City Detective (TV series)
Encyclopedia
City Detective is a half-hour syndicated
crime drama starring Rod Cameron
as 43-year-old Bart Grant, a tough 1950s
New York City
police
lieutenant
. The first of three consecutive Rod Cameron series, City Detective aired between January 1, 1953 and May 10, 1955. Late in 1953, the publication Variety
noted that the series had been sold to 1,971 television stations, a then syndication record.
Numerous actors who appeared on City Detective later landed roles on established network series, including Barbara Billingsley
and Hugh Beaumont, who appeared in separate episodes some three years before they were cast as the concerned parents in the sitcom Leave It to Beaver
. Madge Blake
, a peripheral figure on both Leave It to Beaver as well as the Walter Brennan
series The Real McCoys
, also guest starred on City Detective. Andy Clyde
, who played Madge Blake's brother on The Real McCoys, appeared as Pop in the 1953 episode "Desert Ice". Doris Packer
of Leave It to Beaver and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
appeared as Florence in the 1954 episode "Sixteen Vertical". Frances Bavier
, later "Aunt Bee" on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show
, appeared three times on City Detective. Lloyd Corrigan
, a co-star of the future NBC
sitcom Happy
, appeared as Shoreham in the 1954 episode "A Safe Combination". Jean Byron
, the mother on ABC
's The Patty Duke Show
appeared twice on City Detective.
Other episodes and guest stars include:
After City Detective, a Revue Studios Production, Cameron launched State Trooper
(1956-1959), set in and about Las Vegas
, Nevada
, and COronado 9
, a detective
series set in San Diego
, California
.
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
crime drama starring Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron was a Canadian-born movie actor whose career extended from the 1930s to the 1970s. He appeared in horror, war, action and science fiction movies, but is best remembered for his many Westerns....
as 43-year-old Bart Grant, a tough 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. The first of three consecutive Rod Cameron series, City Detective aired between January 1, 1953 and May 10, 1955. Late in 1953, the publication Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
noted that the series had been sold to 1,971 television stations, a then syndication record.
Numerous actors who appeared on City Detective later landed roles on established network series, including Barbara Billingsley
Barbara Billingsley
Barbara Billingsley was an American film, television, voice and stage actress. She gained prominence in the 1950s movie The Careless Years, acting opposite Natalie Trundy, followed by her best–known role, that of June Cleaver on the television series Leave It to Beaver and its sequel Still...
and Hugh Beaumont, who appeared in separate episodes some three years before they were cast as the concerned parents in the sitcom Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
. Madge Blake
Madge Blake
Madge Blake was an American character actress best remembered for her role as Aunt Harriet Cooper on ABC's Batman TV series of the 1960s.-Early life:...
, a peripheral figure on both Leave It to Beaver as well as the Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
series The Real McCoys
The Real McCoys
The Real McCoys is an American situation comedy co-produced by Danny Thomas' "Marterto Productions", in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's "Westgate" company...
, also guest starred on City Detective. Andy Clyde
Andy Clyde
Andy Clyde was a Scottish movie and TV actor whose career spanned more than four decades. He broke into silent films in 1925 as a Mack Sennett comic...
, who played Madge Blake's brother on The Real McCoys, appeared as Pop in the 1953 episode "Desert Ice". Doris Packer
Doris Packer
Doris Packer was an American actress, possibly best known as Mrs. Cornelia Rayburn, Theodore Cleaver's principal in Leave It to Beaver....
of Leave It to Beaver and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...
appeared as Florence in the 1954 episode "Sixteen Vertical". Frances Bavier
Frances Bavier
Frances Elizabeth Bavier was an American stage and television actress. Originally from the New York theatre, Bavier worked in film and television from the 1950s...
, later "Aunt Bee" on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
, appeared three times on City Detective. Lloyd Corrigan
Lloyd Corrigan
Lloyd Corrigan was an American film actor, producer, screenwriter and director who began working in films in the 1920s...
, a co-star of the future NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom Happy
Happy (1960 TV series)
Happy is an NBC situation comedy about a talking baby, starring Ronnie Burns , the adopted son of George Burns and Gracie Allen, which aired from June 8 to September 28, 1960, and again from January 13 to September 8, 1961....
, appeared as Shoreham in the 1954 episode "A Safe Combination". Jean Byron
Jean Byron
Jean Byron was an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for the role of Natalie Lane, Patty Lane's mother in The Patty Duke Show.-Early life and career:...
, the mother on ABC
American Broadcasting System
American Broadcasting System, Inc. was the corporate entity created by Edward J. Noble to purchase the assets of the Blue Network, a radio network that was being divested by the National Broadcasting Company under pressure from anti-trust regulators....
's The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, until May 4, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke...
appeared twice on City Detective.
