HARLEM DETECTIVE (1953-1954) – Black actors like THE William Marshall and William Hairston played police detectives in multiple episodes of this short-lived television series set in Harlem. They were partnered with the program’s major white detective, portrayed by Owen Jordan. Other black performers appeared in supporting roles each episode and several scripts were written by African American writer William Attaway (Above left). William’s sister Ruth appeared in the first episode of Harlem Detective.
Not only have no episodes of this pioneering program survived, but I haven’t even been able to find the character names of the regular cast members! A contemporary review of Harlem Detective describes it as a noble effort at depicting interracial cooperation as the cop characters work to carry out their mission to protect and serve the community. Stories were based on police files.
Before I delve into the few episodes that I was able to learn details about I’ll point out that William Marshall was forced off the series when he was accused of being a communist. Some online mentions claim the entire series was canceled because of that.
THE EPISODES: Continue reading
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