A Man Called Hawk
Encyclopedia
A Man Called Hawk is a prime time
television series that ran on the ABC
television network between January 1989
and May 1989
. The series was a spin-off
of the crime drama series Spenser: For Hire
, and features the character Hawk, who first appeared in the 1976 novel Promised Land
, the fourth in the series of Spenser novels by mystery writer Robert B. Parker
.
Brooks reprised the role of Hawk in four subsequent TV movies: Spenser: Ceremony (1993), Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes (1994), Spenser: The Judas Goat (1994), and Spenser: A Savage Place (1995). Each is considered a sequel to Spenser: For Hire.
actor and drama professor Avery Brooks
as the title character, who has relocated from Boston to his hometown, Washington, D.C. The series co-starred actor Moses Gunn, who portrayed a father figure to Hawk known only as "Old Man".
It was a spin-off of the recently cancelled Spenser: For Hire
, which aired on ABC from 1985
through 1988
.
During the first three seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, Brooks wore a full head of hair and shaved his goatee, as a means of distinguishing his character Benjamin Sisko
from Hawk. However, the goatee was added to Sisko's look near the end of Season 3, and his head was permanently shaven at the start of Season 4. Also on Deep Space Nine, Sisko's old friend and mentor, Jadzia Dax, was called 'Old Man' by Brook's character.
, the character of Hawk was defined by his sharp outfits, streetwise manner, sunglasses (worn even at night) and the incredibly large long barreled Colt Python
.357 Magnum
revolver that he carried with him nearly everywhere. He most often acted as a street resource for his private detective friend Spenser. Notably, Hawk had a clean shaven head
, well before Michael Jordan
and other celebrities popularized the look in the 1990s.
After spinning off to his own series, Hawk became less of an anti-hero
and more of a traditional champion of people that needed help and could not fight for themselves. A deeper personal history was developed for the character, and Hawk became more of a Renaissance man
, displaying talents for boxing
, chess
, playing jazz
, and an appreciation of fine African art
.
Additionally, the character Hawk appeared in two TV movies with no connection to either Spenser: For Hire or A Man Called Hawk. In Spenser: Small Vices (1999), Hawk was portrayed by Shiek Mahmud-Bey. In Walking Shadow (2001), the role went to Ernie Hudson
. See Spenser (TV movies).
network resumed airing episodes of A Man Called Hawk in September 2006.
Fans of the series have requested its release on DVD for years with no success.
the KBC TV also aired the episodes of "a man called hawk in late 1990's"
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
television series that ran on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television network between January 1989
1989 in television
For the American TV schedule, see: 1989–90 United States network television schedule.The year 1989 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1989.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
and May 1989
1989 in television
For the American TV schedule, see: 1989–90 United States network television schedule.The year 1989 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1989.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
. The series was a spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of the crime drama series Spenser: For Hire
Spenser: For Hire
Spenser: For Hire is a mystery television series based on Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. The series, developed for TV by John Wilder, differs from the novels, mostly in its lesser degree of detail....
, and features the character Hawk, who first appeared in the 1976 novel Promised Land
Promised Land (novel)
Promised Land is the fourth Spenser novel by Robert B. Parker, first published in 1976. It won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1977.-Plot summary:Promised Land, Inc. is a real estate development company with which one of the characters is involved...
, the fourth in the series of Spenser novels by mystery writer Robert B. Parker
Robert B. Parker
Robert Brown Parker was an American crime writer. His most famous works were the novels about the private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the late 1980s; a series of TV movies based on the character were also...
.
Brooks reprised the role of Hawk in four subsequent TV movies: Spenser: Ceremony (1993), Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes (1994), Spenser: The Judas Goat (1994), and Spenser: A Savage Place (1995). Each is considered a sequel to Spenser: For Hire.
Production
On the air for just thirteen episodes, A Man Called Hawk starred lauded African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
actor and drama professor Avery Brooks
Avery Brooks
Avery Franklin Brooks is an American actor, television director, jazz musician, opera singer and college professor. Brooks is perhaps best known for his television roles as Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and as Hawk on Spenser: For Hire and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk, and in the...
as the title character, who has relocated from Boston to his hometown, Washington, D.C. The series co-starred actor Moses Gunn, who portrayed a father figure to Hawk known only as "Old Man".
