William blinn

Born in Toledo (Ohio), on July 21, 1937, William Frederick Blinn –his full name– felt the acting vocation, so he enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA). But after his first steps in the theater he realized that he was much better at writing dialogue than acting. He decided to become a screenwriter, so he made his debut writing the script for various television series. In the first part of his career he was focused on westerns like Bonanza , Shane or Gunsmoke .

William Blinn established himself in the industry after the TV movie Brian’s Song , with James Caan , which became a phenomenon in the United States, and which earned him an Emmy. He then worked on the miniseries Raíces , and created Starsky and Hutch , a series about two ABC police officers that he swept away, although after the first few episodes he left the project due to disagreements with the network. “I wanted more humanity and less persecution,” he declared.

Later he collaborated as a scriptwriter in Con ocho basta y Fama , a television version of the feature film directed by Alan Parker . The musician  Prince  recruited him to write Purple Rain , his only work for the big screen. “To be successful, it’s not enough to capture reality, in which case you’re making a History Channel documentary,” he explained in an interview. “You don’t have to be interesting either, because that’s what Paris Hilton does with his elephant. If you can be realistic and interesting, then you’ll succeed.” He retired in 2001, after creating the  Pensacola: Golden Wings series .