Robert Hamilton

Robert Hamilton started out as a minor TV writer, eventually becoming the writer and producer of some of the most successful crime and mystery shows of the '80s and '90s. His earliest writing credits came on shows like the short-lived "Serpico," based on the critically-acclaimed 1973 film starring Al Pacino as the title NYPD cop. After penning an episode of the Emmy-winning mystery series "McCloud," Hamilton met producer Dean Hargrove and quickly became a key member of his tight-knit crew of writers and producers. Hamilton served as writer and producer on "Spenser for Hire," based on author Robert Parker's best-selling series of mystery novels, and wrote over a dozen episodes of the Tom Selleck crime series "Magnum, P.I." before joining Hargrove on the writing staff of "Matlock," starring Andy Griffith as the gruff but sympathetic title attorney. In addition to his work on the odd-couple detective series "Jake and the Fatman," created by Hargrove and writer Joel Steiger, Hamilton also served as a writer and producer on the highly-rated "Father Dowling Mysteries," in which Tom Bosley ("Happy Days") portrayed a gentle Catholic priest with an uncanny knack for discovering trouble. Hamilton has since produced a number of prime-time "Perry Mason" mystery specials and worked on the frontier drama "Ponderosa."