It was a spin-off of the recently cancelled Spenser: For Hire
Spenser: For Hire
Spenser: For Hire is a mystery television series based on Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. The series, developed for TV by John Wilder, differs from the novels, mostly in its lesser degree of detail....
, which aired on ABC from 1985
1985 in television
The year 1985 involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1985.For the American TV schedule, see: 1985-86 United States network television schedule.-Events:*January 1 – VH1 launches in the United States....
through 1988
1988 in television
The year 1988 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1988.For the American TV schedule, see: 1988-89 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:...
.
During the first three seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, Brooks wore a full head of hair and shaved his goatee, as a means of distinguishing his character Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
from Hawk. However, the goatee was added to Sisko's look near the end of Season 3, and his head was permanently shaven at the start of Season 4. Also on Deep Space Nine, Sisko's old friend and mentor, Jadzia Dax, was called 'Old Man' by Brook's character.
Hawk
On Spenser: For HireSpenser: For Hire
Spenser: For Hire is a mystery television series based on Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. The series, developed for TV by John Wilder, differs from the novels, mostly in its lesser degree of detail....
, the character of Hawk was defined by his sharp outfits, streetwise manner, sunglasses (worn even at night) and the incredibly large long barreled Colt Python
Colt Python
The Colt Python is a .357 Magnum caliber revolver formerly manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut. It is sometimes referred to as a "Combat Magnum". It was first introduced in 1955, the same year as Smith & Wesson's M29 .44 Magnum. The now discontinued Colt Python...
.357 Magnum
.357 Magnum
The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...
revolver that he carried with him nearly everywhere. He most often acted as a street resource for his private detective friend Spenser. Notably, Hawk had a clean shaven head
Head shaving
Head shaving is the practice of shaving the hair from a person's head. At different times and places people have shaved their heads for very diverse reasons: practical, religious, cultural, or aesthetic—so a shaven head has widely varying connotations depending on the context.-Early...
, well before Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
and other celebrities popularized the look in the 1990s.
After spinning off to his own series, Hawk became less of an anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
and more of a traditional champion of people that needed help and could not fight for themselves. A deeper personal history was developed for the character, and Hawk became more of a Renaissance man
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
, displaying talents for boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, playing jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and an appreciation of fine African art
African art
African art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth. Though many casual observers tend to generalize "traditional" African art, the continent is full of people, societies, and civilizations, each with a unique visual special culture. The definition also includes the art of the African...
.
Additionally, the character Hawk appeared in two TV movies with no connection to either Spenser: For Hire or A Man Called Hawk. In Spenser: Small Vices (1999), Hawk was portrayed by Shiek Mahmud-Bey. In Walking Shadow (2001), the role went to Ernie Hudson
Ernie Hudson
Ernest Lee "Ernie" Hudson is an American actor known for his roles as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters film series, Sergeant Albrecht in The Crow, and Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz.-Early life:...
. See Spenser (TV movies).
List of episodes
| Episode | Production !! Airdate !! Title !! Notable Guest Stars | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 101 | 28 January 1989 | "The Master's Mirror" | Angela Bassett Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. She has become well known for her biographical film roles portraying real life women in African American culture, including singer Tina Turner in the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It, as well as Betty Shabazz in the films Malcolm X and... , Vondie Curtis-Hall Vondie Curtis-Hall Vondie Curtis-Hall is an American actor and film director.As an actor, he is best known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope created by David E. Kelley.-Early life:... |
| 2 | 102 | 4 February 1989 | "A Time and a Place" | Anthony LaPaglia Anthony LaPaglia Anthony M. LaPaglia is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as FBI agent Jack Malone on the American TV series Without a Trace, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama... |
| 3 | 103 | 11 February 1989 | "Hear No Evil" | Charles S. Dutton Charles S. Dutton Charles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3... , Lorraine Toussaint Lorraine Toussaint Lorraine Toussaint is an actress best known for starring alongside Annie Potts in Any Day Now.Toussaint graduated from Manhattan's School of Performing Arts in 1978, before going on to graduate from Juilliard School... |
