Stark Raving Love

Even at the tender age of 8 I just knew, knew, that it was Sammy Davis Jr. singing the theme to Baretta. I also just knew, knew, that in one episode that I was witnessing the the entire dynamic acting spectrum of star Robert Blake. Which wasn’t much. Nice touches, such as Baretta’s pet Cockatoo [...]

I remember one of the Harry O TV Movies better than the series itself. It seemed a shame to waste David Jansen on this series, since he was so good in The Fugitive. I always think of him as Dr. Richard Kimmel. I also liked him in O’Hara U.S. Treasury. This show only lasted for [...]

The show voted “most realistic” by police officers. A show that, the more you watched it, the fonder you grew of the characters. And not just the officers, but of the cantankerous and disheveled parade of criminals and other regulars. The final episode was heartwarming, in that each character expressed their affection for each other, [...]

This show was special because it was so close to home, and I’d seen most of the places in the show open. Plus it had the funk. Listen to them lay that wah wah down! With a real actor! Karl Malden. And Kirk Douglas’ kid. And the best guest stars! Also, where I picked up [...]

Or, don’t watch these detectives. For your own good. 1976 – 1977 Saturday morning live action kids programing from NBC. It is a wonder that they were able to keep their broadcasting license after this. This is as bad as it gets from the 70s. I know. I lived through it. Not much worse can [...]

My memory of Mike Conners as Mannix is that he reminded me of my Dad. An everyman. Been to war, no nonsense, physical, dark haired. I had forgotten that the first season of Mannix focused on his square peg / round hole setting working at a Detective Agency named Intertect. They relied heavily on computers [...]

If ever an actor could project more drama, or color a scene so esquisitely with his voice, it was William Conrad. He was the definitive Marshal Matt Dillion on the radio version of Gunsmoke. Ah, and the narrator for Rocky & Bullwinkle! Unfortunately, Conrad only had a face for radio. His series Cannon ran on [...]

If there’s one thing I remember about Burt Reynolds on TV (well, other than that he was a bad guy on Flipper and seeing him on Gunsmoke) is that guy could leap! I remember that my brother and I used to try to copy his keen slide in the church, at home  in our kitchen. [...]