# Michael Sloan (television writer)
**Michael Sloan** (1946–2025) was an American television writer and producer best known as co-creator of the CBS action series *The Equalizer* (1985), which he later developed into a feature film franchise starring [Denzel Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/denzel-washington) and a reboot series starring [Queen Latifah](https://www.edgepedia.org/queen-latifah). Over a career spanning the 1970s to the 2020s he wrote and produced for series including *Columbo*, *McCloud*, *Quincy, M.E.*, *Battlestar Galactica*, and *Kung Fu: The Legend Continues*, and received one Primetime Emmy nomination.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/michael-sloan) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0805994)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | Born 1946 in New York, New York; died August 13, 2025, in New York City, aged 78[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/michael-sloan) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0805994) |
| Signature creation | Co-creator (with Richard Lindheim) of *The Equalizer*, which premiered on CBS in 1985 and ran four seasons with Edward Woodward as Robert McCall[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/michael-sloan) • [3](https://precincttv.com/2021/02/19/history-the-equalizer-queen-latifah/) |
| Franchise producer | Producer of the Denzel Washington films *The Equalizer* (2014), *The Equalizer 2* (2018), and *The Equalizer 3* (2023), and producer of the Queen Latifah reboot series[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/michael-sloan) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/michael_sloan) |
| Emmy nomination | Outstanding Drama Series, 1978, for *Quincy* (NBC)[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/michael-sloan) |
| Notable episode | *Columbo*: "Now You See Him" (1976), starring Jack Cassidy, described as the only episode of the series ever assigned to a freelance writer[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/michael-sloan) • [5](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html) |
| Family | Married actress Melissa Sue Anderson in 1990; children Piper and Griffin[6](https://encyclopedia-loadbalancer-1-1782916326.us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/sloan-michael-1946) |
| Books | *The Equalizer* novels (2014, 2018, 2021) and the memoir *One More Thing, Sir . . .* (2019)[5](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html) |
## Early life and family
Sloan was born into a show business family. His grandfather, Fred Stone, was a vaudeville performer who created the role of the [Scarecrow](https://www.edgepedia.org/scarecrow) in *The Wizard of Oz* on Broadway in 1902. His parents, Paula Stone and Michael Sloane, were stage producers whose Broadway shows in the 1940s and 1950s included *The Red Mill*, *Top Banana*, and *Rumple*. His cousins included the character actor [Keenan Wynn](https://www.edgepedia.org/keenan-wynn) and [Milburn Stone](https://www.edgepedia.org/milburn-stone), who played Doc Adams on *Gunsmoke*.[5](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html) An Encyclopedia.com profile gives his father as Michael Nelson Sloan and his mother as Paula Stone, both theatrical producers.[6](https://encyclopedia-loadbalancer-1-1782916326.us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/sloan-michael-1946)
While living in England, Sloan wrote and produced three features, *Hunted*, *Assassin*, and *Moments*, distributed by Columbia/Warner Bros. He also sold a script to the Universal series *Columbo* while still in England, and returned to the United States in 1974.[5](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html)
## Television career
After returning to the United States, Sloan wrote seven episodes of the Warner Bros. series *Harry O* starring [David Janssen](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-janssen), then took his first studio job at Universal Studios working for producer Glen Larson. There he wrote and produced *McCloud* starring [Dennis Weaver](https://www.edgepedia.org/dennis-weaver), *Quincy* starring [Jack Klugman](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-klugman), *The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries*, the miniseries *Evening in Byzantium*, *Sword of Justice*, the original *Battlestar Galactica*, and *B.J. and the Bear*. His Emmy nomination came for his work on *Quincy*.[5](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html) • [1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/michael-sloan)
His *Columbo* episode "Now You See Him," starring [Jack Cassidy](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-cassidy) as a magician, aired in 1976 and is described by the Television Academy as widely considered one of the greatest episodes in the show's history.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/michael-sloan)
