Mort Briskin; Producer, Writer of Films, TV Shows

Mort Briskin, 87, producer and writer of such films as “Walking Tall” and such television series as “The Sheriff of Cochise.” Born in Oak Park, Ill., and educated at USC and Harvard and Northwestern law schools, Briskin worked into show business by practicing law and then managing such actors as Mickey Rooney. In the 1950s, he turned to writing and producing, writing screenplays for 16 of his 29 motion pictures. He also created nine television series and wrote about 300 scripts for the more than 1,300 segments he produced. Favoring dramas about crime, Briskin created such shows for the small screen as “Cochise,” also marketed under the title “U.S. Marshal,” from 1956 to 1960, and “The Walter Winchell File” in 1957-58 featuring Winchell narrating shows about crimes he had covered on New York’s police beat. For the large screen, in addition to “Walking Tall” in 1973, Briskin helped create such films as “The Jackie Robinson Story,” “Willard,” “Ben” and “Framed.” In 1978, he turned the story of “Walking Tall’s” real-life Buford Pusser, first portrayed on screen by actor Joe Don Baker, into a television movie, “A Real American Hero,” starring Brian Dennehy. On Saturday in Beverly Hills.