http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/arts/television/ernest-kinoy-a-writer-of-tvs-roots-dies-at-89.html 2014-11-15 06:02:13 Ernest Kinoy, a Writer of TV’s ‘Roots,’ Dies at 89 Mr. Kinoy wrote television scripts that ranged from “Playhouse 90” presentations to “Victory at Entebbe.” === Ernest Kinoy The cause was renal failure, said his son, Daniel. Mr. Kinoy began writing for NBC Radio in the late 1940s and moved to NBC Television as the medium expanded in the 1950s. He sometimes freelanced for other networks and mainly wrote for live anthology shows like “Studio One” and “Playhouse 90.” In 1962 he adapted Mark Harris’s novel “Something About a Soldier” into a Broadway play with the same title. It gave Sal Mineo his first starring role on Broadway. Mr. Kinoy also wrote the book for the Broadway musicals “Bajour” (1964) and “Golden Rainbow” (1968). Mr. Kinoy (pronounced kin-OY) wrote for television series like “Naked City” and “The Defenders,” the hit CBS drama that starred E. G. Marshall and Robert Reed as a father-son legal team. He won the Emmy for outstanding writing achievement in drama in 1964 for “Blacklist,” a “Defenders” episode starring Jack Klugman as a blacklisted actor. During the 1970s Mr. Kinoy wrote screenplays for the theatrical films “Brother John” (1971) and “Buck and the Preacher” (1972), both starring Sidney Poitier, and the television movie “Victory at Entebbe” (1976), which came out months after Israel’s Mr. Kinoy worked closely with William Blinn, the head writer, on “Roots,” the wildly successful ABC adaptation of the Alex Haley historical novel. For a time Mr. Kinoy worried that the network might never broadcast the program, which followed a black family from enslavement in Africa through the Civil War. “I didn’t think they’d put it on,” he said in an “Roots,” shown on eight consecutive nights in 1977, became one of the most-watched television programs ever. Mr. Kinoy shared an Emmy with Mr. Blinn for their work on the second installment. Mr. Kinoy was also the head writer for the 1979 sequel, “Roots: The Next Generations.” Mr. Kinoy was born to Albert Kinoy and the former Sarah Forstadt in New York City on April 1, 1925. He graduated from the Fieldston School in the Bronx and was drafted into the Army during He served in the 106th Infantry Division and was taken prisoner after the Battle of the Bulge. He threw away his dog tags, which identified him as Jewish, but the Germans still sent him to a slave labor camp with other Jewish prisoners of war. He later wrote a television play based on the experience, “Walk Down the Hill” (1957). After returning from the war, Mr. Kinoy graduated from Columbia University, where he wrote stage plays. He landed a job with NBC soon after college. His wife of 58 years, the former Barbara Powers, died in 2007. Mr. Kinoy was the president of the His other notable scripts include In addition to his son, Mr. Kinoy, who lived in Williamsville, Vt., is survived by a daughter, Judith Kinoy; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.