| Sam Benedict | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Legal drama |
| Created by | E. Jack Neumann |
| Written by | Joseph Calvelli E. Jack Neuman John Hawkins Laurence Heath Ellis Marcus Sidney Marshall Paul Mason Art Wallace |
| Directed by | Abner Biberman Lawrence Dobkin Richard Donner Ida Lupino Don Medford Paul Nickell Boris Sagal |
| Starring | Edmond O'Brien Richard Rust Joan Tompkins |
| Theme music composer | Nelson Riddle |
| Composer(s) | Jeff Alexander |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 28 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | William Froug |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production company(s) | MGM Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | September 15, 1962 – March 30, 1963 |
Sam Benedict is an American legal drama that aired on NBC from September 1962 to March 1963. The series was created and executive produced by E. Jack Neuman.
Based on real-life lawyer Jacob W. 'Jake' Erlich, who served as technical consultant for the series.[1]
Contents |
The series starred Edmond O'Brien as flamboyant San Francisco attorney Sam Benedict. Richard Rust portrayed his 24-year-old understudy, Hank Tabor. Joan Tompkins co-starred in all episodes as Trudy Wagner.[2] Most episodes followed two story lines: first Benedict's case and then Tabor's.
The series was modeled on the career of famous defense lawyer and author Jake Ehrlich, who served as a technical consultant to the program.
Guest stars on the series included:
Joseph Schildkraut received a best actor Emmy Award nomination for his guest role.[3]
Sam Benedict faced competition from two variety programs: The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show on ABC (which was axed before Sam Benedict) and the first season of The Jackie Gleason Show on CBS.
In the 1963-1964 season, Sam Benedict was replaced at the 7:30 Eastern time slot on Saturdays by another MGM series about a trainee and his mentor: The Lieutenant starring Gary Lockwood and Robert Vaughn,.[4] Rebroadcasts of the series continued from April to September 7, 1963.