Harry O

Harry O
Title screen
Also known as	Harry-O
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Howard Rodman
Written by	Robert C. Dennis Robert Dozier Larry Forrester Herman Groves Stephen Kandel Joanna Klasson John Meredyth Lucas Howard Rodman Michael Sloan Norman Strum Gene Thompson
Directed by	Richard Benedict Daryl Duke Harry Falk Richard Lang Jerry London Joseph Manduke Russ Mayberry John Newland Jerry Thorpe Paul Wendkos Don Weis
Starring	David Janssen Henry Darrow Anthony Zerbe Farrah Fawcett-Majors Les Lannom Tom Atkins Bill Henderson
Theme music composer	Billy Goldenberg
Composer(s)	Billy Goldenberg Kim Richmond John Rubinstein
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	44
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jerry Thorpe
Producer(s)	Alex Beaton Robert Dozier Buck Houghton Robert E. Thompson
Running time	60 mins. (approx)
Production company(s)	Warner Bros. Television
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	September 12, 1974 – April 29, 1976
Chronology
Preceded by	Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On (1973) Smile Jenny, You're Dead (1974)

Harry O is an American crime drama series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen and was executive produced by Jerry Thorpe. Harry O followed the broadcast of two pilot films: Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On (airing March 11, 1973) and then the second (with noticeable retooling), Smile Jenny, You're Dead (airing February 3, 1974), both starring Janssen.

Synopsis

Janssen starred as the title character Harry Orwell, a San Diego cop forced into retirement when he is shot in the back. To support himself, he sets up a private investigation practice out of his beach house on Coronado Island, in San Diego. Henry Darrow originally starred as Lt. Manny Quinlan. Late in the series' first season, the location of the series shifted to Santa Monica, California due to the high production costs of filming in San Diego. Harry again set up a PI agency out of his beach house (somewhere along the PCH between Santa Monica and Malibu), with Quinlan killed off, and Anthony Zerbe (who later won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role on the series) became Orwell's foil/contact, Lt. K. C. Trench of the Santa Monica Police Department.

Additional characters included Farrah Fawcett-Majors, as Harry's attractive next-door neighbor and sometime girlfriend Sue Ingram; Paul Tulley as Sgt. Don Roberts, Lt. Trench's assistant; Les Lannom as Lester Hodges, a bumbling private-eye wannabe; Tom Atkins as Sgt Frank Cole; and Bill Henderson as Spencer Johnson, Harry's frustrated car mechanic.

Reception and cancellation

Ratings for the series were initially fair and got a boost after the series was retooled in January 1975. Harry O was picked up for a second season and continued to gain viewership and critical acclaim, however, then-ABC president Fred Silverman decided to take the network in a different direction and canceled the series in favor of Charlie's Angels. The last original episode aired on April 29, 1976. The series cancellation greatly disenchanted star Janssen, who vowed never to participate in a television series again.

Episodes

Pilot Movies

Movie title	Original airdate	Summary	Notable Guest Stars	Notes
"Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On"	March 11, 1973	Harlan Garrison, a member of the gang that shot Harry in a drug store robbery four years earlier, hires Harry to find Garrison's two accomplices, Walter Scherer and his girlfriend Marilyn Bedestrum. With the help of a police lab technician Harry is able to create drugs with which to smoke out Scherer, but when Harry and Garrison find their lab Harry is injured by Bedestrum and Garrison shot to death by Scherer, and despite being abandoned Bedestrum refuses to cooperate with police. The reason why becomes clear to Harry when he realizes where Scherer is hiding out - and how he plans to escape.	Martin Sheen Sal Mineo Will Geer Margot Kidder Mel Stewart	The film was intended to launch the series but it was not picked up; footage was later used for the episode "Elegy For A Cop"
""Smile Jenny, You're Dead"	February 3, 1974	Jennifer English, the daughter of Harry's police friend Humphrey Kenner, is a model who is estranged from her husband Charlie English and is seeing John Lockport, a retired Army colonel. Jenny is being tailed by Roy St. John, a deranged photographer obsessed with Jenny and determined to eliminate any man he sees as standing in her way. When Charlie English is found shot to death, Harry must comfort Jenny, who is emotionally unstable because of her relationship with the abusive Charlie. Kenner wants Harry to protect Jenny and also prove John Lockport is innocent as he must now be the prime suspect in Charlie's murder. Harry gets permission to investigate Jenny's apartment, but when he gets there he is confronted by Roy, who stabs him with a fork and fires a shot. Roy gets away, but Harry digs out the bullet and has it sent to ballistics; when Lockport is found shot to death the investigator, Milt Bosworth, believes it the endgame of a murder-suicide, but Harry calls ballistics and they both find this isn't the case. When Roy gives Jenny a stack of photos of her he has taken, Harry figures out that Roy has been watching Jenny from a hillside apartment, but Roy, seeing Jenny hugging Harry when she breaks down upon learning of John's murder, concludes that he must "purify" Jenny - by kidnapping her, forcing her into a white dress, and photographing her atop a building under construction.	Andrea Marcovicci Clu Gulager Jodie Foster	The film's subplot revolves around Liberty Cole (played by Foster), a homeless girl who takes up residence in Harry's boat; Harry finds out her mother is in jail for shoplifting and manages to get her cleared of all charges.

