William Link

American screenwriter and producer (1933–2020)
the politician

William Theodore Link (December 15, 1933 – December 27, 2020) was an American film and television screenwriter and producer who often worked in collaboration with Richard Levinson.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, William Link was the son of Elsie (née Roerecke) and William Theodore Link, a textile broker. His mother had German Huguenot heritage. Link discovered late in life that his father's parents were Jewish. Link's niece, Amy, examined a suitcase William Theodore had left to his son, which they had kept in their attic. She opened it in 2011 and it turned out to contain genealogical research and evidence done by William Theodore during World War II. Amy had discovered that Link's paternal grandparents were Jewish. Link earned a degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business prior to serving in the United States Army from 1956 to 1958.

William Link and Richard Levinson met on their first day of junior high school. Each had enjoyed doing magic tricks and other students repeatedly mentioned to each of them that they should meet. They began writing together soon after. In high school, they created radio scripts. While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, they wrote film criticism for the college newspapers. Some of their short stories were published in Playboy. The character of Columbo was first introduced by Link and Levinson in a 1960 episode of The Chevy Mystery Show. For the Jessica Fletcher character they created in 1983 when CBS contacted them to create a new mystery TV show, they found inspiration in a mix of Agatha Christie and her Miss Marple character. At first, they wanted Jean Stapleton for the role, but she ended up declining the offer.

The William Link Theatre on the campus of California State University, Long Beach, is named after Link in honor of his work and donation of plays.