Guest stars
- Mike ConnorsMike ConnorsMike Connors is an American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series, Mannix. Before that, he had played a crime-fighting investigator, wielding a .38 handgun hidden in his back, in another CBS series, Tightrope.-Early life:Connors was born Krekor Ohanian in...
, before CBS's TightropeTightrope (TV series)Tightrope is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 1959 to September 1960. Produced by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene in association with Screen Gems, the series stars Mike Connors as an undercover agent named "Nick" who was assigned to infiltrate criminal gangs...
and MannixMannixMannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
, guest starred as Massey in the 1955 episode "Baby in the Basket".
- Chuck ConnorsChuck ConnorsChuck Connors was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. His best known role from his forty-year film career was Lucas McCain in the 1960s ABC hit Western series The Rifleman....
, later Lucas McCainLucas McCainLucas McCain is the rancher and widowed father with a penchant for using his Winchester firearm -- as a last resort -- in the Western television series, The Rifleman, which ran on ABC from 1958-1963. The part was portrayed by the former athlete-turned-actor Chuck Connors...
on ABC's The RiflemanThe RiflemanThe Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran...
, appeared as Sam in the 1955 episode "Trouble in Toyland".
- Walter CoyWalter CoyWalter Darwin Coy was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, originally from Great Falls, Montana. He was best known for narrating the NBC western anthology series, Frontier, which aired early Sunday evenings in the 1955-1956 season.-Career:Coy performed on Broadway...
, later the narrator of NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's FrontierFrontier (1955 TV series)This program should not be confused with Frontiers , the British program Frontier , Frontier Justice , Frontier Circus, or Frontier Doctor....
, appeared as Hilton in "Christmas Pardon" on January 1, 1953.
- Fess ParkerFess ParkerFess Elisha Parker, Jr. was an American film and television actor best known for his portrayals of Davy Crockett in the Walt Disney 1955-56 TV mini-series and as TV's Daniel Boone from 1964-70...
, starring that same year as Davy CrockettDavy CrockettDavid "Davy" Crockett was a celebrated 19th century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician. He is commonly referred to in popular culture by the epithet "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S...
on Walt Disney Presents appeared as Tony in the 1955 episode "Hearts and Flowers".
- DeForest KelleyDeForest KelleyJackson DeForest Kelley was an American actor known for his iconic roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise in the television and film series Star Trek.-Early life:...
, later on NBC's Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, appeared twice on City Detective, as Benjamin in "An Old Man's Gold" Kelley and in "Crazy Like a Fox", later the title of a Jack WardenJack WardenJack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
CBS detective series of the same name, Crazy Like a FoxCrazy Like a Fox (TV series)Crazy Like a Fox is an American television series set in San Francisco, California, that aired on CBS from December 30, 1984 to May 3, 1986.-Overview:...
.
- Carolyn JonesCarolyn JonesCarolyn Sue Jones was an American actress.Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party and a Golden Globe Award as one of the most promising actresses...
, later of The Addams FamilyThe Addams FamilyThe Addams Family is a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. As named by Charles Addams, the Addams Family characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing....
, appeared twice in the episodes "A Girl's Best Friend" and "On the Record".
- Tom GreenwayTom GreenwayTom Greenway was an American character actor of film and television, whose career, primarily in television westerns, extended from 1949 to 1965.-Early life:...
, a character actorCharacter actorA character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
, appeared twice in episodes "Drop Coin Here" (1954), and "Police, Watch My House" (1955).
- Kim SpaldingKim SpaldingKim Spalding was an American actor who appeared on television and in film between 1950 and 1961.Spalding's first role was as an uncredited clerk in the 1950 film The Gunfighter, starring Gregory Peck as Jimmy Ringo. From 1950-1953, Spalding appeared in different roles in the western television...
, as Johnny in "The Rebel" (1953)
Other episodes and guest stars include:
- "Man Down, Woman Screaming" featured Beverly GarlandBeverly GarlandBeverly Garland was an American film and television actress, businesswoman, and hotel owner. Garland gained prominence for her role as Fred MacMurray's second wife, "Barbara Harper Douglas", in the 1960s sitcom My Three Sons...
(later of My Three SonsMy Three SonsMy Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
), Jack KellyJack Kelly (actor)Jack Kelly was an American film and television actor most noted for the role of "Bart Maverick" in the TV series Maverick, which ran on ABC from 1957 to 1962...
