FIVE FINGERS: ELEGANCE IN ESPIONAGEBy Diane Kachmar
Actor David Hedison may be best-known for playing James Bond's CIA buddy, Felix Leiter, in Live and Let Die(1973) and License to Kill (1989), as well as Captain Crane on the television series, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-1968). But long before those roles, Hedison appeared as a CIA agent of a different sort in the 1959-1960 20th Century Fox Television series, Five Fingers. His role was as Victor Sebastian, a double agent within the then active Communist Party. Through his adventures every week on television, he was able to thwart their many nefarious plots, all while romancing his lover and muse, chanteuse Simon Genet (played by Luciana Paluzzi), in addition to keeping his cover intact as a bon vivant talent agent at Wembley and Sebastian of London, Paris, and New York. Quite a balancing act, yet Victor Sebastian was always able to pull it off.
Five Fingers was one of three shows in 1959 that led 20th Century Fox Studios' entry into series television. The other two shows were the successful Adventures in Paradise (1959) and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959-1963). Some viewers believe that had Five Fingers not been programmed on Saturday nights against the popular western, Gunsmoke, Five Fingers might have lasted a lot longer than sixteen episodes.
The sixteen episodes chronicled in this book were syndicated around the world through 1965 and in the United States until the late 1970s. Behind-the-scenes stories, trivia, scans of production files, photographs, and a history of the TV series is included. My only regret is that the series has yet to be released on TV or DVD so we can enjoy them today. Thankfully we have this book to serve as a basis of filling in the gap, in the meantime.
THE HISTORY OF HIRAM HOLIDAYBy Ian Dickerson
Based on a best-selling book by Paul Gallico, The Adventures of Hiram Holliday aired on NBC in the mid-1950s. Hiram was a mild-mannered newspaper proof-reader who, in his downtime, acquired skills such as combat shooting, fencing, rock climbing and scuba diving and put them to good use in various adventures. Great things were expected of the show; it's star, Wally Cox, was just coming off a long run as the remarkably popular Mister Peepers whilst it's show runner, Phil Rapp had a couple of hit radio shows to his name and had written and directed for the popular show Topper.
I have seen a few of these episodes and they are cute. You do have to be a Wally Cox fan to enjoy the series. He is the least likely type of hero, and his character gets a tad annoying at times. More frustration than anything for the viewer, who cannot fathom the series as an action series instead of a comedy. And therein lies the problem I always had. It took me a few episodes to figure out the series was meant to be a light-hearted comedy. By then, I had exhausted the episodes I viewed on DVD and forgot all about the series… until now.
Within six months of the series premiere, The Adventures of Hiram Holliday disappeared from television screens, with the show's sponsor opting to take a sizeable financial hit rather than continue to televise the program. So keen were they to exit, that NBC did not even air all the episodes that were produced. What went wrong? With exclusive access to production paperwork, and a full history of Hiram's adventurous career, come now, discover The History of Hiram Holliday and meet one of fiction's more unusual heroes.
Having written books on Simon Templar, Sherlock Holmes and The Falcon it is fair to say the author, Ian Dickerson, likes his heroes to have a bit of style and wit. He's published articles on subjects as diverse as satellite links, mashed potatoes and Lord Grade of Elstree, and has written, directed and co-produced a number of documentaries on the making of The Saint and other classic TV shows. Alongside that he was a co-producer on the 2017 TV movie of The Saint. He lives in Hampshire, England with a lot of books, many of them by Leslie Charteris. All of which made his more than qualified to research and write this book. Thank you, Ian.
BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY: A TV COMPANIONBy Patrick Jankiewicz
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979-1981) premiered on American television in September 1979, one of a handful of programs meant to cash in on the popularity of Star Wars (1977). The story followed a twentieth century astronaut revived after 500 years of suspended animation to become Earth’s greatest hero. Created by Glen A. Larson and Leslie Stevens, the new series starred Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, and Felix Silla. Gerard looked to the past to prepare for his future production. As Executive Producer of another science fiction series, Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979), the early cancellation of the failed series left him with a quasar of props, costumes, sets, special effects film footage, and even a rejected model spacecraft designed by Ralph McQuarrie. He hit on the idea of recycling the artifacts into a less showy series that premiered to the delight of audiences. Viewers thrilled to a seemingly endless parade of notable guest stars, such as Henry Silva, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Palance, Roddy McDowall, John P. Ryan, Richard Lynch, Cesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, Julie Newmar, Jamie Lee Curtis, Vera Miles, Sam Jaffe, William Smith, Sid Haig, Jerry Orbach, Richard Moll, Ray Walston, Gary Coleman, Amanda Wyss, and Mary Woronov.
