Ed Robertson

This Date in THE FBI History: Diane Baker stars as “the spy who came into the fold” in “Target of Interest,” airing Sept. 14, 1969

TARGET OF INTEREST
Original Air Date: Sept. 14, 1969
Synopsis. A spy ring for a Code Green Communist nation drives a prominent U.S. diplomat to leap to his death after the attaché refused to turn over an intelligence paper detailing how the United States would respond to the conflict in the Middle East. At Erskine’s behest, Anne Fraser, a double agent (played by Diane Baker), comes out of retirement to help the Bureau infiltrate the ring.

LEARN MORE about this episode in THE FBI DOSSIER, everything you wanted to know—and more— about the long-running ABC-TV series produced by Quinn Martin and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. THE FBI DOSSIER is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.

This Date in MAVERICK TV History: Troy Donahue and Adam West star in “Pappy,” airing Sept. 13, 1959. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press

PAPPY
Original Airdate: September 13, 1959

Synopsis. Dan Jamison (played by Troy Donahue), a friend of the Mavericks since he was a child, calls upon Bret and Bart when he discovers that their dear old “Pappy,” Beauregard Maverick, plans to marry Josephine St. Cloud (pronounced “Sahn Clew”), the eighteen-year-old daughter of a prestigious Louisiana family. Initially more curious than concerned, the boys become suspicious once the St. Cloud brothers take an instant dislike to Bret during a chance meeting in a Texas saloon. Bart decides to infiltrate the St. Cloud family (by impersonating Dandy Jim Buckley) and soon discovers that Pappy’s life is in danger.

James Garner played Pappy Maverick just once in the original series, but he reprised the role many years later. Garner again donned a gray wig and mustache to pose for the portrait of Pappy featured in Bret Maverick.

LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.

This Date in ROCKFORD FILES History: James Woods, Julie Sommars, and Abe Vigoda star in “The Kirkoff Case,” the premiere episode of the ROCKFORD FILES series, airing Sept. 13, 1974. LEARN MORE about this episode in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press

THE KIRKOFF CASE
Original Air Date: September 13, 1974
Synopsis. Larry Kirkoff (played by James Woods) was indicted for the double murder of his parents. However, he was never convicted because the prosecution couldn’t place him at the scene of the crime, and the police never found the murder weapon. Larry hires Rockford to find evidence that would clear him of both crimes. Although Jim believes Kirkoff is guilty, he can’t quite resist the potential payoff: a $20,000 fee if he cracks the case. Rockford discovers that the Kirkoff murders may be linked to a real estate fraud. But he also finds that his investigation could have fatal ramifications after mobsters work him over and warn him to drop the case.

Other guest stars include Julie Sommars (The Governor and J.J., Matlock), Roger Davis (Dark Shadows, Alias Smith and Jones), and Abe Vigoda (Barney Miller). Vigoda, as mob kingpin Al Dancer, has one of the funniest lines in the episode in his lone scene with Garner. After Rockford refers to Muzzy Vinette as a “goon,” Dancer corrects him: “This is the age of public relations. Mr. Vinette is not a ‘goon.’ He is a ‘labor organizer.’”

LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details

This Date in THE FBI History: Frank Converse and Andrew Prine star in “Death on Sunday,” airing Sept. 12, 1971. This episode was one of several FBI episodes that was filmed on location at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

DEATH ON SUNDAY
Original Air Date: Sept. 12, 1971
Synopsis. In San Francisco, professional quarterback Paul Talbot finds himself engaged in psychological warfare with convicted extortionist Irwin Lynch on the eve of the league championship game. Lynch, a borderline psychotic whom Talbot arrested eight years before when he was an MP with the army, threatens to kill the football star unless he is paid $125,000.

LEARN MORE about this episode in THE FBI DOSSIER, everything you wanted to know—and more— about the long-running ABC-TV series produced by Quinn Martin and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. THE FBI DOSSIER is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.

This Date in ROCKFORD FILES History: James Garner wins the Emmy for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series for his performance in “So Help Me God” at the twenty-ninth Emmy Awards ceremony, held Sept. 11, 1977. LEARN MORE in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press

A searing indictment of the federal judicial system at its worst, “So Help Me God” (original airdate: Nov. 19, 1976) remains a stellar example of how dramatic television can inform as well as entertain. “We were very proud of that show,” said James Garner on The Ronn Owens Program in 1996. “It brought to light the inequities of the grand jury system, and they have changed those laws since then. And as I understand, our show had something to do with that.”

“So Help Me God” also held a special place in Garner’s heart on two counts. Not only was the show among his personal favorites, it was the episode for which he won the Emmy for Best Dramatic Actor for the 1976-1977 season.

LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details

This Date in MAVERICK TV History: James Garner, Jack Kelly, and Charles Frank star in THE NEW MAVERICK, airing Sept. 3, 1978 on The ABC Sunday Night Movie. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press

THE NEW MAVERICK
Original Airdate: September 3, 1978
Synopsis. Bret Maverick rides into New Las Vegas to collect a $1,000 debt from brother Bart, who has owed him the money for nine years. Although Bret is told that his brother was shot to death, he quickly determines from the size of the coffin that Bart is still alive. Bret soon learns Bart is running from three men who lost money from him in a poker game the night before.

The New Maverick was the pilot for a possible updated Maverick series starring Charles Frank as Ben Maverick, but the movie itself clearly focuses on James Garner as Bret. So when The New Maverick drew a respectable audience share, ABC had a problem: It couldn’t design a new series around Garner because he was still busy filming The Rockford Files, while Frank hadn’t exactly established himself in the pivotal role of Ben. Though ABC eventually passed on The New Maverick, Warner Bros. kept the project in development for another year. In the summer of 1979, CBS ordered another two-hour pilot, again starring Frank. The new series, now called Young Maverick, debuted as a mid-season replacement on Nov. 28, 1979.

LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.

This date in MAVERICK TV History: “The Rattlesnake Brigade,” an episode of BRET MAVERICK, airs on Apr. 27, 1982

THE RATTLESNAKE BRIGADE
Original Airdate: April 27, 1982

Synopsis. A band of desperados tricks Bret and Tom into protecting a gold shipment.

The third of three attempts to resurrect Maverick in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Bret Maverick (NBC, 1981-1982) saw James Garner reprise the role that originally made him a star.

LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available both in softcover and, very soon, as an eBook through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.

This date in MAVERICK TV History: James Garner files a cross-complaint against Warner Bros. on Apr. 26, 1960, reiterating his claim that the studio had breached his contract by suspending payment of his salary. The ensuing legal battle set in motion a chain of events that not only changed the course of Garner’s career, but led to the demise of MAVERICK

LEARN MORE about the lawsuit between James Garner and Warner Bros. in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available both in softcover and, very soon, as an eBook through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.

This date in ROCKFORD FILES history: Rockford leads a field trip to a funeral in “Friends and Foul Play,” the fifth of the eight reunion movies that James Garner produced for CBS, airing Apr. 25, 1996. LEARN MORE in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press

FRIENDS AND FOUL PLAY
Original Air Date: April 25, 1996

Synopsis. Rockford tries to help his friend Babs Honeywell, a waitress at the Sand Castle, prove that her son was killed by mobster Happy Cartello. When Babs herself is murdered, Jim goes through her diary, hoping to find clues that could link the two deaths. Rockford is on the verge of cracking the case when Chapman orders him banned from the investigation. But when Rockford learns that Chapman is teaching a course on criminology—and that the captain has incorporated the Honeywell case into the curriculum—he immediately enrolls in the class himself so that he can study the matter first hand.

Friends and Foul Play features two actors who previously guest-starred on the original Rockford Files. Murray MacLeod appeared in the second-season episode “Where’s Houston?” while Marcia Strassman starred in the sixth-season two-parter “Only Rock ’n’ Roll Will Never Die.”

LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details.

This date in ROCKFORD FILES history: Rita Moreno and Hal Linden star in “If It Bleeds… It Leads,” the eighth and final Rockford reunion movie, airing Apr. 20, 1999. LEARN MORE in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press

IF IT BLEEDS… IT LEADS
Original Air Date: April 20, 1999

Synopsis. Rita Capkovic (played by Rita Moreno) turns to Rockford one last time when her husband Ernie Lansdale (Hal Linden), a respected school teacher, is wrongfully suspected of being the West Side Rapist, the perpetrator of a series of brutal child molestations. When a police sketch of the rapist is leaked to the media, Ernie is immediately hounded by reporters because of his striking resemblance to the suspect depicted in the sketch. With Ernie’s reputation in tatters, Rockford’s only hope of restoring his friend’s good name is to find the real culprit.

The Rockford Files ended its run on CBS with a surprisingly strong finish, earning the second-highest household rating (10.3) and share (16.0) among all network programs that aired on Apr. 20, 1999, the night it was originally broadcast. The movie drew 14,480,000 viewers, finishing a close second to the 14,540,000 viewers who tuned in to Dateline NBC. (Dateline that night devoted its entire hour to its coverage of the tragic shootings at Columbine High School in Denver, Colorado, which had occurred earlier that day.)

If It Bleeds… also finished tied for fifteenth place in the overall Nielsens for the week. That marked the first time a Rockford reunion movie landed in the Top 20 since November 1994, when I Still Love L.A. placed fourth with a whopping 28 share.

LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details.