Rift Fournier(May 16, 1936 – October 6, 2013) was an American writer,screenwriterandtelevision producer.Fournier, who lost the ability to walk at 17 years old due topolio,had a long and diverse career in television.[1][2]He wrote episodes of numeroustelevision series,includingBaretta,Charlie's Angels,Highway to Heaven,Hell Town,Kojak,Matlock,Charley Hannah, High Mountain Rangers andNYPD Blue.[1]
Rift Fournier | |
|---|---|
 Rift Fournier, St. Louis 2013 | |
| Born | May 16, 1936 |
| Died | October 6, 2013(aged 77) |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter,producer |
Fournier was born in 1936 inWichita, Kansas,and raised in bothChicagoandOmaha, Nebraska.[1][2]His parents decided to call him "Rift" after a dispute over what they would name their son.[2]Fournier was acting and screenwriting at theOmaha Community Playhouseby the time he was 13 years old.[2]He attended aJesuitschool, where he excelled as an athlete.[2]
Fournier contracted polio during his junior year in high school.[2]On a Sunday morning in 1953, Fournier collapsed while getting out of bed to answer the telephone.[2]He never regained his ability to walk and remained in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.[1][2]Rift Fournier never let hisdisabilitydissuade him from pursuing his career. In a 1986 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he said, "I didn't know [polio] was supposed to stop me from doing something,...You've heard thejoke.'I never knew I was poor.… ' Well, I never knew I washandicapped."[1]
In 1963, Fournier began co-producingThe Mike Douglas Show,which was created inCleveland, Ohio,for syndication.[1]
Between 2004 and 2013, Fournier was an adjunct professor atLindenwood University.He died inSt. Louis, Missouri,on October 6, 2013, at the age of 77.[1]Cause of death was cancer.
References
edit- ^abcdefgBarnes, Mike (2013-10-11)."TV Producer, Writer Rift Fournier Dies".The Hollywood Reporter.Retrieved2013-11-03.
- ^abcdefghde la Vina, Mark (1986-08-15)."Wheelchair-bound Writer-producer: Nobody Ever Took His Dreams Away".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2013-11-03.