STEVEN BOCHCO R.I.P.

My first reaction when I heard of Steven Bochco's death late yesterday was "No!" Though he'd been ill, in my mind he was such a solid presence, death seemed unimaginable. I was lucky enough to have known him just a bit. I worked for him several times, starting with the TV show L.A. Law and ending with NYPD Blue.

He was way at the top, and I was just a "Guest Star" on those shows (hit man John Dunham on the witness stand in a 1989 episode of L.A. Law, and a recurring role as artist and murder witness Walter Hoyt on NYPD Blue in '96 and '97, and in 1999 in a different recurring role as Dennis Franz's character's AA sponsor, but I ended up leaving L.A. and going back to my origins in New Jersey, so they had to write a scene where Franz calls my character and then says something like "Whaddaya mean he moved to New Jersey?").

I don't remember seeing him on set, though I may have, but I did spend a day at the races with him, as a guest of one of his proteges and co-creators of NYPD Blue, and my then good friend, David Milch, and ran into him at other "Hollywood" gatherings. From those interactions, I remember him as unpretentious, self contained, and just a nice, decent guy. He never seemed like he was even aware of his stature as a giant and genius in the history of TV. Though I'm sure he was, since he was obviously a very smart guy.

My condolences to his family, and many friends, and fans.