David Jacobs was a TV writer and producer who created the hit series “Dallas” and “Knots Landing.”
- Died: August 20, 2023 (Who else died on August 20?)
- Details of death: Died at a hospital in Burbank, California, of complications from a series of infections at the age of 84.
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David Jacobs’ legacy
Jacobs had a degree in art history and worked as a magazine writer before he found his greatest success in television. His first idea for a show would later be turned into the primetime soap opera “Knots Landing,” but before it could come to fruition, he had another idea. This one was for a five-episode miniseries about a wealthy family of Texas oil tycoons, and CBS gave him a chance to run with it. The miniseries was a success, and a full show was ordered, with the miniseries later being considered the first of 14 seasons of the great primetime soap “Dallas.”
Jacobs continued writing for “Dallas” through its third season and remained involved as a creative consultant, but in 1979, he returned to his earlier idea for a more middle-class soap opera. “Knots Landing” launched as a “Dallas” spinoff, and it became a success just like its predecessor, also running for 14 seasons on CBS. Jacobs remained with “Knots Landing” in a more active role than he maintained with “Dallas.”
Other shows created by Jacobs included “Married: The First Year” and “Paradise.” He also wrote for such shows as “Family,” “Chicago Story,” and “Bodies of Evidence,” and he directed episodes of “Knots Landing” and “Paradise.”
Notable quote
“The other prime-time serials offered a peek into a world that was rich and corrupt and populated by an unhappy bunch; I suspect that viewers found some satisfaction in their misery. ‘Knots Landing’ ushered viewers through that same world, but because its characters remained down-scaled and multidimensional, viewers felt that they were along for the ride.” —from a 1990 essay for The New York Times
Tributes to David Jacobs
Full obituary: The Hollywood Reporter
