John Langley, Creator Of The TV Sequence 'Cops,' Dies In The Course Of Street Race In Mexico

 

John Langley, who was the creator of the long-running TV sequence "Cops," has died during a road race in Mexico, a family spokeswoman said.

Langley died in Baja, Mexico, of an obvious heart attack Saturday at some stage in the Coast to Coast Ensenada-San Felipe 250 off-road race, family spokeswoman Pam Golum said. He was 78.

"Cops" was amongst the first reality sequence on the air when it debuted in 1989, and it would emerge as an institution through 32 seasons. Langley and production accomplice Malcolm Barbour had shopped the idea for years, and discovered a home for it on the fledgling Fox network.

The exhibit was well-known for following police, from deputies in the Deep South to officers from large town police departments, on long, boring nights in patrol cars or in fevered foot chases.

Its quirks, including its regularly shirtless suspects and its reggae theme song "Bad Boys," were frequent fodder for standup comics and were often referenced in films, TV shows and songs.

It ran on Fox till 2013, when Viacom-owned Spike TV, later re-branded as The Paramount Network, picked it up.

It came under criticism for what was regarded a slanted, pro-police perspective, and was permanently pulled from the air by Paramount last year during global protests over the killing of George Floyd.

Langley was born in Oklahoma City and raised in Los Angeles. He graduated from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and served in the U.S. Army in the early 1960s.

Langley was additionally a producer on the 2009 movie "Brooklyn's Finest," directed via Antoine Fuqua and starring Richard Gere and Don Cheadle, and on the non-fiction series "Jail," "Vegas Strip" and "Anatomy of a Crime."

He was an off-road racing enthusiast and often drove in events like the one he took part in Saturday.

Langley is survived by his son and producing partner, Morgan, who oversees their company Langley Productions; another son, Zak; two daughters, Sara Langley Dews and Jennifer Blair; his wife, Maggie, and seven grandchildren.