Dan August
| Dan August | |
|---|---|
 Reynolds as Dan August | |
| Starring | Burt Reynolds Norman Fell Ned Romero Richard Anderson |
| Opening theme | "Dan August Theme" by Dave Grusin |
| Composers | Dave Grusin Dave Vincent (pilot only) Richard Markowitz Tom Scott Patrick Williams Duane Tatro |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Quinn Martin |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45 mins. |
| Production company | QM Productions |
| Distributor | CBS Television Distribution (syndication) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 23, 1970 – April 8, 1971 |
Dan August is an American drama series that aired on ABC from September 23, 1970, to April 8, 1971. Burt Reynolds played the title character. Reruns of the series aired in prime time on CBS from May to October 1973 and from April to June 1975.
Premise[edit]
Police lieutenant Dan August investigates homicide cases in his (fictional) hometown of Santa Luisa, California. (The town is supposedly based on Santa Barbara, California but was filmed in Oxnard in Ventura County.)
Cast[edit]
Reynolds stars as police lieutenant Dan August. Other cast members include:
- Norman Fell as Sergeant Charles Wilentz, August's partner
- Richard Anderson as Police Chief Untermeyer
- Ned Romero as Sergeant Joe Rivera
- Ena Hartman as Katie Grant
Barney Phillips had a recurring role as Mike Golden, the medical examiner.
Guest stars[edit]
Guest stars including Diana Muldaur in the pilot episode "Murder by Proxy"; Martin Sheen in "Dead Witness to a Killing"; Dabney Coleman in "The King Is Dead"; Larry Hagman in "The Law"; John Ritter in "Quadrangle of Death"; and Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, Mickey Rooney, David Soul and Gary Busey in "The Manufactured Man". Ahna Capri played Linda Perry in "Death Chain" and "Prognosis: Homicide".
Other guest actors to appear on the show include Michael Ontkean, Joan Hackett, Vera Miles, Annette O'Toole, Gary Collins, Ricardo Montalbán, Ford Rainey, Carolyn Jones, Fritz Weaver, John Marley, Janice Rule, Alexandra Hay, Norman Alden, Joan Van Ark, Bradford Dillman, Geraldine Brooks, Donna Mills, Victor French, Richard Basehart, Sherry Lansing, Monte Markham, Jan-Michael Vincent, Stephen Collins, Laurence Luckinbill, Lee Meriwether, Sal Mineo, Fernando Lamas, Ellen Corby, Susan Oliver, John Beck, Michael Pataki, Diana Hyland and Simon Scott.
Episodes[edit]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Murder by Proxy" | George Mc Cowan | Robert C. Dennis | September 23, 1970 | |
| With guest stars Diana Muldaur. Burr DeBenning. Roger Perry. and special guest star Anne Francis. Co-Starring Milton Selzer as Dr. Albert Ziegler, Ford Rainey as David Lyle, Mark Roberts as Spence. With Burke Byrnes as Officer Halsey, John Hudson as Dr. Cooper, James Devine as Peterson, Judy Strangis as Susie, Robert Wolders as Redfern. | |||||
| 2 | "The Murder of a Small Town" | Harvey Hart | Robert Dozier | September 30, 1970 | |
| With guest star Ricardo Montalban. and special guest star John Marley. Co-Starring Anna Navarro as Consuela, Cal Bellini as Jose, Corinne Comacho as Carlotta, Mark Roberts as Spence. With Val Avery, Bart La Rue, Joaquin Martinez, Ray Martel, Peter Hobbs, Stan Barrett, Dort Clark, Michele Salerno. A sabotaged school bus is involved in an accident that kills Sgt. Joe Rivera's niece. Dan wonders if a migrant worker's strike is connected and races to find the killer before violence breaks out. | |||||
| 3 | "Love Is a Nickel Bag" | George Mc Cowan | Arthur Weingarten | October 7, 1970 | |
| With guest stars Brad David. Annette O'Toole. June Dayton. Co-Starring Don Dubbins as Arnold Cane, Morgan Paull as Gibbs, Morgan Sterne as Mr. Corman, Eldon Quick as Dr. Joelson. With Joyce Ames as Tara Mayson, Florence MacMichael as Mrs. Goodson, Paul Camen as Connors, Darrell Larson as Bernie Kahn, Bill Ewing as Joe Goodson. A teenage boy fatally overdoses at a wild party. In order to find the drug supplier, Dan 'sweats out' the heroin-addicted host of the party in an attempt to gain information. | |||||
