9/11: Remembering David Angell

9/11 affected us all, profoundly and in many cases personally. Two of my dear friends were on flight 11. David and Lynn Angell. There hasn't been a day I haven't thought of them, missed them, and not felt grateful that they were in my life.

David and I worked together on CHEERS, WINGS, and FRASIER (the latter two he co-created). We used to call him the "dean." In his quiet way he was the one we always looked to for final approval of a line or a story direction. He brought a warmth and humanity to his writing that hopefully rubbed off on the rest of us "schtickmeisters". And he could be funny -- sneaky funny. During long rewrite sessions he tended to be quiet. Maybe two or three times a night he'd pitch a joke -- but they were always the funniest jokes of the script.

For those of you hoping to become comedy writers yourselves, let David Angell be your inspiration. Before breaking in he worked in the U.S. Army, the Pentagon, an insurance firm, an engineering company, and then when he finally moved out to L.A. he did "virtually every temp job known to man" for five years. Sometimes even the greatest talents take awhile to be recognized.

I first met David the first season of CHEERS. He came in to pitch some stories. He had been recommended after writing a good NEWHART episode. This shy quiet man who looked more like a quantum physics professor than a comedy writer, slinked into the room, mumbled through his story pitches, and we all thought, "is this the right guy? He sure doesn't seem funny." Still, he was given an assignment ("Pick a con...any con") and when the script came back everyone was just blown away. He was quickly given a second assignment ("Someone single, someone blue") and that draft came back even better. I think the first order of business for the next season was to hire David Angell on staff.

After 9/11, David's partners Peter Casey & David Lee called me and my partner David Isaacs into their office. There was a FRASIER script David Angell was about to write. (It was the one where Lilith's brother arrived in a wheelchair and became an evangelist. Michael Keaton played the part.) Peter & David asked if we would write it and for me that was a greater honor than even winning an Emmy.

David's wife, Lynn, was also an inspiration. She devoted her life to helping others -- tirelessly working on creating a children's library and a center that serves abused children.

My heart goes out to their families. To all of the families.

I still can't wrap my mind around it.

So tragic, so senseless, and even six years later, so inconceivable.

You can read more from Ken at kenlevine.blogspot.com

Comments

[dobberdoss]

Innocent people are still dying from the aftermath of that day. They may not be American but they are `humanbeings`. Lets not forget that either! EVER.

[provgrays]

Mr. Levine,

I'm so sorry for the loss of your wonderful friends. "Frasier" was and still is a source of laughter, joy and humanity for me. I would have loved to meet David Angell to get a sense of him as a person.

I think of that show as the last great TV show. It had humor, depth, insight, and laughter that allowed for contemplation as well as diversion. What a tribute to David Angell.

May television one day embrace men of that caliber again.

[robinhood1]

After the 9/11 attacks, I remember reading the tragic story of Mike Lyons on the Internet. He had lost his partner John Keohane, who died when the South Tower collapsed. Mike Lyons, who was partially disabled, and had depended on his partner to share the expenses of living in Manhattan (Battery park City as I recall). Mike applied for Social Security survivor benefits, but was turned down, since his relationship was not recognized by the Federal government. He was also turned down for benefits from the special Victim Compensation Fund, also a Federal program. On March 1, 2002, out of money and out of hope, he committed suicide on his 41st birthday. Ironically, if he had held on a little longer, he might have received benefits from a New York State crime victims fund.

Federal law has not changed since 9/11. So much for slogans such as "We are all Americans". This tragedy reminds me of the Winterhilf (winter relief) program administered by Nazi Germany in the late 1930's. German Jews were specifically excluded since they were no longer considered real Germans. What about the equal protection rights granted by the US constitution? When it comes to gay Americans, separate and unequal is still the law of the land for all too many purposes, six years after 9/11.

[webmaker02]

Sorry for the loss of your friends as well as for the loss of the Angells. Life is a puzzle to me sometimes. I have written some poems on the subject but they don't go anywhere. Not surprising in the political climate we live in.

[cuthbertallgood]

Thanks for sharing this.

[Ani]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Be well today.

[trishinpitt]

to this day, if I see a tv show like Frasier or Cheers, when I see David Angell's name on the screen it's like a jerk back to reality. It's like watching Friends and seeing the Twin Towers. I hope I never get so that those images don't move me in some way.

[shanghaislim]

Ditto

[annies]

Thank you Ken. Never forget.

Fortunately, there are many living tributes to David in the shows he wrote, and for Lynn there is the library and child abuse center.

For my fiance, there is very little but the few photos and memories that myself, and his family, hold dear.

[webmaker02]

I wrote several poems on 9/11 about people in those airplanes and people on the ground who did or didn't receive their calls, in case you are interested.

http://allpoetry.com/poem/1626291

and a reply:

http://allpoetry.com/poem/3387322

My condolences on your loss in any case.

Jim Dunlap