'Frasier' Producer Among Hijack Victims

Sept. 12, 2001 -- Among the 266 people killed aboard the four commercial planes that were hijacked in Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the United States were CNN analyst Barbara Olson and David Angell, co-creator of the sitcom Frasier.

Writer/producer David Angell, who co-created Frasier and Wings with partners Peter Casey and David Lee, was a passenger, along with wife Lynn, on American Airlines Flight 11. The Los Angeles-bound American Airlines flight was hijacked after departing Boston and crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York.

A native of Rhode Island, Angell joined Cheers in 1983 as a staff writer. He had been with Paramount Network Television ever since. Angell hooked up with Casey and Lee in 1985 and the trio became supervising producers on the hit comedy.

Angell, Casey and Lee then formed Grub Street Productions, which created Wings, the NBC comedy that spent seven years on the network. After Cheers ended its run in 1993, the three were tapped to create and executive-produce Frasier, a spinoff of Cheers.

Grub Street disbanded in the late 1990s, after Lee opted to focus on theater. Angell and Casey had been working on new projects together.

Casey and Lee were stunned by the news of the Angells' deaths.

"David Angell was not only our partner, but also our friend for the past 16 years," they said in a statement. "He was a kind and gentle man with a quiet exterior that masked one of the sharpest comedy minds ever to write for television. We join their family and other friends in mourning their passing."

Daniel C. Lewin, the co-founder and chief technology officer of Akamai Technologies, was also on board American Airlines Flight 11. Lewin founded the Internet-content delivery and streaming media company in September 1998 with Tom Leighton and a group of MIT scientists and business professionals. As CTO, Lewin oversaw Akamai's research and development strategy.

Olson Called Husband From Hijacked Plane

Olson, an attorney and news commentator who often appeared on CNN and other networks, was aboard American Airlines Flight 77. The plane was en route from Washington Dulles Airport to Los Angeles, but was commandeered by terrorists and crashed into the Pentagon.

Olson placed two phone calls from the plane to her husband, U.S. Solicitor General Theordore Olson, telling him that hijackers armed with knives and cardboard cutters herded passengers and crew — including the pilot — toward the back of the plane.

"What should I tell the pilots to do?" Olson asked her husband, according to CNN.

Mr. Olson, who reportedly called the command center at the Justice Department to relay the information, told CNN his wife had planned to fly Monday, but delayed her travel because she wanted to be with him on the morning of his birthday, which was Tuesday.

"She was on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon," he said. "She called from the plane while it was being hijacked. I wish it wasn't so, but it is."

Barbara Olson was a former federal prosecutor and served as chief investigative counsel to the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, where she investigated the Clinton administration "Travelgate" scandal.

As legal analyst and commentator, she appeared on CNN, Fox News, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNBC and MSNBC.