# David Angell

David Lawrence Angell (April 10, 1946 – September 11, 2001) was an American screenwriter and television producer, known for his work in sitcoms. He won multiple Emmy Awards as a Cheers writer and as the creator and executive producer of the sitcoms Wings and Frasier with Peter Casey and David Lee. Heading home from their vacation on Cape Cod, Angell and his wife, Lynn, were killed aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to hit the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks.

## Early life

Angell was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Henry and Mae (née Cooney) Angell. He received a bachelor's degree in English literature from Providence College. He married Lynn Edwards on August 14, 1971. Soon after Angell entered the U.S. Army upon graduation and served at the Pentagon until 1972. He then moved to Boston and worked as a methods analyst at an engineering company and later at an insurance firm in Rhode Island. His brother, the Most Rev. Kenneth Angell, was a Roman Catholic prelate and Bishop of Burlington, Vermont.

## Career

Angell moved to Los Angeles in 1977. His first script was sold to the producers of the Annie Flynn series. Five years later, he sold his second script, for the sitcom Archie Bunker's Place. In 1983, he joined Cheers as a staff writer. In 1985, Angell joined forces with Peter Casey and David Lee as Cheers supervising producers/writers. The trio received 37 Emmy Award nominations and won 24 Emmy Awards, including the above-mentioned for Frasier. They also won an Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy for Cheers, in 1989, which Angell, Casey, Lee and the series' other producers shared, and an Outstanding Writing/Comedy Emmy for Cheers, which Angell received in 1984. After working together as producers on Cheers, Angell, Casey and Lee formed Grub Street Productions. In 1990, they created and executive-produced the comedy series Wings.
Writing credits :
| Series | Episode | Air date |
| Archie Bunker's Place | "Barney Gets Laid Off" | November 28, 1982 (1982-11-28) |
| Archie Bunker's Place | "Relief Bartender" | January 23, 1983 (1983-1-23) |
| Cheers | "Pick a Con... Any Con" | February 24, 1983 (1983-2-24) |
| Cheers | "Someone Single, Someone Blue" | March 3, 1983 (1983-3-3) |
| Cheers | "Old Flames" | November 17, 1983 (1983-11-17) |
| Cheers | "They Called Me Mayday" | December 1, 1983 (1983-12-1) |
| Cheers | "Snow Job" | February 9, 1984 (1984-2-9) |
| Cheers | "Coach in Love: Part 1" | November 8, 1984 (1984-11-8) |
| Cheers | "Coach in Love: Part 2" | November 15, 1984 (1984-11-15) |
| Cheers | "Peterson Crusoe" | December 13, 1984 (1984-12-13) |
| Cheers | "Love Thy Neighbor" | November 21, 1985 (1985-11-21) |
| Cheers | "Dark Imaginings" | February 20, 1986 (1986-2-20) |
| Cheers | "Strange Bedfellows: Part 1" | May 1, 1986 (1986-5-1) |
| Cheers | "Strange Bedfellows: Part 2" | May 8, 1986 (1986-5-8) |
| Cheers | "Strange Bedfellows: Part 3" | May 15, 1986 (1986-5-15) |
| Cheers | "House of Horrors with Formal Dining and Used Brick" | October 30, 1986 (1986-10-30) |
| Cheers | "Chambers vs. Malone" | January 8, 1987 (1987-1-8) |
| Cheers | "The Crane Mutiny" | October 29, 1987 (1987-10-29) |
| Cheers | "How to Recede in Business" | October 27, 1988 (1988-10-27) |
| Cheers | "The Guy Can't Help It" | May 13, 1993 (1993-5-13) |
| Condo | "Members Only" | June 9, 1983 (1983-6-9) |
| Domestic Life | "Showdown at Walla Walla" | April 15, 1984 (1984-4-15) |
| Wings | "Legacy" | April 19, 1990 (1990-4-19) |
| Wings | "Return to Nantucket: Part 2" | May 10, 1990 (1990-5-10) |
| Wings | "Sports and Leisure" | October 19, 1990 (1990-10-19) |
| Wings | "Stew in a Stew" | January 23, 1992 (1992-1-23) |
| Wings | "The Gift: Part 1" | February 11, 1993 (1993-2-11) |
| Wings | "The Gift: Part 2" | February 18, 1993 (1993-2-18) |
| Frasier | "The Good Son" | September 16, 1993 (1993-9-16) |
| Frasier | "My Coffee with Niles" | May 19, 1994 (1994-5-19) |
| Frasier | "And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon" | October 24, 2000 (2000-10-24) |
| Encore! Encore! | "Pilot" | September 22, 1998 (1998-9-22) |

## Death

Angell and his wife Lynn died in the 2001 September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center in Manhattan. They were among the passengers of American Airlines Flight 11, who were all killed when the plane struck the North Tower of the complex.

## Legacy

The American Screenwriters Association awards the annual David Angell Humanitarian Award to any individual in the entertainment industry who contributes to global well-being through donations of time, expertise or other support to improve the human condition.
In 2004, The Angell Foundation of Los Angeles, California, awarded Providence College a gift of $2 million for the Smith Center for the Arts.
The two-part episode of Frasier to air after the attacks, "Don Juan in Hell" airing on September 25, 2001, ended with the memorial tribute, "In loving memory of our friends Lynn and David Angell". In "Goodnight, Seattle", the series finale that aired May 13, 2004, Niles Crane and Daphne Moon's son was born, named David in tribute.
At the National September 11 Memorial, Angell and his wife are memorialized at the North Pool, on Panel N-1, along with other passengers from Flight 11.