Frank Lupo

Frank Lupo
Role:	Writer, producer
BSG Universe:	Original Series and Galactica 1980
Date of Birth:	January 11, 1955
Date of Death:	February 18, 2021
Age at Death:	66
Nationality:	USA
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Frank Lupo (January 11, 1955 – February 18, 2021) was an American television writer and producer who worked on both the Original Series and Galactica 1980. He is best known as the co-creator of The A-Team (which co-starred Dirk Benedict) and for his prolific collaborations with producer Stephen J. Cannell on numerous action television series during the 1980s and 1990s.

Early Career

Entry Into Television

Born in New York on January 11, 1955, Lupo graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn and attended The New School in Manhattan as an English major. His Hollywood story began at a New York arts school when he was told TV was the promised land.

He came to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and at age 20 was hired by Universal Television, where he worked from 1976 until 1981. Two days on the job, an early morning canteen encounter with Stephen J. Cannell turned a coffee clutch into a lifelong friendship and collaboration.

Work on Glen A. Larson Series

Lupo's work in TV took off in the late 1970s when he wrote for such series as Battlestar Galactica, Magnum, P.I., B.J. and the Bear and The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo. He wrote his first episode of television on the series Sword of Justice and would go on to pen hundreds of episodic stories.

For the Original Series, Lupo served as one of the writers for the episode "The Young Lords", working alongside Donald P. Bellisario (who also directed the episode) and Paul Playdon. The episode, which premiered on November 19, 1978, featured Starbuck crash-landing on a distant planet and encountering a group of children fighting against the Cylons.

For Galactica 1980, Lupo wrote and produced the episode "Spaceball" alongside Jeff Freilich and Glen A. Larson. The episode, directed by Barry Crane, first aired on ABC on Sunday, March 30, 1980. The baseball announcer in the episode says that one of the boys is named Little Frankie Lupo, an obvious in-joke reference to the Galactica 1980 producer.

He wrote one of the best first season Magnum, P.I. episodes, "No Need to Know," and he was only 25 when he wrote it in 1980.

Partnership with Stephen J. Cannell

Early Collaboration

Lupo worked on the Universal Television lot in the same era as Cannell, the prolific showrunner behind The Rockford Files and Baretta. After writing episodes of such shows as ABC's Battlestar Galactica and NBC's B.J. and the Bear, he worked with the late Rockford Files creator for the first time in 1981 on the ABC series The Greatest American Hero, for which Lupo wrote several episodes.

Mentorship and Writing Partnerships

Lupo's relationship with Cannell extended beyond simple collaboration into genuine mentorship. According to Cannell, when Lupo and his writing partner had their contracts separated at Universal, it was Cannell who facilitated the change. Cannell recounted that he discovered Lupo and his partner were writing individual scripts and then handing them to each other for polish work, essentially functioning as two separate writers rather than a true partnership. Cannell told them they could be making twice as much money and giving him twice as much material if they worked separately, and had their contracts separated—a move Cannell noted was unheard of in the industry since it required the studio to pay more money. Cannell characterized Lupo as "a great guy" who was "fun to work with."

Another industry professional, writer-director Ken Sanzel, also spoke highly of Lupo's collaborative spirit. When Sanzel's pilot Lawless was picked up, he had written and produced the pilot which starred Daniel Baldwin and had a markedly different tone from what eventually aired. The network brought in Lupo as the showrunner, and Lupo retooled the show considerably. Similarly, when Sanzel wrote a spec feature that he condensed to 60 pages as a mental exercise, he showed it to director Ralph Hemecker, who got it into producer John Wells' hands. Wells asked about developing it as the series Johnny Zero, but by the time the show got going, Sanzel was writing and directing another pilot. Wells brought in writer R. Scott Gemill to retool the show, with Lupo's creative input helping to shape it for Fox's specifications.

Kent McCord, star of Galactica 1980 during Lupo's production oversight, recalled Cannell's generosity and loyalty to his circle of collaborators, which included Lupo. McCord had attempted to develop a series called Chief about a retired police officer who becomes chief of a small California town and gets called on to investigate serial crimes. When McCord pitched the concept to Cannell initially, Cannell suggested a different approach that McCord wasn't ready for at the time. Years later, when McCord finally got the rights back from Universal and called Cannell about it, Cannell had to confess he had forgotten McCord's original pitch entirely—but had since developed Unsub with David Burke and Steve Kronish, a series with a remarkably similar premise about tracking serial criminals. Despite the awkward situation, Cannell offered McCord a role on Unsub, demonstrating the loyalty that characterized his relationships with collaborators like Lupo. McCord noted that Cannell "was a great friend who had a group of people around him who he was loyal to and who were loyal to him."

