent McCord and Martin Milner in Adam-12 (1968)

Adam-12

7.7

TV Series

written by (as Michael Donovan)

1969–1973

21 episodes

 

Joe Don Baker and Elizabeth Hartman in Walking Tall (1973)

Walking Tall

6.9

writer

1973

 

The D.A. (1971)

The D.A.

6.5

TV Series

written by (as Michael Donovan)

1971

1 episode

 

Harry Morgan and Jack Webb in Dragnet 1967 (1967)

Dragnet 1967

7.7

TV Series

written by (as Michael Donovan)

1968–1970

11 episodes

 

Additional Crew

T.J. Hooker (1982)

T.J. Hooker

6.1

TV Series

executive story consultant

1982–1983

22 episodes

 

Emergency! (1972)

Emergency!

7.9

TV Series

segment writer (as Michael Donovan)

1978

1 episode

 

Production Department

New

Bert Convy in Super Password (1984)

Super Password

7.3

TV Series

production staff (as Michael Donovan)

1988–1989

3 episodes