Chuck Adamson

For the ice hockey player, see Chuck Adamson (ice hockey). For other people with a similar name, see Charles Adamson (disambiguation).

Chuck Adamson
Born	Charles Fredrick Adamson (1936-06-11)June 11, 1936 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	February 22, 2008(2008-02-22) (aged 71) Roseburg, Oregon, U.S.
Occupations	Police officer, screenwriter, television producer, actor
Years active	1958–1974 (police officer) 1981–1996 (filmmaker)

Charles Fredrick Adamson (June 11, 1936 – February 22, 2008) was an American police officer, screenwriter, television producer, and actor. He served with the Chicago Police Department as a detective sergeant from 1958 to 1974. He later worked as a technical advisor to filmmaker Michael Mann, and created the television series Crime Story, which Mann produced.

Biography

Law enforcement

Adamson joined the Chicago Police Department in the late 1950s. He served in the Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) as a detective sergeant until 1974. One of his best-known cases, involving a habitual thief named Neil McCauley, was the basis for the 1995 film Heat.

After retiring from law enforcement, he worked for Allstate insurance.

Film and television

Adamson met Michael Mann in the late 1970s, when the latter was working as a writer on the television series Police Story. Mann hired Adamson as a technical advisor for his feature directorial debut Thief (1981). Adamson helped secure the involvement of several real-life police officers and criminals to appear in the film for added authenticity, including his former partner Dennis Farina, and appeared in the film as a mob henchman. He later worked in a similar capacity on Beverly Hills Cop (1984).

Mann later hired Adamson to write episodes of Miami Vice. Adamson then created the critically-acclaimed television crime drama Crime Story, also produced by Mann, for which he won a People's Choice Award. He advised on Mann's film Heat (1995), based on his 1964 McCauley case.

Additionally, Mann also made acting appearances in two films for Robert Redford — A River Runs Through It (1992) and Quiz Show (1994) — and in the 1994 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand. He was also featured on a 1992 episode of the television documentary Top Cops.

Later life and death

He lived in Las Vegas for many years, before retiring to Roseburg, Oregon. He wrote a book, The Toughest Cop in America, in 2001.

Adamson died in 2008 from lung cancer at age 71. Michael Mann's 2009 film Public Enemies was dedicated to his memory.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Thief	Ancell	Also technical advisor
1984	Beverly Hills Cop	Crate Opener
1992	A River Runs Through It	Harry
1994	Quiz Show	Congressman Mack
1995	Heat	—N/a	Technical advisor

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984-86	Miami Vice	—N/a	Writer; 4 episodes
1986-87	Crime Story	Sugarman, Nick Aeillo	Creator Writer; 19 episodes Exec. story editor; 7 episodes Coordinating producer Actor; 2 episodes
1992	Top Cops	Himself	Episode S3.E8
1994	The Stand	Barry Dorgan	Miniseries

External links

• Chuck Adamson at IMDb