In the 1980s and 1990s Sloan moved between studios. At MTM he wrote and produced *Riviera*, directed by [John Frankenheimer](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-frankenheimer), and created *The Master*, starring [Lee Van Cleef](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-van-cleef) and Timothy Van Patten. Back at Universal he wrote and produced *The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.* television movie with [Robert Vaughn](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-vaughn), David McCallum, and Patrick Macnee, and three television movies based on *The Six Million Dollar Man* and *The Bionic Woman*. Before leaving Universal a second time he produced 41 new episodes of the revived *Alfred Hitchcock Presents*, most of which he also wrote, casting actors including Lindsay Wagner, Melissa Sue Anderson, Edward Woodward, and Jean Simmons.[5](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html)
Later credits include 88 episodes of *Kung Fu: The Legend Continues* for Warner Bros. Television starring [David Carradine](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-carradine), the television movies *Earthquake in New York* and *Freefall*, and the [Hallmark Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/hallmark-channel) *Mystery Woman* series, which he created and which ran as ten television movies. In Canada he wrote and produced *Call of the Wild* for Animal Planet and features including *Alien Agent* and *The Art of War II: Betrayal*.[5](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0805994)
## The Equalizer
Sloan's defining project began with a treatment by Richard Lindheim. According to the Ninth Circuit opinion in *Shaw v. Lindheim*, in 1982 Sloan expanded Lindheim's treatment, and the revised version became the pilot script for the series, which CBS began broadcasting in 1985.[8](https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/59148989add7b04934503fba/amp) The show starred [Edward Woodward](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-woodward) as Robert McCall, a former covert intelligence officer who helps desperate people, and ran four seasons.[3](https://precincttv.com/2021/02/19/history-the-equalizer-queen-latifah/)
The property grew into a franchise across three media. Sloan produced the Columbia Pictures film *The Equalizer* (2014), directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington, which he reported had earned over $220,000,000 at the worldwide box office, followed by *The Equalizer 2* (2018) and *The Equalizer 3* (2023).[5](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/michael_sloan) He also produced the 2021 CBS reboot starring Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/michael-sloan) After the original series was canceled, Sloan found he retained the underlying rights, including novel rights, and turned to fiction: *The Equalizer* was published by St. Martin's Press in 2014, *Killed in Action* in 2018, and *Equalizer: Requiem* in 2021.[5](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html) • [9](https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781427239273/theequalizer/)
## Personal life and later years
Sloan married actress Melissa Sue Anderson, known for *Little House on the Prairie*, in 1990; they had two children, Piper and Griffin.[6](https://encyclopedia-loadbalancer-1-1782916326.us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/sloan-michael-1946) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0805994) He became a naturalized Canadian citizen and served as president of the television films' jury of the Television Festival of Monte Carlo.[7](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0805994/bio/) His thriller play *Underground*, starring Raymond Burr, opened at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto and was later mounted in the West End of London.[5](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html) In July 2019 Bear Manor Media published his memoir, *One More Thing, Sir . . . : The Musings of a Television Writer-Producer*.[5](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html) He died on August 13, 2025, in New York City.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0805994)
## References
1. [Michael Sloan, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/michael-sloan)
2. [Michael Sloan (1946–2025), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0805994)
3. [Discover the history behind The Equalizer series before Queen Latifah's new show, Precinct TV](https://precincttv.com/2021/02/19/history-the-equalizer-queen-latifah/)
4. [Michael Sloan Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/michael_sloan)
5. [A Brief Professional Biography, michael-sloan-equalizer.com](https://www.michael-sloan-equalizer.com/biography.html)
6. [Sloan, Michael 1946–, Encyclopedia.com](https://encyclopedia-loadbalancer-1-1782916326.us-west-2.elb.amazonaws.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/sloan-michael-1946)
7. [Michael Sloan Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0805994/bio/)
8. [Shaw v. Lindheim, No. 88-6677, 9th Cir., CaseMine](https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/59148989add7b04934503fba/amp)
9. [The Equalizer, Macmillan](https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781427239273/theequalizer/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Producers, studio executives, and showrunners › Television producers and showrunners › Drama series showrunners*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license