John Langley, creator of "Cops", has passed away.Variety was informed by Langley's representatives that he died Saturday from an apparent heart attack. This happened while Langley was participating in an off-road race... and actually was on the track. According to reports, he was at the time with his son Zak.His most prominent role is clearly as the man behind the FOX crime-fighting reality series, which aired 32 seasons, and more than a thousand episodes, between 1989 and 2020. After George Floyd's death, social unrest caused the cancellation of the series last year.Before that, however, "Cops" was a cultural success and many say it served to be a blueprint for future reality TV shows. It IS reality television, even though it sounds crazy. But not in the same way that we are used to seeing it. Langley was an innovator in this subgenre.JL was also involved in other law enforcement-related shows and projects over the years, including EP titles for series such as "Jail," Vegas Strip," "Undercover Steings," and "Las Vegas Jailhouse," and "The Tony Rock Project." Also, there were many spin-offs of "The Amazing Video Collection," which surfaced in late '90s.He was also involved in movies and made for TV documentaries, such as "Brooklyn's Finest", "Leaves of Grass,"" "Tiptoes," Hollywood Vice," Wildside," and "American Expose : Who Murdered JFK?" His first project on-camera from 1983, "Cocaine Blues."Langley was a TV veteran who won the American Television Award as well as four Emmys for his work with "Cops". His wife Maggie and their three children are his survivors.He was 78.
