Ron Koslow Dies: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Creator Was 81

Ron Koslow, the Emmy-nominated creator of the CBS fantasy drama series Beauty and the Beast and co-creator of its 2012 CW reboot, died on October 7. That, according to multiple reports citing his family. He was 81.

Koslow was a writer and producer in television and film for 40 years. He was best known for supernatural/fantasy projects such as Beauty, Moonlight and Roar. He also created the Fox series My Life and Times featuring Megan Mullally and Helen Hunt.

In 1987, he created Beauty and the Beast starring Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman. The show was based in part on the classic fairy tale and also Jean Cocteau’s 1946 film, La Belle et la Bête. It centers on Assistant DA Catherine Chandler (Hamilton) and her protector, a noble man-beast named Vincent (Perlman) who lives in a secret community in the tunnels below New York City.

The series was a fan favorite and ran for three seasons. It won six Primetime Emmys and helped launch the careers of Homeland showrunner Alex Gansa, 24 showrunner Howard Gordon and a (then) young fantasy writer named George R.R. Martin. Martin wrote 11 episodes of the series long before he created the juggernaut that became Game of Thrones.

The 2012 CW reboot starred Kristin Kreuk as Catherine, who was reimagined as a detective, and Jay Ryan as Vincent, who became an ex-soldier turned Into a man-beast by a secret government organization. It ran for four seasons.

Koslow’s screen career began in 1976 as the writer of the film Lifeguard, a ’70s-era Baywatch forerunner starring a hunky Sam Elliott and Anne Archer. He went on to write and/or produce Lady of the House starring Dyan Cannon, Swan Song with David Soul, First Born featuring Teri Garr and Peter Weller and directed by Michael Apted, Into the Night with Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Goldblum and directed by John Landis, Last Dance starring Sharon Stone and helmed by Bruce Beresford and Roar starring Heath Ledger.

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