| 4 | "The King Is Dead" | Gene Nelson | Jack Turley | October 14, 1970 | |
| With guest stars Dabney Coleman. Fred Beir. Jane Elliot. and special guest star Janice Rule. Co-Starring Richard Van Vleet as Robert Gage, Mark Roberts as Spence. With Walter Coy as Alex Venable, Rose Hobart as Servant, Bill Erwin as Coroner, Warren Parker as Doctor, Douglas Mitchell as Patrolman. The philanthropist Alex Venable, who put Dan through college, is found shot to death and he doesn't buy the 'scared burglar' theory. Dan soon discovers that Venable wasn't the man he thought he was and finding the guilty party among the growing group of the old man's enemies will take all his detecting skills. | |||||
| 5 | "In the Eyes of God" | Harvey Hart | Barry Trivers | October 21, 1970 | |
| With guest stars Bradford Dillman. James Best. Donna Mills. Co-Starring Thomas Gomez as Hector Costa, Russell Thorson as Bishop MacAlister, Mark Roberts as Spence. With Joshua Bryant, Queenie Smith, Claudia Bryar, Robert Cleaves, Pat O'Hara, Iris Korn, Don Phelps, Irene Gilbert, Matthew Knox, Bob Pickett, Martin Priest, Steve Benson, Bernadette Brookes. When a priest is attacked at a church, Dan and the department investigate former priest Matthew Costa, who knows the suspect's name but won't reveal it because of his vow of silence. When murders occur that match a serial killer's M.O., Dan believes he may match the suspect that Costa continues to protect. | |||||
| 6 | "The Color of Fury" | Harvey Hart | William Wood | October 28, 1970 | |
| 7 | "Invitation to Murder" | Robert Douglas | Mel Goldberg | November 4, 1970 | |
| 8 | "The Union Forever" | George McCowan | Chester Krumholz | November 11, 1970 | |
| With guest stars Vic Morrow. Andrew Prine. A corrupt union official is murdered and Dan's main suspect is his opponent in an upcoming election. Despite the man's claims of innocence, the evidence continues to mount that he hired hit men to kill the only person standing in his way. | |||||
| 9 | "Epitaph for a Swinger" | Lewis Allen | Nicholas E. Baehr | November 18, 1970 | |
| 10 | "When the Shouting Dies" | Robert Totten | Robert Dozier (t), Robert L. Goodwin (s) | November 25, 1970 | |
| 11 | "The Soldier" | Lewis Allen | Stephen Kandel | December 2, 1970 | |
| 12 | "Quadrangle for Death" | Nicholas Webster | Norman Katkov (s/t), Stephen Kandel (t), Roland Wolpert (s) | December 16, 1970 | |
| 13 | "Passing Fair" | Arnold Laven | Warren Duff | December 30, 1970 | |
| 14 | "The Titan" | George McCowan | Richard Carr (s/t), Robert C. Dennis (t) | January 7, 1971 | |
| 15 | "Death Chain" | Ralph Senensky | Robert C. Dennis | January 21, 1971 | |
| 16 | "Dead Witness to a Killing" | Ralph Senensky | Arthur Weingarten | January 28, 1971 | |
| 17 | "The Law" | Ralph Senensky | Mel Goldberg | February 4, 1971 | |
| 18 | "The Worst Crime" | Gerald Mayer | Richard Landau | February 11, 1971 | |
| 19 | "Circle of Lies" | Richard Benedict | Harry Kronman | February 18, 1971 | |
| 20 | "Trackdown" | Jerry Jameson | Rick Husky | February 25, 1971 | |
| 21 | "Bullet for a Hero" | Ralph Senensky | Nicholas E. Baehr | March 4, 1971 | |
| 22 | "The Manufactured Man" | Richard Benedict | Arthur Dales (s), Robert C. Dennis (t) | March 11, 1971 | |
| A young woman returns to town after having been away for a year, and she's murdered just a few minutes after getting off the bus. Suspects include a popular candidate for governor, members of his campaign staff, and his son. | |||||
| 23 | "The Meal Ticket" | Seymour Robbie | Robert Collins | March 18, 1971 | |
| 24 | "Days of Rage" | Ralph Senensky | Stephen Kandel (s), Richard Landau (s/t) | March 25, 1971 | |
| 25 | "Prognosis: Homicide" | Virgil W. Vogel | Robert C. Dennis | April 1, 1971 | |
