This prolific television producer and writer of the 1980s and 90s has a penchant for hard-hitting urban drama and teen-oriented adventure fare which attempt to get new mileage out of established formulas. Formerly an advertising copywriter and producer, Wolf created over 100 commercials in the early 70s, launching into the nation's collective memory such catchphrases as "You can't beat Crest for fighting cavities" and the less than subtle "I'm Cheryl, fly me" for National Airlines. He turned his attention for a decade to screenwriting in 1976, but although many of his creations were picked up or financed by major studios, only a few saw the light of day as finished films.
Experienced at producing TV ads, Wolf doubled in a similar capacity by producing a feature film, "Skateboard" (1978), a minor but amiable teen-oriented flick with some charm to its original premise. Wolf fared less well with "Gas" (1981), which hoped to speak to the recurring fuel shortages of the day but seemed to occupy itself primarily with car crashes. Wolf began making an impact in the world of TV when he joined NBC's "Hill Street Blues" in 1985 during its last few seasons as an executive script consultant. This was also the period in which he gave up 'Richard Wolf' and 'Richard A. Wolf', moving to the more casual 'Dick Wolf' for his producing and screenwriting credits. His return to feature films first saw another promising script idea go bust with "No Man's Land" (1987), but Wolf enjoyed considerably more success with "Masquerade" (1988), a tantalizingly plotted and stylishly executed suspense story in the Hitchcock tradition.
Wolf formed a production company, Wolf Films, and has subsequently worked mostly in TV production. (The most notable exception was his screenplay for 1992's well-intentioned teen drama "School Ties".) At first, he continued in the mystery vein of his most acclaimed feature, creating enjoyable installments of both "Gideon Oliver", starring Louis Gossett Jr, and "Christine Cromwell", toplining Jaclyn Smith, for ABC's weekly mystery movies.
Wolf's biggest success of this period was a genuine phenomenon: "Law & Order" (NBC, 1990- ), an adult crime drama series featuring good acting and mature writing. It, too, relied on some well-established genre conventions as its bipartite structure first showed the piecing together of the case by police and then its litigation in the courts. The series was a surprise winner of the 1997 Best Drama Series Emmy and the series racked up an impressive roster of nominatations and trophies for its regular and guest actors. Even more impressive, the series survived the departures of its original castmembers--including Michael Moriarity, Chris Noth and George Dzunda--and managed to introduce actors as characters that proved equally or more popular, including Benjamin Bratt, Angie Harmon, Jill Hennessy, Jesse L. Martin, Elizabeth Rohm, Dennis Farina and two that long served as the heart and soul of the long-running series: Sam Waterston as Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy and Jerry Orbach as Det. Lennie Briscoe (the show also survived the ill-fitting and short lived addition of major name stars such as Paul Sorvino and Dianne Weist).
The success of "Law & Order" and Wolf's dependable track record enabled him to launch a seemingly endless progression of new series--his resume includes such short-lived efforts as the sci-fi cop drama "Mann & Machine" (NBC, 1992), the medical drama "The Human Factor" (CBS, 1992), the criminal/victim P.O.V. crime drama "Crime & Punishment" (NBC, 1993), the spy series "South Beach" (NBC, 1993), the courtroom drama "The Wright Verdicts" (CBS, 1995), "Swift Justice" (UPN, 1996), the gangster series "Feds" (CBS, 1997), the ensemble urban crime adventure "Players" (NBC, 1997), the well-regarded invesitgative journalism drama "Deadline" (NBC, 2000), the youthful political potboiler "D.C." (The WB, 2000), the syndicated reality series documenting real life court room dramas "Arrest & Trial" (2000), another reality series recycling the title "Crime & Punishment" (NBC. 2002-2004) and a remake of the classic cop series "L.A. Dragnet" (ABC, 2002-2003; USA, 2003-2004). The only series to catch on, albeit briefly, was Wolf's "New York Undercover" (Fox, 1994-1998), about a squad of young police detectives from a Harlem precinct assigned to an elite undercover unit in downtown Manhattan where standard police procedures do not apply.
Where the producer was incredibly successful was in his efforts to turn "Law & Order" into a full-fledged franchise. The first inklings of the broader possibilities came with the highly rated TV movie "Law & Order: Exiled" (NBC, 1998) in which Chris Noth reprised his role as Det. Mike Logan. The network wisely tapped Wolf to create a spin-off series titled "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999 - ) , following the tried-and-true formula but focusing on sex crimes, which hit big with viewers and made stars out of leads Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni and brought on Richard Belzer as Det. Munch, his character from another NBC crime drama, "Homicide: Life on the Streets." Next was the equally well-rated "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (NBC, 2001 - ), viewing the justice system from the criminal's point of view, starring Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Jamey Sheridan and Courtney B. Vance (Noth would return again as Det. Logan, joining Annabella Sciorra as the leads beginning in the 2005 season). The first spin-off effort to flop was "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (NBC, 2005), focusing on the jury system, despite starring Bebe Neuwirth and bringing on original series regular Fred Dalton Thompson. Orbach was originally supposed to bring the Briscoe character over to the new series, but the production was forced to deal with the actor's unexpected death just premiere to the series' launch. Despite the disappointing first season cancellation, Wolf planned to recycle the sets from that show for a new series following assistant district attorneys in New York that will debut most likely in the 2006 season as a more character-driven, youth-oriented show.