Nicholas Corea
American, 1943-1999
Untitled
Oil on canvas
Signed lower left and dated 1969. A seated pair of post-Cubist style figures with Egyptian-inspired animorphic figures in the background.

Corea was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He enlisted in the United States Marines during the Vietnam War, was awarded the Purple Heart and reached the rank of Sergeant before being honorably discharged. His squad called him “Papa” since he was the oldest at 21. Shortly thereafter, he returned to his hometown to join the University City, Missouri Police Department. While in the military, he was an active contributor to Stars and Stripes and later wrote the police novel A Cleaner Breed in 1974.

Following the success of his first book, Corea entered the television industry as a writer and producer. His first scripts were for police dramas Police Woman (1974), Baa Baa Black Sheep (1976) and Kingston: Confidential (1977). His first regular writing job was for western series The Oregon Trail. However, he found his first major success at Universal Studios as writer, director and producer of The Incredible Hulk from 1978 to 1981.

After the series' end, he wrote and directed the 1981 television movie The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire. The movie was intended to be a pilot for a regular television series and, although broadcast on NBC, it was better received outside the United States where it "received some theatrical exposure" under the title The Archer and the Sorceress.

He was also the supervising producer for Gavilian and a writer for The Renegades (1983), Airwolf (1984) and Street Hawk (1985). He was also the writer and executive producer for J.O.E. and the Colonel, another television movie, in 1985. A year later, he wrote, produced and directed a short-lived western-themed science fiction series, Outlaws, in 1986. The pilot proved popular with viewers, being one of the most watched shows the week it aired, however ratings quickly dwindled as poor promotion and its placement in the Saturday night "graveyard" slot led to its eventual cancellation by CBS at the end of its first season. Two of its stars, Rod Taylor and Charles Napier, had been cast members of The Oregon Trail and the final episode featured clips from that show as part of a "flashback" episode of how the characters first met.
44 x 56 in. (111.76 x 142.24 cm.)