Terry Louise Fisher, Co-Creator of ‘L.A. Law,’ Dies At 79

Terry Louise Fisher, a three-time Emmy winning writer and producer known for co-creating “L.A. Law,” died on Tuesday in Laguna Hills, Calif. She was 79.

Her cousin, Sharone Rosen, reported that Fisher had died in her sleep from a long, undisclosed illness.

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Fisher was the co-creator of the popular legal drama “L.A. Law” with Steven Bocho. She served as a supervising producer and writer for most of the series’ early episodes. Fisher’s writing for “L.A. Law” won her a shared Primetime Emmy Award in 1987, and two additional shared nominations in 1988. She was also known for writing and producing “Cagney & Lacey” from 1982 to 1987, for which she also received an Emmy.

Born in Chicago, Fisher moved to Los Angeles in her teens. She attended UCLA as an undergraduate student, graduating from the UCLA School of Law in 1968. After graduating, Fisher worked for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office. Fisher moved from that into entertainment law, working for several studios. During her time as a lawyer, Fisher wrote two books: “A Class Act,” which was published in 1976 and “Good Behavior,” her second book published in 1979. After a decade in practicing entertainment law, Fisher began to write full-time in Los Angeles.

Her first film, “Your Place…or Mine” starred Bonnie Franklin and Robert Klein, was co-written with Steve Brown, her writing partner on “Cagney & Lacey.”

Fisher produced and wrote on shows such as the CBS police procedural drama “Cagney & Lacey” until 1985. Fisher came back to co-write “Cagney and Lacey: The Return,” and “Cagney and Lacey: Together Again,” two of the series’ reunion films.

Fisher and Bocho also co-created “Hooperman,” an ABC series that starred John Ritter and Debrah Farentino, which ran for two seasons. She was the creator of “2000 Malibu Road,” the short-lived summer series, which starred Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Beals. Fisher took part in “Daughters of Eve,” a primetime soap opera pilot that was set to star Sophia Loren. The series was not picked up during the 1995-1995 television season.

She is survived by Dale Gordon, Ken Rosen, Charlie Rosen, and Sharon Rosen.

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