Who Is Dick Wolf

Dick Wolf

Richard Anthony Wolf (usually billed as simply Dick Wolf), (born December 20, 1946, New York City), is one of American television's most respected drama series creators and is an Emmy Award-winning producer, specializing in crime dramas.

Wolf was raised Roman Catholic in New York City. As a child, he was an altar boy at St. Patrick's Cathedral when Francis Cardinal Spellman was Archbishop of New York.

Dick Wolf attended Phillips Academy where he was a classmate of George W. Bush, and graduated from The Gunnery. He enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1969. He was a member of Penn's chapter of the Zeta Psi fraternity. Wolf worked as an advertising copywriter at Benton & Bowles creating commercials for Crest toothpaste, all the while writing screenplays in the hopes of a film career. It was at this time that he briefly collaborated on a screenplay with Oliver Stone, who was also a struggling screenwriter at the time. He moved to Los Angeles after a few years and had three screenplays produced; one of these films, Masquerade starring Rob Lowe and Meg Tilly, was well received. He started his television career as a staff writer on Hill Street Blues and was nominated for his first Emmy for an episode on which he was the only writer. He moved from there to Miami Vice where he was a supervising producer.

Wolf's Law & Order is the second-longest-running dramatic show in television history, making it one of television's most successful franchises. The show has been nominated for the most consecutive Emmy Awards of any primetime drama series. Wolf serves as creator and executive producer of the three current Law & Order drama series from Wolf Films and NBC Universal Television - Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. A third spinoff of the original franchise, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, was cancelled after its first season. In addition, he was the creator and executive producer of NBC's courtroom reality series Crime & Punishment, which chronicled real-life cases prosecuted by the San Diego District Attorney's office.

Wolf's company also produced Twin Towers, the 2003 Academy Award-winning Short Documentary about two brothers, one a policeman and the other a fireman, who lost their lives in the line of duty on September 11, 2001.

Currently, Wolf is involved with the production of a theatrical film that will document the popular rock group The Doors. This project is currently in production and is expected to be completed in 2007, which will coincide with the group's 40th anniversary of their first album.

Wolf's personal honors include the Award of Excellence from the Banff Television Festival, the 2002 Creative Achievement Award from NATPE; the Anti-Defamation League's Distinguished Entertainment Industry Award, the Leadership and Inspiration Award from the Entertainment Industries Council, the Governor's Award by the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the 1997 achievement award from the Caucus for Producers, Writers, and Directors, the 1998 Television Showman of the Year Award from the Publicist's Guild of America, the 2002 Tribute from the Museum of Television and Radio, and a 2003 Special Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

Wolf is also an Honorary Consul general of Monaco and is actively involved in the principality's prestigious annual Television Festival, and is its primary liaison with the entertainment community.

On March 29, 2007, Wolf received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7040 Hollywood Boulevard.

It is interesting to note that in addition to having been a classmate of President George W. Bush, Dick Wolf was the employer of Fred Thompson, who some believe is being considered for the Republican nomination for president in 2008 because of the national attention he has gained playing the district attorney on Law & Order. Further, Wolf appears to support Thompson in his bid for the presidency, as he did Bush's, as it has been reported that he has already contributed money to Thompson, even before he officially announced he was running.

Dick Wolf

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Law & Order: Crime Scenes (Hardcover)

Law & Order: Crime Scenes

by Dick Wolf, Jessica Burstein

Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)

NBC's Emmy award-winning hit series Law & Order is television's longest-running drama. Like the series, Law & Order: Crime Scenes walks a thin line between reality and fantasy, presenting gritty crime scene photographs. Producer Dick Wolf discusses how he came up with the idea for the crime drama and describes each of the years' main characters, accompanied by pictures. Aficionados will particularly delight in Wolf's revelations about the characters' personal lives. A postmortem commentary by photographer Jessica Burstein features thumbnails of the pictures, noting which episode each is from, with anecdotal information, and a brief synopsis of the crime scene.