Ted Mann, an Emmy-winning writer and producer who worked on shows such as “NYPD Blue,” “Homeland” and “Deadwood,” has died at the age of 72.
According to Mann’s ex-wife, Linda Mann, Ted died Sept. 3. His daughter, Elizabeth, reported that Ted died after battling lung cancer. Ted is survived by his partner of 42 years, Bly Mann, and their two children, Lucy and James.
Born in Canada, Mann began working in television in the late 1970s. His first credits as a writer came in 1979, when he worked on a first-season episode of “Delta House” and helped write the National Lampoon TV movie “Disco Beaver from Outer Space.”
Mann continued picking up credits on screens big and small over the next few decades, helping write Robert Altman’s 1985 film “O.C. and Stiggs.” More focused on the TV side, Mann wrote episodes of “Miami Vice” and “Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters” in the 80s.
It was in the 1990s that Mann’s career as a producer began, starting as a co-producer on the first three episodes of “Wiseguy” Season 4 in 1990. In the mid-90s, Mann served as a producer on “NYPD Blue.” He has writing credits on 18 episodes of the show.
It was on “NYPD Blue” that Mann picked up his first four of seven Emmy nominations. He won his first and only Emmy in 1995 when “NYPD Blue” picked up the award for Outstanding Drama Series.
Mann continued writing and producing through the 2000s and 2010s. In the 2000s, he served as a producer and writer on “Deadwood.” Here, he additionally appeared as an actor in eight episodes, playing Rutherford. Mann is also credited as a writer and co-executive producer on “Crash,” a TV spin-off of the infamous Best Picture winner at the 2006 Oscars.
In 2013, Mann won a WGA TV Award for Long Form – Original for his work on the Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton-starring western “Hatfields & McCoys.” Mann has story and teleplay credits on all three episodes of the limited series.
Mann’s final significant credit came in the 2010s with “Homeland,” where he again wrote and served as a consulting/co-executive producer. It was here that he picked up his final Emmy nomination, when the show was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in 2016.