| 26 | "The Assassin" | Gene Nelson | Mel Goldberg | April 8, 1971 | |
Production[edit]
Reynolds later recalled "I swore I'd never play a cop on TV because you can't make jokes or have a broad. You wind up loving your car a lot. I was halfway out the door when Quinn said the magic words – $15,000 a week."[1]
Relation to earlier works[edit]
The series was based on Quinn Martin's 1970 TV movie House on Greenapple Road, starring Janet Leigh, which was based on Harold R. Daniels's 1966 mystery novel of the same name. It was directed by Robert Day from a script by George Eckstein. Christopher George played Dan August, with Keenan Wynn as Sergeant Wilentz and Barry Sullivan as Chief Untermeyer. Ned Romero was the only actor in the film who reprised his role in the series. The film also featured Julie Harris, Walter Pidgeon, Ed Asner, Eve Plumb, Lynda Day, Joanne Linville, Tim O'Connor, Mark Richman, and William Windom.[2]
Television films[edit]
In 1980, a movie titled Dan August: Once Is Never Enough aired on ABC in January 4. In fact, this was a re-editing of episode 15, "Death Chain," with episode 25, "Prognosis: Homicide." ABC and Quinn Martin productions were looking to capitalize on the success of Burt Reynolds, who was riding high on the international success of the Smokey and the Bandit and the public's interest with his private life with actress Sally Field. Subsequently, four further television films were produced, editing together the Diana Muldaur and Dabney Coleman episodes ("Murder by Proxy" and "The King Is Dead") into the second film Dan August: The Jealousy Factor, which aired later the same year on February 4, and was followed by three more complications of selected episodes Dan August: The Trouble with Women ("Epitaph for a Swinger" and "The Titan"), which aired on June 1, then Dan August: The Lady Killers ("When the Shouting Dies" and "The Worst Crime") and Dan August: Murder, My Friend ("Trackdown" and "Bullet for a Hero"), both which aired on November between 10 and 30 at the end of the 1980 television season respectively.[3]
Home media[edit]
On December 7, 2018, Visual Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1.[4] Unfortunately the technical quality is quite poor. The episodes are encoded as progressive, which destroys the 3:2 pulldown information resulting in smeary and jerky lateral movement. The prints are soft and encoded at a very low bitrate. The original quality of the 35mm film prints is somewhat obscured.
Reception[edit]
While not initially popular enough to be renewed for a second season, Dan August became a fan favorite in reruns, particularly after Reynolds' popularity surged in the mid-1970s with his escalating movie career. CBS wisely re-aired the series both on The CBS Late Movie and in prime time during summer "rerun seasons" of both 1973 and 1975 to larger audiences.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ Burt Prelutsky: Two Centerfolds. Los Angeles Times December 24, 1972, p. K14.
- ^ Marill, Alvin H. Movies Made for Television: The Telefeature and the Mini-Series 1964-1986. Page 190.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Dan August - The Complete Collection". Retrieved October 12, 2018.
- ^ Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946-Present (4th edition). New York, Ballantine Books, 1988. Pages, pp. 181-182.
External links[edit]
- Dan August at IMDb
- 1970 American television series debuts
- 1971 American television series endings
- CBS original programming
- 1970s American crime drama television series
- American Broadcasting Company original programming
- Television shows based on American novels
- Television series by CBS Studios
- Television shows set in Santa Barbara County, California
- Fictional police lieutenants
- English-language television shows
- American detective television series
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