HAWKINS (1973-1974) – Before Matlock, there was Hawkins! The iconic Jimmy Stewart starred as Billy Jim Hawkins, an aw-shucks country lawyer who was really shrewd and calculating behind his stammering, Good Ol’ Boy facade.
Billy Jim wound up acting as a detective for his clients as much as their lawyer as he solved mysteries to prove his clients’ innocence. Hawkins was part of a CBS attempt to establish their own set of rotating 90-minute detective shows in the tradition of Columbo, McMillan and Wife, Banacek, The Snoop Sisters, and so many others on competing networks.
Hawkins rotated with Shaft, which starred Richard Roundtree reprising his big screen role as private detective John Shaft (but a John Shaft who couldn’t be as violent or profane as he was in the movies, of course).
Strother Martin co-starred with Stewart as his private investigator cousin R.J. Hawkins. The pair, despite being based in West Virginia, were hired by big-name, big money clients from around the country. AND despite the fact that not all lawyers are credentialed to practice law in all other states. This was made for TV lawyerin’, bubba!
THE EPISODES: Continue reading
HEADMASTER (1970) – Andy Griffith had left the streets of Mayberry behind him to take on a new leading role in this short-lived comedy-drama. Griffith played Andy Thompson, Headmaster of the Concord School, a top-tier private academy in California. 
The star had expressed his pleasure at getting to play an urbane academic rather than a country bumpkin for once. Headmaster was shooting for the same appeal boasted by Room 222, another half-hour series that mixed high school comedy with drama. 
GRIFF (1973-1974) – The one and only Lorne Greene starred as Wade “Griff” Griffin, a former police captain who becomes a private investigator. Ben Murphy played Mike Murdoch, who was McCormick to Greene’s Hardcastle. 
To me and presumably any other trivia buffs Griff is must-see tv. The guest stars and behind the scenes figures were a virtual Who’s Who of American television’s past and present. Before I get to that, let’s look at the fate of the program’s TWO pilot movies. 
AGATHA ALL ALONG SCREWS UP BIG-TIME – Hey, I enjoyed the song Agatha All Along from WandaVision back in 2021 as much as anybody, and I was initially curious about what Kathryn Hahn would do as the star of an 
I could see it being used for pilot stories about 
CITIZEN SOLDIER (1956-1957) – Also known as The Big Attack, this half-hour series depicted dramatic reenactments of real wartime incidents from World War Two, STARRING THE ACTUAL SERVICEMEN WHO TOOK PART IN THEM! 
Charles Marquis Warren directed and Ron W. Alcorn produced this syndicated program that lasted for one season of 39 episodes. 
TONY ORLANDO AND DAWN – This musical variety series filled a real need for CBS after Sonny and Cher’s show went off the air in May of 1974 due to their divorce. The network couldn’t believe their luck when Tony Orlando and Dawn, riding near the top of the charts and possessing a non-threatening charm, were then available. 
Obviously, the trio’s singing act is still fairly well known, but I’m often surprised that many people have forgotten about their 56-episode television show. If you’ve never heard of this act, the name “Dawn” was originally the entire group name as a means for Tony Orlando to do a single outside of his current recording contract. 
DECOY (1957-1958) – Nobody doesn’t like Beverly Garland! For decades, she was a pleasant presence in B-movies and television. Here’s the very first tv show about a female cop, with Beverly pitch-perfect as a tough, savvy undercover policewoman. 
NOTE: Frank Campanella is sometimes listed as her “co-star” but actually he played a different character in each of the 3 episodes he appeared in. 
ANNA AND THE KING (1972) – It’s a shame that so few people remember this 13-episode attempt to make a television series of Margaret Landon’s classic novel Anna and the King of Siam. The producers even scored the coup of signing screen legend Yul Brynner himself to reprise his role as the King of Siam from the novel’s revered musical adaptation The King and I. 
Samantha Eggar was cast as Anna Leonowens, the British governess brought to Siam in 1862 by King Mongkut to provide a more cosmopolitan element to the education of his children, including 12-year-old son and heir Prince Chulalongkorn, played by Brian Tochi. 
COWBOY G-MEN (1952-1953) – A reader recently mentioned the old Robert Conrad series The Wild Wild West, and that reminded me of The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. AND the much earlier television western titled Cowboy G-Men. That last series featured fictional exploits of U.S. Secret Service Agents in the old west. 
Okay, not THAT Keith Richards. 
THE JAMES BROTHERS OF MISSOURI (1949) – In this 12-chapter Republic serial the Keithmeister General starred as Jesse James with Robert Bice as his brother Frank. Future Lois Lane Noel Neill played Peg Royer, while B-movie staple Gene Roth was along for the ride in a supporting role. 
THE LIVING CHRIST SERIES (1951) – Keith was At His Satanic Majesty’s Request as Judas in this 12-episode television series about incidents in the life of Jesus Christ. Each episode filled a 30-minute time slot. 
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