FERNANDO LLERA 'TOONS: TV series

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

DAVID JANSSEN (1931-1980)

David Janssen was an American actor who became world-famous when he starred in the TV series THE FUGITIVE (1963-67). He was also the star of three other TV series: Richard Diamond, Private Eye (1957-60), O'Hara U.S. Treasury (1971-72) and Harry-O (1974-76).
He appeared in several hit films: The Green Berets (1968), The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), Marooned (1969), Macho Callahan (1970) and Once Is Not Enough (1975).
While Janssen appeared in many TV series, Made-For-TV films and big screen motion pictures, he will always be remembered as Dr. Richard Kimble, the man wrongly accused of killing his wife. The story of Dr. Kimble and his pursuit of the one-armed man he saw running away from the crime scene, captured the imagination and interest of millions of viewers in the 1960s.
The final two-part episode, held the record for the highest number of viewers in August 1967, at 75%, who tuned in to watch Kimble catch the real killer and thus, prove his innocence.
Janssen was one of my favorite TV stars and I was deeply saddened when he died at the very early age of 48, from a massive heart attack on February 13, 1980.
The Fugitive is still available on DVD and Janssen continues to thrill viewers with his desperate quest of clearing his name, running all over the United States and trying to escape the relentless pursuit of Lt. Gerard (Barry Morse).

Thursday, October 25, 2018

KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER

KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER was a television series which aired during the 1974-75 season on ABC and was preceded by two TV movies, THE NIGHT STALKER (1972) and THE NIGHT STRANGLER (1973). The series was inspired by writer Jeff Rice who created the character of Carl Kolchak for his unpublished novel THE KOLCHAK PAPERS.

The series presented the adventures of reporter Carl Kolchak, played brilliantly by Darren McGavin, who investigated strange and sometimes eerie and unexplainable crimes which always baffled the law enforcement authorities.

Kolchak's boss, Tony Vincenzo, head of the Independent News service, played by Simon Oakland, was permanently flustered, irritated and downright infuriated by Kolchak's relentless pursuit of the macabre and unbelievably far-fetched stories.
McGavin, a personal favorite actor of mine, had been the star of the 1950s series MICKEY SPILLANE'S MIKE HAMMER and RIVERBOAT, the 1960s THE OUTSIDER and was a seasoned veteran of stage and screen. He would also become memorable as the Old Man in 1983's A CHRISTMAS STORY.

It's been reported that THE X-FILES creator Chris Carter named KOLCHAK as one of his main sources of inspiration in creating the series. McGavin even appeared in a couple of X-FILES episodes as retired agent Arthur Dales.
Today, the series and character have developed a cult following and for me, every Halloween season is welcomed by repeated viewings of the films and TV series on DVD.