Dallas and Knots Landing creator David Jacobs dies, aged 84

While the writer had battled Alzheimer’s over the years, his son said that it was a series of infections that led to his death.

Born on 12th August 1939 in Baltimore, Jacobs started out penning nonfiction books and magazine articles before switching to a TV career.

Jacobs wrote episodes of series including Chicago Story, The Blue Knight and Family, before going on to create Dallas and its spinoff Knots Landing.

Dallas debuted in 1978 and went on to air for 357 episodes over 14 seasons before wrapping in 1991, making it the longest-running series at the time.

The series was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in 1980 and 1981.

Its reboot series of the same name later aired on Channel 5 from 2012 to 2014.

Meanwhile, the spinoff Knots Landing debuted in 1979 and ran for 14 seasons and 344 episodes.

Jacobs admitted that he penned the first five episodes of Dallas without ever visiting the city, saying: "I thought, 'Well, I’ll just write it. I don’t have time to get away, so I’ll just write it very stereotypically — with stereotypes — and then I’ll go and visit and pull it back. And then I went to Dallas and realised I had to take it way'."

"There is something about Dallas and about the people in Dallas that I can only describe as extravagant, but not ostentatious," he added.

Talking about why he believed the series was so popular, he said “Dallas represents the beginning of an era which is ending this year in 2008 in which all of our values as a people have been terribly screwed up. I think Dallas was trying — at least in my head and heart — to show that. It was never trying to glorify that world.”

Jacobs also served as executive producer on Homefront and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, both of which bagged him Emmy nominations.

He is survived by his son Aaron, his daughter Molly, his wife Diana, his daughter Albyn Hall from a previous marriage, and two grandchildren.