Season 1

Episode #	Episode title	Original airdate	Summary	Notes
1-1	"Gertrude"	September 12, 1974	The sister of an AWOL sailor hires Harry to find him, and his only clue is one of his shoes mailed to her	Les Lannom plays the AWOL sailor, having first appeared in "Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On"
1-2	"The Admiral's Lady"	September 19, 1974	Harry is hired to find an Admiral's wife who is presumed dead by the police but who turns out to be alive and in genuine danger
1-3	"Guardian at the Gates"	September 26, 1974	Harry must protect an obnoxious architect who witnessed a murder and is oblivious to attempts on his own life	This was the first episode filmed.
1-4	"Mortal Sin"	October 3, 1974	A man confesses to murder to a priest and Harry is brought in to help stop the man	The working title was "The Twelfth Tradition."
1-5	"Coinage of the Realm"	October 10, 1974	Harry must find a man to donate a kidney to his daughter before two hired killers find the man	Janssen skinned his hand during a fight sequence and hurt his back when he slipped during shooting, incidents noted in TV Guide's January 11, 1975 feature on him
1-6	"Eyewitness"	October 17, 1974	A blind teenager is the only witness to a murder	The episode's working title was "Underground Man." Janssen was hit by a falling arc light, delaying shooting by a day; Janssen talked about the accident in an appearance on Johnny Carson's shown on January 15, 1975.
1-7	"Shadows At Noon"	October 24, 1974	Harry infiltrates a mental hosptial that holds people as prisoners.
1-8	"Ballinger's Choice"	October 31, 1974	Harry is hired in a divorce case that turns into a murder.
1-9	"Second Sight"	November 7, 1974	Fay Conners, a psychic, predicts a series of murders that all come true	Janssen reteams with Stefanie Powers from his film Warning Shot and Robert Doyle from two episodes of The Fugitive.
1-10	"Material Witness"	November 14, 1974	Harry is hired to protect Dr. Noelle Kira, a witness to crimes by one Joe Kiley; Kira hates Harry and the police and it impedes Harry's efforts as he discovers a mole in the department
1-11	"Forty Reasons to Kill (Part 1)"	December 5, 1974	A friend of Harry's is framed for drug dealing when he tries to purchase a parcel of land	Janssen reteams with Joanna Pettet, from The Fugitive episode "Shadow of the Swan"
1-12	"Forty Reasons to Kill (Part 2)"	December 12, 1974	Harry find himself framed for murder as his investigation of a 40-acre purchase continues.
1-13	"Accounts Balanced"	December 26, 1974	Harry is hired by a woman who believes her husband is having an affair.
1-14	"The Last Heir"	January 9, 1975	Harry is hired to smoke out a killer of a woman's heirs	This was the last episode shot in San Diego
1-15	"For the Love of Money"	January 16, 1975	A woman helps her boyfriend steal $25,000 and now the boyfriend has disappeared	The working title was "Mind Over Matter." It is also the first episode with Anthony Zerbe as Lt. Trench
1-16	"The Confetti People"	January 23, 1975	An arthritic painter and his wife frame his brother, a mental patient, for murder, until the plan goes awry and the painter is shot dead by the brother	Janssen reteams with Diana Hyland, a periodic guest star on The Fugitive
1-17	"Sound of Trumpets"	January 30, 1975	A recently-released jazz trumpeter is pursued by a vengeful record executive who has a left-handed knife killer take the trumpeter's daughter hostage	Guest starring Jim Backus and jazz legend Cab Calloway
1-18	"Silent Kill"	February 6, 1975	A deaf-mute janitor is framed for arson
1-19	"Double Jeopardy"	February 13, 1975	A former crime boss mistakenly believes Todd Conway, an aspiring actor, killed the man's daughter, and the evidence points to Conway when it is found the girl was pregnant	Janssen reteams with two guest stars from The Fugitive - Kurt Russell, from the episode "Nemesis," and Will Kuluva, from the episode "Never Wave Goodbye." This is also the first episode with Farrah Fawcett, who plays Orwell's neighbor Sue Ingram.
1-20	"Lester"	February 20, 1975	A college student who wants to be a detective becomes a suspect in the murder of two coeds	Les Lannom's character became a recurring character in the series' second season.
1-21	"Elegy for a Cop"	February 27, 1975	Harry must pursue the killers of his former police friend	Most of this episode is reused footage from "Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On" that was used in the episode's original 1973 airing
1-22	"Street Games"	March 2, 1975	The mother of a teen-age girl who is an addict hires Harry to find her after her boyfriend is murdered by a narcotics dealer.