The A-Team and Major Successes

Lupo and Cannell then co-created The A-Team, the action-drama with touches of comedy that became a massive hit for NBC in 1983. The series, which ran from 1983 to 1987, starred Dirk Benedict (who had previously played Lieutenant Starbuck in the original Battlestar Galactica) as Templeton "Faceman" Peck. Cannell famously took the bold step of launching his own independent production banner, Stephen J. Cannell Productions, on the back of The A-Team.

Lupo was a co-creator and key producing partner with Cannell on such subsequent Stephen J. Cannell Productions hits as NBC's Hunter (starring Fred Dryer), Riptide, and Werewolf. He is perhaps best known for co-creating 1980s action shows such as The A-Team, Riptide, Hunter, and Wiseguy; he also served as an executive producer and writer on each of those series.

Hunter Revival

Cannell discussed the 2003 Hunter revival in detail, explaining his pitch strategy to NBC executive Jeff Zucker. Cannell recalled telling Zucker it would be "the shortest meeting that you will ever have," explaining that Hunter had controlled its time period for seven years at NBC, and that Walker, Texas Ranger had done exactly the same thing on CBS. Cannell argued there was a market for this type of programming on Saturday nights that wasn't being serviced by current shows. He proposed targeting an older demographic that didn't want to "go out and shake their booty on Saturday night."

When Lupo and Cannell reunited to produce the Hunter reunion movie, they faced a creative decision about the show's tone. Cannell explained that while he knew how to write shows like NYPD Blue and had done dark material with Wiseguy, they debated whether to modernize Hunter with shades of gray or produce it in the style of the 1980s original. They ultimately decided to remain faithful to the eighties aesthetic because they knew their core audience—the same viewers who had watched the original series—would be home on Saturday nights. Cannell noted that while their demographics were older than networks typically wanted, they won the household ratings, which was the goal.

Lupo and Cannell also co-created the much-praised CBS drama Wiseguy, starring Ken Wahl as an undercover FBI agent trying to penetrate the world of organized crime. The series, which ran from 1987 to 1990, also featured future Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul co-star Jonathan Banks as Wahl's cynical FBI boss.

Other Cannell-produced series credits included The Last Precinct and Stingray. Lupo also wrote and produced for the Cannell-created Stingray at NBC.

Later Career

Independent Work

Outside of Cannell's orbit, Lupo worked on the 1989-90 NBC drama Hardball and served as a writer and executive producer on the first season of CBS' Walker, Texas Ranger with Chuck Norris. He also worked on the 1992-93 Lee Majors drama Raven for CBS, which he also created.

Final Years

In recent years, Lupo penned numerous pilots for NBC, ABC and Fox. He worked on a short-lived revival of Hunter for NBC in 2003. While writing and producing Galactica 1980, he also penned scripts for shows such as The Quest.

Personal Life and Death

Frank Lupo's boundless energy and a quick mind along with a great sense of humor propelled him in the industry as well as into many friendships. He was married to Angel Petrulli Lupo.

Finally retiring with his loving wife, Angel Petrulli Lupo, to the sunshine of Florida, he figured that he had accomplished a great deal in life - he entertained the world with his creations.

Lupo died February 18, 2021, at his home in Florida, according to his sister, Linda Joy Sullivan, who is a member of Vermont's House of Representatives. He was 66 years old. According to his niece, Gina Dickerson, Lupo died of cardiac arrest in a hospital in The Villages, Florida, a community outside Ocala. The obituary confirmed he passed away "of non-Covid-19 related ailments." The Television Academy biography states he "died February 18, 2021, in Lady Lake, Florida."

In addition to his wife Angel, Lupo's survivors include his sister, Linda Joy Sullivan; a daughter; and a granddaughter. He is also survived by sisters Ann and Linda; nieces Gina and Joanne; and brother-in-law Allen. Donations in his name may be made to the City of Hope or the Wounded Warrior Project.

Writing Credits for Battlestar Galactica

Original Series

• "The Young Lords" (co-written with Donald P. Bellisario and Paul Playdon)

Galactica 1980

• "Spaceball" (co-written with Jeff Freilich and Glen A. Larson)

See also: Episodes written by Frank Lupo

References