TV by the Decade :: October 13•19

Desilu Productions

The second week of October yielded very little in the way of new and memorable programming, but this particular week did produce one long-running, classic TV series from Desilu Productions that wasn’t I Love Lucy. Let’s take a look and see if you remember any of this week’s new series.

1959

October 15 — Crime drama The Untouchables debuts on ABC, based on the memoir of Prohibition agent Eliot Ness, played in the series by Robert Stack. The series fictionalized Ness’ experiences as an agent fighting crime in Chicago in the 1930s with his team, handpicked for their courage, moral character and incorruptibility. The two-part pilot for the series, which was more-or-less faithful to Ness’ memoir, aired on CBS’ Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse and the network, which aired most of Desilu’s output, was offered the series after the success of the pilot. The network passed and ABC picked up the series which then established Frank Nitti as Chicago’s new crime boss after the arrest of Al Capone in the pilot (contrary to actual events). The series became more fictionalized as Ness’ team went up against Ma Barker, Dutch Schultz, Legs Diamond, Lucky Luciano and even Nazi agents. The series drew harsh criticism from Italian-Americans, including Frank Sinatra, for its negative stereotypes of them as mobsters. The character of Agent Rico Rossi was added to the team in the first season to counterbalance the criticism. A protest by The Federation of Italian-American Democratic Organizations outside ABC’s New York headquarters resulted in Liggett & Nyers Tobacco Company dropping its sponsorship of the show four days later. The following week, Desi Arnaz, ABC and the Italian-American League to Combat Defamation issued a memo stating there would be no further fictional hoodlums with Italian names, the Rossi character would be featured more, and the Italian-American community would be seen as a force for helping curtail crime. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover also objected to the scripts in which the Prohibition agents were shown carrying out cases that would have come under the FBI. The show was also known for its unusually extreme violence and honest depictions of drug addiction which the National Association for Better Radio and Television declared was ‘not fit for the television screen’. In addition to Stack, the cast included Abel Fernandez, Nicholas Georgiade, Paul Picerni and Steve London. Other Untouchables that didn’t last past the pilot or first season included Jerry Paris and Keenan Wynn. Recurring Untouchables cast members included Raymond Bailey, Barbara Nichols, Dane Clark, Barbara Stanwyck and Ed Asner. Actors appearing as gangsters included Nehemiah Persoff, Lloyd Nolan, Harry Morgan, Neville Brand, John Beradino, and Henry Silva. Other guest stars included Richard Anderson, Michael Ansara, Jim Backus, Martin Balsam, William Bendix, Whit Bissell, Joan Blondell, Charles Bronson, James Caan, James Coburn, Mike Connors, Robert Duvall, Peter Falk, Louise Fletcher, Anne Francis, Brian Keith, George Kennedy, Jack Klugman, Martin Landau, Cloris Leachman, Jack Lord, Lee Marvin, Elizabeth Montgomery, Vic Morror, Patricia Neal, Leslie Nielsen, Leonard Nimoy, Carroll O’Connor, Susan Oliver, Robert Redford, Madlyn Rhue, Cliff Robertson, Telly Savalas, Rip Torn, Lee Van Cleef, Jack Warden and David White. The show was narrated by New York gossip columnist Walter Winchell. Arnaz had originally offered the Ness role to Van Johnson, who had made a guest appearance on I Love Lucy, but Johnson’s wife and manager rejected the original offer and demanded double the salary. Arnaz refused and Stack got the role. Several episodes were combined and released as theatrical films including the pilot, titled The Scarface Mob, The Alcatraz Express (from ‘The Big Train’), and The Gun of Zangara (from ‘Unhired Assassin’). A feature film starring Kevin Costner as Ness was released in 1987, which spawned a second, less successful TV series in 1993. Stack returned to the role of Ness for NBC’s TV movie The Return of Eliot Ness which was set in 1947 and featured Ness investigating the death of an Untouchables agent. Despite all of the controversy surround the show, it ran for four seasons and produced 118 episodes in addition to the two-part pilot. The final episode was broadcast on May 21, 1963.
October 16 — Crime drama The Detectives (aka The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor and Robert Taylor’s Detectives) debuts on ABC. Movie star Robert Taylor portrayed Detective Captain Matt Holbrook, head of an elite police investigative unit in an unnamed, major U.S. city. Each man in Holbrook’s squad was handpicked from a different division and were played by Tige Andrews, Lee Farr and Russell Thorson. Farr was replaced by Mark Goddard in the second season, and Adam West joined in the third and final season, which found the series moving to NBC. Gene Roddenberry was a contributing writer on the series. Guest stars included Ellen Burstyn, Dyan Cannon, James Coburn, Yvonne Craig, Robert Culp, Donna Douglas, Eva Gabor, Frank Gorshin, Martin Landau, Vera Miles, Jay North, Jerry Paris, Pernell Roberts, Edward G. Robinson, Dawn Wells and William Windom. The series produced 97 episodes with the last broadcast on May 18, 1962.

