As we consider Father’s Day, it is obvious the role that fathers have played in a staple of television comedy: Father Knows Best, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, Parenthood, Modern Family. But they are also integral to many a plot twist and emotional conflict driving drama as well, particularly in the crime and spy genre.
1968, The Mod Squad, a trio of undercover “hippie” cops, “One black, one white, one blonde.”
Williams played Linc Hayes with an Afro and dignity. What could have been played for laughs turned out to be groundbreaking for its black co-lead and the socially relevant stories of drugs, race, and the Vietnam War.
From 2003-2007 Williams solved crimes on a much quieter level as Philby Cross, ex-government spy on Hallmark’s Mystery Woman.
50s television was black and white–perfect for private eyes. Gritty fedora-hatted tough guys with a past represented by Boston Blackie, Mike Hammer and Richard Diamond who made the transition from movies and radio. Diamond morphed from Dick Powell’s singing New York radio version to David Janssen’s LA noir persona. More glamorous were Nick and Nora Charles and a quirkier take on the genre was Have Gun Will Travel’s Paladin. Favorite for the 50s - Peter Gunn, a classic with a jazz club setting and Henry Mancini theme. Dun, dun, dun, dun…Dun, dun, dun, dun, DA DA.
It was 1974 and the television industry was coming off of a three-month writers’ strike. Stephen J. Cannell was working on police drama, Toma (Tony Musante) when he and Executive Producer Roy Huggins (Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, The Fugitive) realized that they had a problem. Though they were producing as fast as they could to make up time, the fifth episode was going to be in the lab when it was supposed to be on the air.
