Obituary: David Angell

Television writer. Died aged 54

David Angell was a writer on the long-running American television comedy series Cheers, about life in a Boston bar.

Realising that one of the Cheers characters in particular deserved a comedy series on his own, Angell moved Frasier Crane the psychiatrist to Seattle and gave him a radio show and called the show, simply, Frasier.

The character, played by Kelsey Grammer, became one of the best-loved figures in America.

Angell who lived in Pasadena, California, and was executive producer on the show, died with his wife Lynn when American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles became the first plane to hit the World Trade Center.

His colleagues Peter Casey and David Lee, who worked with him on the comedy Wings, paid tribute:

"He was a kind and gentle man with a quiet exterior that masked one of the sharpest comedy minds ever to write for television," they said.

"His fingerprints are all over some of the funniest moments in Cheers, Wings and Frasier."

Paramount, which produced Frasier, said the company was devastated.

The company added that Angell would be missed for his "grace, humour and talent".

Production of the series has been suspended.