Lanigan's Rabbi
| Lanigan's Rabbi | |
|---|---|
 Lanigan's Rabbi promotional photo, with Bruce Solomon and Art Carney. | |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Written by |
Gordon Cotler Norman Lessing Don Mankiewicz Robert Pirosh Karl Tunberg Terence Tunberg |
| Directed by |
John Astin Joseph Pevney Leonard B. Stern |
| Starring |
Art Carney Stuart Margolin (pilot) Bruce Solomon (series) |
| Composer(s) | Don Costa |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Leonard B. Stern |
| Producer(s) |
Gordon Cotler Don Mankiewicz David J. O'Connell |
| Cinematography | Isidore Mankofsky |
| Running time | 90 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | January 22, 1977 – April 24, 1977 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | NBC Sunday Mystery Movie |
Lanigan's Rabbi is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC during the first half of 1977.
Synopsis
Based upon a series of novels by Harry Kemelman, the series stars Art Carney as Police Chief Paul Lanigan, who fights crime in a small California town with the help of his best friend, Rabbi David Small (Bruce Solomon). Small's ability in this area was attributed to his "rabbinic mind", and his Talmudic training. However, an added element for the David Small novels and the Lanigan's Rabbi series was that Small was usually trying to balance his crime-solving assistance to Chief Lanigan with synagogue politics, usually involving some congregants who would be happy to see the rabbi lose his position. Co-starring in the series was Janis Paige and Janet Margolin as Mrs. Lanigan and Mrs. Small, respectively. Another regular on the series was Carney's daughter, Barbara Carney.
After a successful pilot film based on Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, the first novel in the Rabbi David Small series, aired in 1976, Lanigan's Rabbi was produced as a series of 90-minute telefilms beginning in January 1977. For the series, Bruce Solomon replaced Stuart Margolin, who had played Rabbi Small in the pilot; his unrelated namesake Janet Margolin played his wife. The series was broadcast on a rotating schedule under the umbrella title NBC Sunday Mystery Movie. Other series involved in the scheme were Columbo, McCloud, and McMillan (formerly McMillan & Wife). Lanigan's Rabbi was the last series added to the Mystery Movie format (it replaced Quincy, M.E. at mid-season when that series was spun off into a weekly program); in the spring, NBC cancelled all four series and discontinued the Mystery Movie format. As a result, only four Lanigan's Rabbi episodes were broadcast.
Cast
- Art Carney - Chief Paul Lanigan
- Bruce Solomon - Rabbi David Small
- Barbara Carney - Bobbie Whittaker
- Janet Margolin - Miriam Small
- Janis Paige - Kate Lanigan
- Reva Rose - Hannan Prince
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Corpse of the Year" | January 27, 1977 |
| 2 | "The Cadaver in the Clutter" | March 17, 1977 |
| 3 | "Say It Ain't So, Chief" | April 14, 1977 |
| 4 | "In Hot Weather, the Crime Rate Soars" | April 24, 1977 |
External links
- Lanigan's Rabbi (TV movie) at the Internet Movie Database
- Lanigan's Rabbi at the Internet Movie Database
- Lanigan's Rabbi at TV.com