1969

No new series premiered this week in 1969.

1979

No new series premiered this week in 1979.

1989

October 13 — Crime drama Mancuso, F.B.I. debuts on NBC. Robert Loggia starred as Nick Mancuso, a hardened FBI vet now assigned to Washington DC, regarded by his superiors as a maverick with little regard for the agency’s rules and regulations. The press release stated Mancuso had ‘a passionate love affair with the United States Constitution’ and a desire to see genuine justice rather than just the appearance of it. Loggia had portrayed the character the previous season in the political miniseries Favorite Son which starred Harry Hamlin. Unfortunately, it seems the high ratings for that were due to Hamlin, not Loggia, resulting in the cancellation of the series after 20 episodes. Loggia, however, did earn an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Dramatic Series. The regular cast also included Charles Siebert and Lindsay Frost. The final episode aired on April 24, 1990, but NBC ran select episodes as part of its summer lineup in 1993.

1999

October 15 — Crime drama Ryan Caulfield: Year One debuts on FOX. The show’s original title was The Badland and was featured as such in TV Guide’s 1999 preview issue. Sean Maher starred as the title character, a 19-year-old cop assigned to one of Philadelphia’s toughest areas. The cast included Richard Portnow, Roselyn Sánchez, Michael Rispoli, James Roday, Chad Lindberg, Clifton Powell and Brenda Bakke. The series was cancelled on October 22 after airing two episodes, leaving six unaired.
October 16 — Sitcom 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd premieres on Nickelodeon. Jason Dohring starred as mcDowd, a schoolyard bully who considers himself so attractive and powerful that he bullies others without mercy. While bullying a kid after school, a mystical man tells McDowd he will be punished for his deeds by living his life as a dog, and to be restored to his human form he must perform 100 good deeds for others. The only person who can hear him talk is Justin, the last kid he bullied, and the two must work together so Eddie can finish his work. If Eddie misbehaves, the man will take one of his good deeds away. Unfortunately, the series was cancelled before Eddie could complete his 100 good deeds. Seth Green provided the voice of the dog in Season 1, with Jason Hervey taking over for the remainder of the run. Other cast members included Richard Moll as the mysterious man, with David Lander, Joe Piscopo and Alyson Hannigan providing voices for other dogs. 40 episodes were produced over the show’s three season run with the last broadcast on April 21, 2002.
October 18 — Music series Farmclub premieres on USA Network. The series featured the hottest musical artists of the moment and promoted unsigned bands through national exposure and website interaction. One of the show’s memorable moments featured the return of N.W.A with Snoop Dogg filling in for the late Eazy-E. The show was hosted by Ali Landry and former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield. Some of the artists to appear on the show included 98 Degrees, Bad Religion, Beck, Busta Rhymes, Creed, Cypress Hill, DMX, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Eve, Green Day, Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Korn, Lil’ Kim, LL Cool J, Mya, Nelly, Nickelback, No Doubt, Primus, Smash Mouth, Stone Temple Pilots, System of a Down, Third Eye Blind, Three Six Mafia, U2 and Wu Tang Clan. The series had its last broadcast on April 3, 2000.