Season 2

Episode #	Episode title	Original airdate	Summary	Notes
2-1	"Anatomy of a Frame"	September 11, 1975	Lt. Trench is framed for murder and must hire Harry Orwell to clear his name
2-2	"One for the Road"	September 18, 1975	A beautiful lawyer is framed for drunk driving by her deranged husband, who when cornered tries to kill himself	Janssen reteams with Carol Rossen, a periodic guest star on The Fugitive. Also co-stars Larry Hagman
2-3	"Lester Two"	September 25, 1975	Lester Hodges gets mixed up with Harry when diamond smugglers kidnap Harry's neighbor Sue Ingram	Ina Balin guest stars. Loni Anderson makes an early appearance in her career
2-4	"Shades"	October 2, 1975	A housekeeper kills a small-time hood and Harry is hired to clear her name	David Janssen's wedding to Dani Crayne Greco occurred two days after this episode aired
2-5	"Portrait of a Murder"	October 9, 1975	Harry must clear a retarded young man accused of a series of murders he says were committed by "a lion," which turns out to be the shirt of the actual murderer
2-6	"The Acolyte"	October 16, 1975	Harry must rescue a woman taken in by a religious cult	The working title was "Image Of Murder"
2-7	"Mayday"	October 23, 1975	A pilot friend of Harry's dies in a plane crash and Harry discovers he was involved in an attempted murder
2-8	"Tender Killing Care"	October 30, 1975	Harry must investigate a nursing home suspected of murder.
2-9	"APB Harry Orwell"	November 6, 1975	Harry is framed for murder and must escape his cell to find the real guilty party	The opening dialogue between Harry and Lt. Trench involves them eating crackers covered with peanut butter; this scene was ad-libbed by David Janssen
2-10	"Group Terror"	November 13, 1975	A psychiatrist who takes a sensual liking to Harry hires him to help smoke out a killer among the members of her group
2-11	"Reflections"	November 20, 1975	Harry must remember his bitter divorce when his ex-wife is taken hostage
2-12	"Exercise in Fatality"	December 4, 1975	A hotheaded policeman is accused of murder when the boyfriend who fathered his daughter's unborn child is found dead
2-13	"The Madonna Legacy"	December 11, 1975	A former partner of Harry's is killed investigating an old murder, and Harry learns that a violent man convicted of the murder was recently released
2-14	"Mister Five and Dime"	January 8, 1976	Harry, Lester, and Lt. Trench run into repeated cases of mistaken identity as they pursue a gang of armored car thieves
2-15	"Book of Changes"	January 15, 1976	A gambling club owner is murdered and a book of clients must be found before extortionists get to it
2-16	"Past Imperfect"	January 22, 1976	A con artist takes his ex-partner and Harry hostage to get back a suitcase he claims contains several thousand dollars, and they are themselves pursued by two mob hitmen
2-17	"Hostage"	February 19, 1976	Harry must intervene to help settle a hostage crisis in which Lt. Trench is one of the hostages
2-18	"Forbidden City"	February 26, 1976	Harry investigates the killing of a private detective in Chinatown.
2-19	"Victim"	March 4, 1976	A rape victim hires Harry	This was the final episode shot
2-20	"Ruby"	March 11, 1976	Harry must help one of his informants after a youth gets mixed up in a car theft that results in the death of a policeman.
2-21	"The Mysterious Case of Lester and Dr. Fong"	March 18, 1976	Lester Hodges and his mentor, Dr. Creighton Fong, must find the murderer of members of Lester's family	Harry's role is little more than a cameo as the episode was intended to launch a spin-off series titled "Fong and Hodges"
2-22	"Death Certificate"	April 29, 1976	Harry investigates a doctor suspected by two women of fatal malpractice.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Recipient
1975	Edgar Award	Nominated	Best Television Episode	Howard Rodman (For episode "Gertrude")
1976	Primetime Emmy Award	Won	Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Anthony Zerbe

External links

• Such Dust As Dreams Are Made On (first pilot) at the Internet Movie Database
• Smile Jenny, You're Dead (second pilot) at the Internet Movie Database
• Harry O at the Internet Movie Database
• Harry O at TV.com
• Harry O at epguides.com
• Harry O theme music and opening credits available at YouTube.