Dennis Turner

For two decades, Dennis Turner specialized in writing for evening soap operas and frothy-sounding television movies. His early credits included the 1984 romance "Second Sight: A Love Story" and 1985's "Between the Darkness and the Dawn," which led to writing for "Dynasty" and "The Colbys," two prime-time soaps produced by Aaron Spelling. After departing both series in 1987, Turner continued his streak of writing about larger-than-life characters for a number of television movies based on real-life people. The subjects included Barbara Hutton in 1987's "Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story"; hotel operator Leona Helmsley in 1990's "Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean"; and movie star Rock Hudson in the 1990 biopic "Rock Hudson." Throughout the rest of the '90s, Turner's credits featured such "based on a true story" television films as "Judgment Day: The John List Story," "Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke," and "A Family in Crisis: The Elian Gonzales Story."