---
name: "William Blinn"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-blinn"
roles: ["Screenwriter"]
born: "21 July 1937"
died: "22 October 2020"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T16:49:29.083777+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."
---

# William Blinn

Screenwriter. Born 21 July 1937 in Toledo. Died 22 October 2020.

## Details

- **Work:** Screenwriter
- **Born:** 21 July 1937, Toledo
- **Died:** 22 October 2020

## Biography

William Blinn was an American screenwriter and television producer. He began his career in the 1960s writing episodes of series including Rawhide, Gunsmoke and The Rookies.

Blinn wrote the screenplay for the 1971 television film Brian's Song, for which he received an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award. He also wrote for the 1977 miniseries Roots, earning a second Emmy, and created the series Starsky & Hutch. His film credits include the screenplay for Purple Rain (1984). He later produced the 2004 feature film adaptation of Starsky & Hutch.

Blinn received additional recognition including a Humanitas Prize for his work on Roots and the Writers Guild of America’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award in 2009.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, hollywoodreporter.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Roots* (1977), Fi1m 83, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/tv/roots.md)

## Also known for

- *Starsky & Hutch* (2004), Characters
- *Purple Rain* (1984), Writer
- *Starsky & Hutch* (1975), Writer
- *Gunsmoke* (1955), Writer
- *Brian's Song* (1971), Writer
- *Fame* (1982), Writer
- *The Invaders* (1967), Writer
- *The Big Valley* (1965), 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/william-blinn