2002 Award Recipient

The late David Angell, co-creator of Frasier and Wings who died Sept. 11, will be awarded the Valentine Davies Award posthumously from the Writers Guild of America, west at the Guild’s 54th awards ceremony on Saturday, March 2, 2002.

The Valentine Davies Award is given to writers who have contributed to the entertainment industry as well as the community at large, and who have brought dignity and honor to the profession of writing everywhere. Past recipients of the Valentine Davies Award include Fay and Michael Kanin, Garry Marshall, Hal Kanter, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, Mary McCall Jr., Phil Alden Robinson, Norman Lear, Ray Bradbury, Barry Kemp, Philip Dunne, Alan Alda, and last year's recipient, Paul Haggis.

"In life, David Angell was a real gentleman, bringing a kindness and warmth to his scripts, his shows and his staff," said WGAw President Victoria Riskin. "In death, he has become an inspiration to many who never knew him personally."

Born in 1947 in West Barrington, Rhode Island, David Angell had a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Providence College. Before he got into television writing in 1977, Angell had worked for the Pentagon as a member of the Army, then as a methods analyst for an engineering company in Boston. After selling a script to Archie Bunker’s Place in 1982, he soon moved on to Cheers, becoming a producer by the show’s fourth season.

Angell co-created Frasier and Wings with fellow writer-producers Peter Casey and David Lee. As a writer and a producer, Angell was nominated for 13 Emmy Awards, winning eight for Cheers and Frasier. With his partners Peter Casey and David Lee, Angell founded Grub Street Productions.

He and his wife, Lynn, were active contributors to Hillsides in Pasadena, a nonprofit center providing a safe place for the victims of child abuse. The Angells developed the center’s library and were intimately involved in Hillsides’ programs, which include therapeutic healing, special education, family crisis intervention and children's rights advocacy.

David and Lynn Angell were passengers on American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles, which was hijacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, and crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. A foundation was set up in David and Lynn Angell’s name after their death. Contributions can be sent to The Angell Foundation, c/o Perry Oretzky, 10880 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 920, Los Angeles, CA 90024.

Valentine Davies, for whom this award was named, was best known for writing the Academy Award-winning story for Miracle on 34th Street. He was also nominated for Academy Awards for co-writing It Happens Every Spring (1950) with Shirley Smith, co-writing The Glenn Miller Story (1955) with Oscar Brodney and for producing the documentary short subject The House Without a Name in 1957. Davies died in 1961.