TV writer and co-creator of soap opera ‘The Colbys’ dies in Los Angeles at 84

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – William Bast, a TV writer who co-created the 1980s “Dynasty” spin-off “The Colbys” during a four-decade career, has died. He was 84.

His friend, Niki Marvin, tells the Los Angeles Times that Bast died on May 4 at a Los Angeles care facility from Alzheimer’s disease.

Bast wrote for numerous TV shows and received an Emmy nomination for his 1977 adaptation of “The Man in the Iron Mask.” He also wrote the movies “The Betsy” and “The Valley of Gwangi.”

Bast also was known for his close relationship to actor James Dean. His biography of Dean was published in 1956, a year after the actor died in a car crash.

He wrote and co-produced a 1976 Dean biopic and wrote a second book, “Surviving James Dean,” in 2006.