Stefanie Kowal, who oversaw made-for-television movies and miniseries at Universal Television during the late 1970s and early 1980s, died January 26, 2011. She was 69.
According to news reports, the cause was lung cancer.
During her tenure at Universal, Kowal guided development, sales and production of such long-form productions as the James Michener miniseries Centennial, Off the Minnesota Strip, Little Women and Harvest Home. She also produced the 1986 Showtime movie Slow Burn.
In 1982, Kowal served as the production executive on the CBS documentary special E.T. and Friends: Magical Movie Visitors, which starred Robin Williams. She also developed and produced numerous primetime series at Universal, including 1984’s The Four Seasons, with Alan Alda.
Kowal left Universal in 1986, after which she devoted time to mentoring aspiring artists and young filmmakers. She also worked as a consultant on various television projects, mainly with her husband, longtime television director-producer Stephen Cragg. More recently, she wrote comics books as Stefanie Cragg.
She was born Diana Stefanie Staffin in Chicago. In the late 1960s, she worked for the syndicated advice columnist Ann Landers at the Chicago Sun-Times, and eventually wrote and produced Landers’ daily radio program on NBC.
Kowal then moved to Chicago O&O WLS-TV and launched the magazine show AM Chicago, starring Steve Edwards, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1976.
In addition to her husband, survivors include two sisters and a brother.