David Angell: Emmy-Winning Sitcom Creator
David Lawrence Angell (10 April 1946 – 11 September 2001) was an American screenwriter and television producer known for his work in sitcoms. He won multiple Emmy Awards as a writer and creator of the sitcoms Wings and Frasier, created alongside Peter Casey and David Lee.
Early Life and Education
Angell was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Henry and Mae (née Cooney) Angell. He received a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Providence College. After graduation, he entered the U.S. Army and served at the Pentagon until 1972. He married Lynn Edwards on August 14, 1971. Following his military service, Angell worked as a methods analyst at an engineering company and later at an insurance firm in Rhode Island. His brother, Kenneth Angell, was a Roman Catholic bishop of Burlington, Vermont.
Career and Achievements
Angell moved to Los Angeles in 1977 and sold his first script to the producers of the Annie Flynn series. Five years later, he sold a script for the sitcom Archie Bunker’s Place. In 1983, he joined Cheers as a staff writer, and in 1985 he became a supervising producer and writer alongside Peter Casey and David Lee. The three formed a prolific partnership that would define their careers.
Working together on Cheers, Angell, Casey, and Lee received 37 Emmy Award nominations and won 24 Emmy Awards. Angell received an Outstanding Writing/Comedy Emmy for Cheers in 1984. In 1989, the producers shared an Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy for Cheers. After their success on that series, the trio formed Grub Street Productions and created Wings in 1990, which they executive-produced. They later created Frasier, which became one of television’s most acclaimed comedies.
Notable Events and Milestones
On September 11, 2001, Angell and his wife Lynn were killed aboard American Airlines Flight 11 while returning home from a vacation on Cape Cod. The plane was the first to strike the World Trade Center during the attacks. All passengers aboard Flight 11 were killed in the impact.
Awards and Honors
Angell won an Outstanding Writing/Comedy Emmy in 1984 for Cheers and shared an Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy in 1989 for the same show. He and his partners received a combined 24 Emmy Awards across their work on Cheers and Frasier. The American Screenwriters Association established the annual David Angell Humanitarian Award in his memory, given to individuals in the entertainment industry who contribute to global well-being through donations of time, expertise, or support. In 2004, The Angell Foundation awarded Providence College $2 million for the Smith Center for the Arts. Angell Hall on Enders Island, Connecticut, was named in honor of David and Lynn Angell.
Additional Resources
Readers seeking more detailed information about David Angell’s career, his creative partnerships, and his lasting impact on television comedy can find extensive biographical material through Wikipedia and other entertainment archives. His contributions to American television, along with the humanitarian legacy established in his name, remain documented in industry records and memorial collections.
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