| Harry O | |
|---|---|
Title screen |
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| Also known as | Harry-O |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Howard Rodman |
| Written by | Robert C. Dennis Robert Dozier Larry Forrester Herman Groves Stephen Kandel Joanna Klasson John Meredyth Lucas Howard Rodman Michael Sloan Norman Strum Gene Thompson |
| Directed by | Richard Benedict Daryl Duke Harry Falk Richard Lang Jerry London Joseph Manduke Russ Mayberry John Newland Jerry Thorpe Paul Wendkos Don Weis |
| Starring | David Janssen Henry Darrow Anthony Zerbe Farrah Fawcett-Majors Les Lannom Tom Atkins Bill Henderson |
| Theme music composer | Billy Goldenberg |
| Composer(s) | Billy Goldenberg Kim Richmond John Rubinstein |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 44 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jerry Thorpe |
| Producer(s) | Alex Beaton Robert Dozier Buck Houghton Robert E. Thompson |
| Running time | 60 mins. (approx) |
| Production company(s) | Warner Bros. Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | September 12, 1974 – April 29, 1976 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On (1973) Smile Jenny, You're Dead (1974) |
Harry O is an American crime drama series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen and was executive produced by Jerry Thorpe. Harry O followed the broadcast of two pilot films: Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On (airing March 11, 1973) and then the second (with noticeable retooling), Smile Jenny, You're Dead (airing February 3, 1974), both starring Janssen.[1]
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Janssen starred as the title character Harry Orwell, a San Diego cop forced into retirement when he is shot in the back. To support himself, he sets up a private investigation practice out of his beach house on Coronado Island, in San Diego. Henry Darrow originally starred as Lt. Manny Quinlan. Late in the series' first season, the location of the series shifted to Santa Monica, California due to the high production costs of filming in San Diego.[2] Harry again set up a PI agency out of his beach house (somewhere along the PCH between Santa Monica and Malibu), with Quinlan killed off, and Anthony Zerbe (who later won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role on the series) became Orwell's foil/contact, Lt. K. C. Trench of the Santa Monica Police Department.
Additional characters included Farrah Fawcett-Majors, as Harry's attractive next-door neighbor and sometime girlfriend Sue Ingram; Paul Tulley as Sgt. Don Roberts, Lt. Trench's assistant; Les Lannom as Lester Hodges, a bumbling private-eye wannabe; Tom Atkins as Sgt Frank Cole; and Bill Henderson as Spencer Johnson, Harry's frustrated car mechanic.
Ratings for the series were initially fair and got a boost after the series was retooled in January 1975. Harry O was picked up for a second season and continued to gain viewership and critical acclaim, however, then-ABC president Fred Silverman decided to take the network in a different direction and canceled the series in favor of Charlie's Angels. The last original episode aired on April 29, 1976.[3] The series cancellation greatly disenchanted star Janssen, who vowed never to participate in a television series again.
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate | Summary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "Gertrude" | September 12, 1974 | The sister of an AWOL sailor hires Harry to find him, and his only clue is one of his shoes mailed to her. | |
| 1-2 | "The Admiral's Lady" | September 19, 1974 | Harry is hired to find an Admiral's wife who is presumed dead by the police but who turns out to be alive and in genuine danger | |
| 1-3 | "Guardian at the Gates" | September 26, 1974 | Harry must protect an obnoxious architect who witnessed a murder and is oblivious to attempts on his own life | This was the first episode filmed. |
| 1-4 | "Mortal Sin" | October 3, 1974 | A man confesses to murder to a priest and Harry is brought in to help stop the man | The working title was "The Twelfth Tradition." |
| 1-5 | "Coinage of the Realm" | October 10, 1974 | Harry must find a man to donate a kidney to his daughter before two hired killers find the man | Janssen skinned his hand during a fight sequence and hurt his back when he slipped during shooting, incidents noted in TV Guide's January 11, 1975 feature on him |
| 1-6 | "Eyewitness" | October 17, 1974 | A blind teenager is the only witness to a murder | The episode's working title was "Underground Man." Janssen was hit by a falling arc light, delaying shooting by a day; Janssen talked about the accident in an appearance on Johnny Carson's shown on January 15, 1975. |
| 1-7 | "Shadows At Noon" | October 24, 1974 | Harry infiltrates a mental hosptial that holds people as prisoners. | |
| 1-8 | "Ballinger's Choice" | October 31, 1974 | Harry is hired in a divorce case that turns into a murder. | |
| 1-9 | "Second Sight" | November 7, 1974 | Fay Conners, a psychic, predicts a series of murders that all come true | Janssen reteams with Stefanie Powers from his film Warning Shot and Robert Doyle from two episodes of The Fugitive. |
| 1-10 | "Material Witness" | November 14, 1974 | Harry is hired to protect Dr. Noelle Kira, a witness to crimes by one Joe Kiley; Kira hates Harry and the police and it impedes Harry's efforts as he discovers a mole in the department | |
| 1-11 | "Forty Reasons to Kill (Part 1)" | December 5, 1974 | A friend of Harry's is framed for drug dealing when he tries to purchase a parcel of land. | |
| 1-12 | "Forty Reasons to Kill (Part 2)" | December 12, 1974 | Harry find himself framed for murder as his investigation of a 40-acre purchase continues. | |
| 1-13 | "Accounts Balanced" | December 26, 1974 | Harry is hired by a woman who believes her husband is having an affair. | |
| 1-14 | "The Last Heir" | January 9, 1975 | Harry is hired to smoke out a killer of a woman's heirs | This was the last episode shot in San Diego |
