Robert Hamner

Screenwriter Robert Hamner built a career that spanned 30 years. He was best known for co-creating the 1970s crime drama "S.W.A.T.," which centered on the Los Angeles Police Department's Special Weapons and Tactics unit. Though the series lasted only two seasons, its characters found new life in 2003 when they were revamped for the Hollywood action-thriller also titled "S.W.A.T.," which starred Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, and Michelle Rodriquez. Hammer earned his first screenplay credit in 1960, when he co-wrote the post-Civil War Western "13 Fighting Men." Shortly thereafter, he moved into television, where he wrote for a variety of programs, from the mystery-centered Western series "A Man Called Shenandoah" to the sci-fi family comedy "Lost in Space" to the spy drama "The Mod Squad." He also wrote the Peabody Award-winning TV movie "When Hell Was in Session," a biopic about Jeremiah Denton's experiences as a POW during the Vietnam War. He wrote for television up until 1994, when he scribed an episode of Lorenzo Lamas's bounty hunter drama "Renegade." Hammer died two years later, so he did not live to see the rebirth of his "S.W.A.T." characters in the 2003 film.