Ron Koslow, Creator of TV’s ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ Dies at 81

Ron Koslow, the three-time Emmy nominee who brought the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast into modern times for the beloved CBS fantasy series that starred Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman, has died. He was 81. Koslow died Oct. 7 at his home in Brentwood, family spokesperson Audrey Altman announced. Koslow also wrote the screenplay for films including Daniel Petrie’s Lifeguard (1976), starring Sam Elliott; Michael Apted’s Firstborn (1984), starring Teri Garr and Peter Weller; and John Landis’ Into the Night (1985), starring Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer. The writer-producer set his Beauty and the Beast in a fantastical subway world beneath New York City, with Hamilton portraying an assistant district attorney and Perlman the mythic, noble man-beast. The series, from Witt/Thomas Productions, ran for three seasons, from September 1987 through August 1990, then spawned a CW reboot that aired for four seasons, from 2012-16. Along the way, Koslow received Emmy noms for outstanding writing in a drama series in 1988 and for outstanding drama series in ’88 and ‘89. One of three boys, Koslow was born in St. Louis on April 9, 1945, and raised in the Missouri city and Los Angeles. He attended the University of California Berkeley and UCLA film school before earning a law degree from Loyola University and becoming a member of the California Bar. Koslow also created the ABC drama My Life and Times, which aired six episodes in 1991; co-created with Shaun Cassidy the Fox fantasy drama Roar, which aired eight episodes in 1997; and co-created with Trevor Munson the CBS drama Moonlight, which aired 16 episodes in 2007-08. And he served as an executive producer on the 2002-03 WB superhero series Birds of Prey. Survivors include his sister, Judy, brother-in-law Stefan and nieces Jenna and Lily. Koslow “was known for his imagination and his ability to tell stories rooted in the deepest parts of the human experience,” his family noted. “His work explored the transformative power of love, the complexities of human connection and the extraordinary possibilities of worlds beyond our own.”