Michael Sloan

Michael Sloan
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Role:	Writer, Producer
BSG Universe:	Original Series
Date of Birth:	October 14, 1946
Date of Death:	August 13, 2025
Age at Death:	78
Nationality:	USA
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IMDb profile

Michael Fred Sloan (October 14, 1946 – August 13, 2025) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known as co-creator of the television series The Equalizer. He wrote and produced episodes for the Original Series, serving as supervising producer during the show's production.

Early Life and Family Background

Sloan was born into a show business family in New York City on October 14, 1946. His grandfather, Fred Stone, was a vaudeville performer who played the Scarecrow in the 1902 Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz. His parents, Paula Stone and Michael Sloane, were Broadway stage producers who mounted numerous plays throughout the 1940s and 1950s.

The family moved to London when Sloan was young. It was there that he later began to write and produce feature films.

Career

Early Film Work

Sloan moved to England where he wrote and produced his first three films: a 1972 short titled Hunted and two features titled Assassin and Moments, released in 1973 and 1974, respectively.

Breakthrough with Columbo

In 1976, Sloan returned to America where he wrote an acclaimed episode of Columbo for Universal Television titled "Now You See Him." The episode, from the show's fifth season, was widely praised and effectively launched his career in American television. It was the series' only episode ever written by a freelancer.

Universal Television

When Sloan returned to the United States, he landed his first studio job at Universal, where he wrote and produced episodes of several series including McCloud, Quincy, M.E., The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Mysteries, Evening in Byzantium, Sword of Justice, Battlestar Galactica, and BJ and the Bear. He earned an Emmy nomination for his work on Quincy, M.E.

Battlestar Galactica

Sloan served as supervising producer on the Original Series. He co-wrote the teleplay for the two-part episode "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero" with Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson, based on a story treatment by John Ireland.

Sloan was also story editor on McCloud (1977) and supervising producer on both The Hardy Boys Mysteries and The Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977-79).

The Equalizer and Later Work

Sloan left Universal to work at MTM Studios in the 1980s. While back on loan to Universal, he co-created The Equalizer with Richard Lindheim. The Edward Woodward-starring crime series aired on CBS in 1985 and ran for four seasons.

Sloan also created The Master and served as show runner on both The Master and BJ & The Bear. He was executive producer on The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985) and The Outer Limits (2000-).

Sloan wrote and produced several television movies, including The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1983), Earthquake in New York, Freefall, Riviera, and three Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman movies. He also wrote and produced several feature films including Max Havoc: Ring of Fire, Alien Agent, and Art of War II: Betrayal, starring Wesley Snipes.

The Equalizer Franchise

Columbia Pictures rebooted The Equalizer franchise with a trilogy of films starring Denzel Washington between 2014 and 2023. Sloan served as a producer on all three films. In 2021, CBS rebooted the series on television starring Queen Latifah.

Writing and Theater

Beyond television and film, Sloan wrote the play Underground starring Raymond Burr, which premiered at the Royal Alexander Theater in Toronto and then moved to London's West End. He wrote a series of Equalizer novels as well as a memoir titled One More Thing, Sir… about his experiences writing in Hollywood.

Over the course of his career, Sloan wrote and produced over 300 hours of prime time television.

Personal Life

It was while working on a 1989 episode of The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents that Sloan met actress Melissa Sue Anderson, a guest star on that week's episode. The couple married on March 17, 1990. Anderson was best known for starring in Little House on the Prairie in the 1970s and 1980s.

Death

Sloan died peacefully on August 13, 2025, in New York City. He was 78 years old. His death was announced by his family, which did not name a cause of death but noted that he passed away peacefully.

He was survived by his wife of 35 years, Melissa Sue Anderson, their two children, Piper and Griffin, and his sister, Judy. In lieu of flowers, the family requested that donations be made to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in honor of his deep love for animals.

References