Join Buck and the galaxy’s most beautiful women in a richly researched work that soars at light speed beyond other Buck Rogers books with a Foreword by actress Erin Gray, a complete episode guide, interviews with the full regular cast and crew, and the actors that portrayed characters such as The Space Vampire, The War Witch, and The Satyr telling all about working on the series.
Discover a never before explored nebula of back stories: How a nervous film student with no credits wound up directing an episode, which future U.S. President was a friend of Gil Gerard and hosted the premiere, which Buck Rogers guest star was murdered and immediately played in a TV movie by another BUCK ROGERS guest? Why Buck Rogers went to war with his own show's writers, which guest star became a director and discovered Julia Roberts, why Dr. Theopolis and nuclear hellhole Anarchia were cut from the show, how Sid Haig appeared in four episodes, even though he died in the first two, and more.
BANACEK: A BEHIND-THE-SCENES HISTORY AND EPISODE GUIDEBy Jonathan Etter
"When a wolf is chasing your sleigh, throw him a raisin cookie, but don't stop to bake a cake." This and other famous "Polish proverbs" were often spoken by George Peppard as Thomas Banacek, a detective solving seemingly impossible thefts, in the NBC Mystery Movie series, Banacek (1972-1974). Co-stars Murray Matheson and Christine Belford helped propel the series into brief but blazing popularity.
A Who's Who of 1970s stars rounded out the stories with colorful characters, such as Broderick Crawford, Margot Kidder, Stefanie Powers, Brenda Vaccaro, Penny Fuller, Stella Stevens, Anne Francis, Sterling Hayden, Nancy Olson, Anne Baxter, Victoria Principal, Cesar Romero, Bert Convy, Sue Ane Langdon, and Victor Jory.
In this book, television historian Jonathan Etter profiles series star George Peppard, and he also brushes back the sands of time to reveal the history of the locked-room, impossible mystery genre. A guide to all 17 thrilling episodes plus commentary from Executive Producer George Eckstein uncovers where and how he and his associates found an inspired twist to time-honored mystery formula. You discover the importance the series placed on numbers and the matching of numbers in the chapter entitled "Decoding Banacek." Series devotees will have considerable opportunity to test their powers of observation and concentration with the 112 Banacek “challenges” (more like trivia questions) presented in the episode guide.
THE JEFFERSONSBy Elva Diane Green
The Jeffersons, created by award winning television writer, producer Norman Lear, was one of the longest-running sitcoms in TV history. Starring Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley, Mike Evans, Marla Gibbs, Zara Cully, they portrayed a family who were able to move on up to a hi-rise apartment in Manhattan, New York. The neighbors were played by Roxie Roker, Franklin Cover, Berlinda Tolbert and Paul Benedict. Prominent cast members included Ned Wertimer, Danny Wells and Ernest Harden, Jr.
Many guests, such as Sammy Davis, Jr., Billy Dee Williams and Gladys Knight appeared. Laughter was the name of the game, though serious issues such as racism, alcoholism, and juvenile delinquency were tackled. The show remains a favorite through reruns, and the number of fans who tuned in to the Norman Lear 2019 Jeffersons TV remake attest to its popularity.
Elva Diane Green, the author of the award-winning biography, Eddie Green: The Rise of an Early 1900s Black American Entertainment Pioneer, and the daughter of Eddie Green, has crafted another fine achievement by sharing her take on The Jeffersons from a fan's point of view. She has written a fun, entertaining and informative background history. This book is enhanced with a Foreword from Marla Gibbs and includes an Endword from John H. McWhorter, linguist, author and associate professor at Columbia University.