| 4 | 104 | 18 February 1989 | "Passing the Bar" | Earle Hyman Earle Hyman Earle Hyman is an American stage, television, and film actor. Hyman is known for his recurring role on The Cosby Show as Cliff's father, Russell Huxtable.-Career:... |
| 5 | 105 | 25 February 1989 | "The Divided Child" | Mary McDonnell Mary McDonnell Mary Eileen McDonnell is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received an Academy Award nomination for her role as Stands With A Fist in Dances with Wolves, and she is also very well known for her performance as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica, the President's wife... , James McDaniel James McDaniel James McDaniel is an American stage, film and television actor. He is best known for playing Lt. Arthur Fancy on the television show NYPD Blue. He also played a police officer in the ill-fated 1990 series Cop Rock, and a close advisor to activist Malcolm X in the 1992 film Malcolm X. He also... |
| 6 | 106 | 4 March 1989 | "Vendetta" | Keith David Keith David Keith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work... , Delroy Lindo Delroy Lindo Delroy George Lindo is an English actor and theatre director. Lindo has been nominated for the Tony and Screen Actors Guild awards and has won a Satellite Award... |
| 7 | 107 | 11 March 1989 | "Choice of Chance" | Wesley Snipes Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles... , Joe Morton Joe Morton Joseph Thomas "Joe" Morton, Jr. is an American stage, television, and film actor.-Early life:Morton was born in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York. He is the son of Evelyn, a secretary, and Joseph Thomas Morton, Sr., a U.S. army intelligence officer. Because of his father's... , Charles S. Dutton Charles S. Dutton Charles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3... |
| 8 | 108 | 25 March 1989 | "Poison" | William Fichtner William Fichtner William Edward Fichtner is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on Invasion, as Alexander Mahone on Prison Break, as William Sharp in Armageddon, and as Ken Rosenberg in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.- Early life... , Joseph C. Phillips Joseph C. Phillips Joseph Connor Phillips is an American actor and conservative Christian commentator and writer. He is best known for his role as Martin Kendall on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show.-Personal life:... |
| 9 | 109 | 1 April 1989 | "Never My Love" | Angela Bassett Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. She has become well known for her biographical film roles portraying real life women in African American culture, including singer Tina Turner in the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It, as well as Betty Shabazz in the films Malcolm X and... , Wendell Pierce Wendell Pierce Wendell Pierce is an American actor, best known for his work in HBO dramas, including his portrayal of Detective Bunk Moreland in The Wire and trombonist Antoine Batiste in Treme.-Life and career:... |
| 10 | 110 | 15 April 1989 | "Intensive Care" | Samuel L. Jackson Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,... , Olivia Cole Olivia Cole Olivia Cole is an American actress.-Biography:Cole was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Arvelia and William Cole. She was the first African-American actress to be nominated for and subsequently win an Emmy Award... |
| 11 | 111 | 29 April 1989 | "If Memory Serves" | Nathan George Nathan George Nathan George is an American supporting actor who was active between 1971 and 1997. He co-won a 1969 Obie Award with Ron O'Neal for Charles Gordone's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "No Place to be Somebody." This performance also received a Drama Desk Award... |
| 12 | 112 | 6 May 1989 | "Beautiful Are the Stars" | Chris Noth Chris Noth Christopher David "Chris" Noth is an American actor. He is known for long-running television roles as Det. Mike Logan on the police procedural and legal drama television series, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and as Big on Sex and the City. For the latter role, he has been... , Karen Malina White Karen Malina White Karen Malina White is an American film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Charmaine Brown on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, and its spin-off series A Different World... , Valerie Simpson |
| 13 | 113 | 13 May 1989 | "Life after Death" | Thomas Hearns Thomas Hearns Thomas "Hitman" Hearns is a retired American boxer. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra" and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns became the first boxer in history to win world titles in four divisions. He would also become the first fighter in history to win five world titles in five different divisions... , Paul Guilfoyle Paul Guilfoyle Paul Guilfoyle is an American television and film actor. He is currently a regular cast member of the forensic television drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation where he plays Captain Jim Brass.-Early life:... , Kasi Lemmons Kasi Lemmons Kasi Lemmons is an American film director and actress, most notable for her work on the films Eve's Bayou, The Caveman's Valentine and Talk to Me.... |
Syndication
The TV OneTV One (Radio One)
TV One is an American television channel based in Silver Spring, Maryland and primarily owned by Radio One and Comcast Corporation. It targets African American adults with a broad range of programming...
network resumed airing episodes of A Man Called Hawk in September 2006.
Fans of the series have requested its release on DVD for years with no success.
the KBC TV also aired the episodes of "a man called hawk in late 1990's"