Furthermore, I have been very sick over the past week to be much concerned about the circus in D.C. I am going to try and drag myself in to work tomorrow despite feeling bad. I am certain I had the flu; I had aches all over my body on top of the sinus pressure and coughing.
What I have been doing, among other things, is binge watching my DVDs of Naked City, the famous crime show of the late fifties and early sixties which aired on ABC for four seasons. The first season consisted of half-hour episodes starring James Franciscus and John McIntire (later of Wagon Train fame), with McIntire bumped off toward the end of the season because he was homesick for Montana and didn't want to remain stuck in New York, where the show was filmed. Horace McMahon took over as a precinct boss for the remainder of the series run.
This was a great show with many of the same people involved in the making of Route 66, one of the greatest television series ever made and the subject of a few posts on this blog over the years. With the likes of Herbert Leonard (who did the voice over for Naked City) and Stirling Silliphant (the creator) involved, there was little doubt as to the quality of the series.
However, ABC decided to pull the plug on the show after the first year. Then, for some reason, the network decided to bring the series back, only in an hour format, and with Paul Burke, the subject of some blog posts here. Like James Franciscus, he was an underrated actor but very good. Burke, as noted in my link to his obituary, did many of his own stunts on the show, which can take a toll on an actor's body over the years. He was justifiably proud of the work he did on the show. The gamble by the network to revive the series paid off, and Naked City ran for another three seasons.
I can vaguely remember the show during its initial run when I was a very little girl, but I hadn't seen it in over 55 years when I finally got the DVDs. Now I have been watching numerous episodes over the past several weeks.
The show was realistic and was filmed totally on location in NYC. Black and white suited it, for it made the city cold, harsh, and gritty. Which describes the show.
Like so many series of the time, it is fun to watch because you see all these actors who later became famous and were relatively unknown at the time, these actors even in very minor roles. The other day I watched an episode which featured Dick York as a doctor facing an ethical dilemma of treating an injured man who had committed a robbery. What was fun is the patient was none other than Bruce Dern, who had a very easy role being mostly flat on his back throughout the episode. Another crook in this apartment where York treated Dern, was played by Johnny Seven, a regular actor of many television series. Even more fun was a very, very young actor by the name of James Caan, another partner in crime who ended up as roadkill during this episode.
I know I have spoiled the episode for somebody by mentioning Caan's fate, but oh, well.
Another great in this episode was an appearance by Jean Syspleton.
Today I watched another episode, this one featured Sylvia Sidney as the "guest star." However, Robert Duvall played perhaps the more interesting character, of course, a criminal. Ed Asner had a small role on this episode playing a member of law enforcement. Uncredited parts in this episode included Godfrey Cambridge and Robert Blake.
Those actors who weren't hugely famous would always appear again and again on these television series. They were like members of a stock company, such as what Warner Brothers apparently had for their westerns, and they would be seen on show after show. These actors must have made a good living even if they didn't become major stars.
Anyway, this is what I have been doing while trying to recover from the flu. I am on season two of this show and finally got the third and fourth seasons. I might get the entire series done by the end of the year.
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