(thereafter of MaverickMaverick (TV series)Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
), western film star Lee Van CleefLee Van CleefLee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
, and Frank FergusonFrank FergusonFrank Ferguson was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Perhaps his best known role was as the ranch handyman, Gus Broeberg, on the CBS television series, My Friend Flicka, based on a novel of the same name...
of My Friend FlickaMy Friend FlickaMy Friend Flicka is a 1941 novel by Mary O'Hara, about Ken McLaughlin, the son of a Wyoming rancher, and his horse Flicka. It was the first in a trilogy, followed by Thunderhead and Green Grass of Wyoming . The popular 1943 film version featured a young Roddy McDowall...
.
- "The Lady in the Beautiful Frame" (Olan SouleOlan SouleOlan Soule was an American character actor with hundreds of credits in films, radio, commercials, television and animation.-Early life:...
and John DoucetteJohn DoucetteJohn Doucette was a film character actor. He was a balding, husky man remembered for playing mob muscle and western bad guys in movies...
)
- "Too Many Grooms" (Claude AkinsClaude AkinsClaude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
as Hardy)
- "The Horn That Blew Too Long" (Russ ConwayRuss Conway (actor)Russ Conway was a Canadian-American character actor who appeared on film and television between 1947 and 1975.-Early years:...
as Clemson)
- "Why Should the Beautiful Die?" (Russell JohnsonRussell JohnsonRussell David Johnson is an American television and film actor best known as "The Professor" on the CBS television sitcom Gilligan's Island...
)
- "The Glass Thumb" (Barbara Billingsley, Frank Ferguson, and Douglas FowleyDouglas FowleyDouglas Fowley was an American movie and television actor.Fowley was born Daniel Vincent Fowley in The Bronx, New York. The 5'11" actor is probably best remembered for his role as the movie director Roscoe Dexter in Singin' in the Rain . The actor appeared in over 240 films and later in dozens of...
)
- "Cargo of the Midnight" (Peter WhitneyPeter WhitneyPeter Whitney, was an American actor in film and television. Born as Peter King Engle in Long Branch, New Jersey, Whitney's corpulent, heavy build qualified him to play villains in many Hollywood movies in the 1940s and 1950s.From the late 1950s, he was more prolific playing character roles in...
)
- "The Lion Behind You" (Anthony CarusoAnthony Caruso (actor)Anthony Caruso was an American character actor in over 100 American films, usually playing villains, including the First Season of Walt Disney's Zorro as Don Juan Ortega...
)
- "On the Record" (Carolyn JonesCarolyn JonesCarolyn Sue Jones was an American actress.Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Bachelor Party and a Golden Globe Award as one of the most promising actresses...
)
- "The Blonde Orchid" (Hugh Beaumont as Philip Merriam and Douglas Fowley as Detective Wes Harris)
- "Private Mouthpiece" (child actorChild actorThe term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
Richard EyerRichard EyerRichard Ross Eyer is a former American child actor during the 1950s and 1960s who taught elementary school in the eastern Sierra city of Bishop in Inyo County until he retired in 2006. He is the older brother of Robert Eyer Richard Ross Eyer (born May 6, 1945, Santa Monica, California) is a former...
as Wester)
- "The Perfect Disguise" (Angie DickinsonAngie DickinsonAngie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
)
- "Goodbye Old Paint" (Robert BrayRobert BrayRobert E. Bray was an American film and television actor probably best remembered for his role as the forest ranger Corey Stuart in the long-running CBS series Lassie.-Life and career:...
and Vera MilesVera MilesVera Miles is an American film actress who gained popularity for starring in films such as The Searchers, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Psycho and Psycho II.-Early life:...
)
- "Come Back, Little Witness" (Whit BissellWhit BissellWhitner Nutting Bissell , better known as Whit Bissell, was an American actor.-Early life:Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of prominent surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell. He trained with the Carolina Playmakers, a theatrical organization associated with the University of North Carolina at...
)
- "Found in a Pawnshop" (J. Pat O'MalleyJ. Pat O'MalleyJames Patrick O'Malley was an English singer and character actor, who appeared in many American films and television programs during the 1940s–1970s, using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley...
), and
- "The Beautiful Miss X" (Lynn BariLynn BariLynn Bari , born Margaret Schuyler Fisher, was a movie actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in over one hundred 20th Century Fox films from the early 1930s through the 1940s.-Career:Bari was born in Roanoke, Virginia...
), the series finale.
After City Detective, a Revue Studios Production, Cameron launched State Trooper
State Trooper (TV series)
State Trooper is a half-hour television crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, an officer of the Nevada State Troopers. The series aired 104 episodes in syndication from September 25, 1956, to June 25, 1959...
(1956-1959), set in and about Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, and COronado 9
COronado 9
Coronado 9 is a syndicated crime drama set in San Diego, California, starring Rod Cameron as Dan Adams, a former United States Navy intelligence officer turned private detective. Coronado 9 is Adams's address; the numeral 9 on a rock shown near his front door in the opening credits denotes the...
, a detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
series set in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.