Bourbon Street Beat

Bourbon Street Beat

Title card
Created by Charles Hoffman
Starring Richard Long
Andrew Duggan
Arlene Howell
Van Williams
Theme music composer Mack David and
Jerry Livingston
Composer(s) Jack Halloran, arranger
Michael Heindorf
Howard Jackson
Frank Perkins
Paul Sawtell
Bert Shefter
Country of origin USA
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 39 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) William T. Orr
Producer(s) Charles Hoffman
Harry Tatelman
Jerry Davis
Oren W. Haglund (Production manager)
Gordon Bau (make-up)
Editor(s) James C. Moore
supervising editor
Location(s) California
Running time 60 minutes
Release
Original network ABC
Picture format 1.33 : 1 monochrome
Audio format monaural
Original release October 5, 1959 –
July 4, 1960
Chronology
Followed by Surfside 6
Related shows 77 Sunset Strip
Hawaiian Eye

Bourbon Street Beat is a private detective series which aired on the ABC network from 1959-1960 and featured Richard Long as Rex Randolph, Andrew Duggan as Cal Calhoun, Van Williams as Kenny Madison, and Arlene Howell as Melody Lee Mercer, the secretary at the New Orleans detective agency in which they worked.

Characters

The series was one of several Warner Bros. detective shows which aired on ABC during this era, but Bourbon Street Beat was not as successful as the others. When the series ended, the character of Rex Randolph moved to 77 Sunset Strip, and the character of Kenny Madison moved to the spin-off Surfside 6, which aired in the Bourbon Street Beat time slot the following season. Andrew Duggan's character, Cal Calhoun, immediately disappeared from the screen upon the show's cancellation.

To make the series setting authentic, ABC bought a half-interest in the New Orleans French Quarter restaurant, the Old Absinthe House, and placed the Randolph and Calhoun office above the eatery,[1] although the series was nonetheless shot on the Warner Bros. studio lot in Los Angeles.

Legacy

Arlene Howell had appeared several times on 1957's western series Maverick and was a former Miss USA; she appears to have retired from the screen after a last appearance as an understandably astonished Sergeant Carter's blind date on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. Richard Long went on to play the lead in the western series The Big Valley (1965–69) and the sitcom Nanny and the Professor (1970–71). Van Williams eventually played The Green Hornet (1966–67) opposite Bruce Lee. Andrew Duggan continued to portray an amazing number of character roles in films and television, including two other stints as series lead, taking over Cary Grant's movie role in the short-lived television version of Room for One More (1962), and as the sullen patriarch in Lancer (1968–70), a western in the vein of Bonanza, albeit darker and more complex.

Main Cast: Andrew Duggan, Arlene Howell, Van Williams and Richard Long in Bourbon Street Beat

Cast

Richard Long... Rex Randolph
Andrew Duggan ... Cal Calhoun
Arlene Howell... Melody Lee Mercer
Van Williams ... Kenny Madison
Eddie Cole... The Baron (twelve episodes)
Tommy Farrell... Jay O'Hanlon (seven episodes
Nita Talbot... Lusti Weather (four episodes)

Guest stars

The following are among the many guest stars on Bourbon Street Beat:

Episode list

No. Title Initial airing Director Writer(s)
1 The Taste of Ashes October 5, 1959 Leslie H. Martinson Charles Hoffman & Al C. Ward
2 Mourning Cloak October 12, 1959 James V. Kern Sig Herzig
3 Torch Song for Trumpet October 19, 1959 Jim Barnett & Leo Townsend
4 Woman in the River with Mary Tyler Moore October 26, 1959 Luthar Davis
5 Girl in Trouble with Russ Conway November 2, 1959 Reginald LeBorg John Hawkins & Ward Hawkins
6 Tiger Moth November 9, 1959
7 Secret of Hyacinth Bayou November 16, 1959
8 Invitation to a Murder November 23, 1959 Richard LeBorg Stephen Lord
9 Mrs. Viner Vanishes November 30, 1959
10 Light Touch of Terror December 7, 1959 William J. Hole Jr.
11 The Golden Beetle December 14, 1959
12 The Black Magnolia with Mary Tyler Moore December 21, 1959 Reginald LeBorg Earl Baldwin
13 Portrait of Lenore December 28, 1959
14 Kill With Kindness January 4, 1960 William J. Hole Jr.
15 Inside Man January 11, 1960
16 Find My Face January 18, 1960
17 Knock on Any Tombstone January 25, 1960 William J. Hole Jr.
18 Key to the City February 1, 1960 James V. Kern Robert C. Dennis
19 The 10% Blues February 8, 1960 William J. Hole Jr. Hugh Benson & Dick Nelson
20 Melody in Diamonds February 15, 1960
21 The House of Ledezan February 22, 1960 William J. Hole Jr. David Evans
22 Target for Hate March 7, 1960 Richard Matheson & William L. Stuart
23 The Missing Queen with Roscoe Ates March 14, 1960 Dorothy B. Hughes & Doris Gilbert
24 Neon Nightmare with Randy Stuart as Beejay March 21, 1960 William J. Hole Jr. Dean Riesner
25 Wall of Silence March 28, 1960 Sam Ross
26 Twice Betrayed with Tyler McVey and Judson Pratt April 4, 1960 William Bruckner
27 Swamp Fire with Tony Young as Prosper Gamillon April 11, 1960 Robert B. Sinclair Sig Herzig and Dean Riesner
28 If a Body April 18, 1960 Charles Hoffman & Irving Elman
29 Six Hours to Midnight April 25, 1960 Lee Loeb & Richard Bluel
30 Last Exit May 2, 1960 Leslie H. Martinson W. Hermanos
31 Deadly Persuasion May 9, 1960 Berne Giler & W. Hermanos
32 Suitable for Framing May 16, 1960 Leslie H. Martinson Charles Hoffman & Gerald Drayson Adams
33 False Identity May 23, 1960 William J. Hole Jr. W. Hermanos & David Goodis
34 Green Hell May 30, 1960 Charles R. Rondeau Al C. Ward
35 Ferry to Algiers June 6, 1960 William J. Hole Jr. W. Hermanos
36 Wagon Show with Brad Johnson as Michael Reynard June 13, 1960
37 Interrupted Wedding with Patrick McVey as John Crane and Randy Stuart as Betty Jane Robinson June 20, 1960 William J. Hole Jr.
38 Reunion June 27, 1960 William J. Hole Jr.
39 Teresa July 4, 1960 William J. Hole Jr.

References

  1. ↑ Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1997, p. 113

External links

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