| 1-15 | "For the Love of Money" | January 16, 1975 | A woman helps her boyfiend steal $25,000 and now the boyfriend has disappeared | The working title was "Mind Over Matter" |
| 1-16 | "The Confetti People" | January 23, 1975 | An arthritic painter and his wife frame his brother, a mental patient, for murder, until the plan goes awry and the painter is shot dead by the brother | Janssen reteams with Diana Hyland, a periodic guest star on The Fugitive |
| 1-17 | "Sound of Trumpets" | January 30, 1975 | A recently-released jazz trumpeter is pursued by a vengeful record executive who has a left-handed knife killer take the trumpeter's daughter hostage | Guest starring Jim Backus and jazz legend Cab Calloway |
| 1-18 | "Silent Kill" | February 6, 1975 | A deaf-mute janitor is framed for arson | |
| 1-19 | "Double Jeopardy" | February 13, 1975 | A former crime boss mistakenly believes Todd Conway, an aspiring actor, killed the man's daughter, and the evidence points to Conway when it is found the girl was pregnant | Janssen reteams with two guest stars from The Fugitive - Kurt Russell, from the episode "Nemesis," and Will Kuluva, from the episode "Never Wave Goodbye." |
| 1-20 | "Lester" | February 20, 1975 | A college student who wants to be a detective becomes a suspect in the murder of two coeds | Les Lannom's character became a recurring character in the series' second season. |
| 1-21 | "Elegy for a Cop" | February 27, 1975 | Harry must pursue the killers of his former police friend | Most of this episode is reused footage from "Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On" that was used in the episode's original 1973 airing |
| 1-22 | "Street Games" | March 2, 1975 | The mother of a teen-age girl who is an addict hires Harry to find her after her boyfriend is murdered by a narcotics dealer. |
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate | Summary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-1 | "Anatomy of a Frame" | September 11, 1975 | Lt. Trench is framed for murder and must hire Harry Orwell to clear his name | |
| 2-2 | "One for the Road" | September 18, 1975 | A beautiful lawyer is framed for drunk driving by her deranged husband, who when cornered tries to kill himself | Janssen reteams with Carol Rossen, a periodic guest star on The Fugitive |
| 2-3 | "Lester Two" | September 25, 1975 | Lester Hodges gets mixed up with Harry when diamond smugglers kidnap Harry's neighbor Sun Ingram (Farrah Fawcett) | |
| 2-4 | "Shades" | October 2, 1975 | A housekeeper kills a small-time hood and Harry is hired to clear her name | David Janssen's wedding to Dani Crayne Greco occurred two days after this episode aired |
| 2-5 | "Portrait of a Murder" | October 9, 1975 | Harry must clear a retraded young man accused of a series of murders he says were committed by "a lion," which turns out to be the shirt of the actual murderer | |
| 2-6 | "The Acolyte" | October 16, 1975 | Harry must rescue a woman taken in by a relogious cult | The working title was "Image Of Murder" |
| 2-7 | "Mayday" | October 23, 1975 | A pilot friend of Harry's dies in a plane crash and Harry discovers he was involved in an attempted murder | |
| 2-8 | "Tender Killing Care" | October 30, 1975 | Harry must investigate a nursing home suspected of murder. | |
| 2-9 | "APB Harry Orwell" | November 6, 1975 | Harry is framed for murder and must escape his cell to find the real guilty party | The opening dialogue between Harry and Lt. Trench involves them eating crackers covered with peanut butter; this scene was ad-libbed by David Janssen |
| 2-10 | "Group Terror" | November 13, 1975 | A psychiatrist who takes a sensual liking to Harry hires him to help smoke out a killer among the members of her group | |
| 2-11 | "Reflections" | November 20, 1975 | Harry must remember his bitter divorce when his ex-wife is taken hostage | |
| 2-12 | "Exercise in Fatality" | December 4, 1975 | A hotheaded policeman is accused of murder when the boyfriend who fathered his daughter's unborn child is found dead | |
| 2-13 | "The Madonna Legacy" | December 11, 1975 | A former partner of Harry's is killed investigating an old murder, and Harry learns that a violent man convicted of the murder was recently released | |
| 2-14 | "Mister Five and Dime" | January 8, 1976 | Harry, Lester, and Lt. Trench run into repeated cases of mistaken identity as they pursue a gang of armored car thieves | |
| 2-15 | "Book of Changes" | January 15, 1976 | A gambling club owner is murdered and a book of clients must be found before extortionists get to it | |
| 2-16 | "Past Imperfect" | January 22, 1976 | A con artist takes his ex-partner and Harry hostage to get back a suitcase he claims contains several thousand dollars, and they are themselves pursued by two mob hitmen | |
| 2-17 | "Hostage" | February 19, 1976 | Harry must intervene to help settle a hostage crisis in which Lt. Trench is one of the hostages | |
| 2-18 | "Forbidden City" | February 26, 1976 | Harry investigates the killing of a private detective in Chinatown. | |
| 2-19 | "Victim" | March 4, 1976 | A rape victim hires Harry | This was the final episode shot |
| 2-20 | "Ruby" | March 11, 1976 | Harry must help one of his informants after a youth gets mixed up in a car theft that results in the death of a policeman. | |
| 2-21 | "The Mysterious Case of Lester and Dr. Fong" | March 18, 1976 | Lester Hodges and his mentor, Dr. Creighton Fong, must find the murderer of members of Lester's family | Harry's role is little more than a cameo as the episode was intended to launch a spin-off series titled "Fong and Hodges" |
| 2-22 | "Death Certificate" | April 29, 1976 | Harry investigates a doctor suspected by two women of fatal malpractice. |
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Edgar Award | Nominated | Best Television Episode | Howard Rodman (For episode "Gertrude") |
| 1976 | Primetime Emmy Award | Won | Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Anthony Zerbe |