---
name: "Ken Pettus"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ken-pettus"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "15 May 1915"
died: "19 July 1992"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T15:58:45.234618+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ken Pettus

Writer. Born 15 May 1915 in Terre Haute, Indiana, USA. Died 19 July 1992.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 15 May 1915, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA
- **Died:** 19 July 1992
- **Also known as:** Kenneth Pettus, Steven Thornley

## Biography

Ken Pettus (15 May 1915 – 19 July 1992) was an American television writer and producer. Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, he began writing for television in the late 1950s, contributing episodes to series such as *Mike Hammer* under the pseudonym Steven Thornley.

He wrote numerous episodes of *Mission: Impossible* (1966) in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as episodes of *The Green Hornet* (1966), *Hawaii Five-O* (1968), *Battlestar Galactica* (1978) and *Magnum, P.I.* (1980). His feature-film credits include the screenplay for *Hangar 18* (1980), credited as Steven Thornley. He also served as a story consultant or editor on several series and produced the 1975 series *Matt Helm*.

*Sources: imdb.com, tvmaze.com, greenhornet.fandom.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Mission: Impossible* (1966), Fi1m 82, Teleplay, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/mission-impossible-1966.md)

## Also known for

- *Magnum, P.I.* (1980), Teleplay
- *Battlestar Galactica* (1978), Story
- *Hawaii Five-O* (1969), Writer, Teleplay
- *Hangar 18* (1980), Screenplay
- *Mission Galactica: The Cylon Attack* (1979), Story
- *Baa Baa Black Sheep* (1976), Writer

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ken-pettus