Harry O
| Harry O | |
|---|---|
Title screen
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| Also known as | ''Harry-O'' |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Howard Rodman |
| Written by | Robert C. Dennis Robert Dozier Larry Forrester Herman Groves Stephen Kandel Joanna Klasson John Meredyth Lucas Howard Rodman Michael Sloan Norman Strum Gene Thompson |
| Directed by |
Richard Benedict Daryl Duke Harry Falk Richard Lang Jerry London Joseph Manduke Russ Mayberry John Newland Jerry Thorpe Paul Wendkos Don Weis |
| Starring |
David Janssen Henry Darrow Anthony Zerbe Farrah Fawcett-Majors Les Lannom Tom Atkins Bill Henderson |
| Theme music composer | Billy Goldenberg |
| Composer(s) | Billy Goldenberg Kim Richmond John Rubinstein |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 44 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Jerry Thorpe |
| Producer(s) | Alex Beaton Robert Dozier Buck Houghton Robert E. Thompson |
| Running time | 60 mins. (approx) |
| Production company(s) | Warner Bros. Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 12, 1974 – April 29, 1976 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by |
Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On (1973) Smile Jenny, You're Dead (1974) |
Harry O, sometimes spelled Harry-O, is an American crime drama series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen and was executive produced by Jerry Thorpe. Harry O followed the broadcast of two pilot films: Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On (airing March 11, 1973) and then the second (with noticeable retooling), Smile Jenny, You're Dead (airing February 3, 1974), both starring Janssen.
Janssen starred as the title character Harry Orwell, a San Diego cop forced into retirement when he is shot in the back. To support himself, he sets up a private investigation practice out of his beach house on Coronado Island, in San Diego. Henry Darrow originally starred as Lt. Manny Quinlan.
For the second half of the first season, the series was retooled, with the location of the series shifted to Los Angeles, California, due to the high production costs of filming in and around San Diego. The retooling consisted of more than just a location change: a revised theme song and incidental music were composed and new supporting characters were added, notably Lt. Trench of the Santa Monica Police Department, who became Orwell's new foil/contact. (Henry Darrow's character Lt. Manny Quinlan was killed off in a crossover episode.) Most noticeably a lighter tone for the scripts and acting was adopted. Harry would still live in a beach cottage−this time somewhere along the PCH between Santa Monica and Malibu. In Season 2, Episode 5, "Reflections" he gave the address as "1101 Coast Hwy, Malibu". (This beach location was the same location used for both pilot movies.)
The second season would see a further reworking of the opening credits and theme song and recurring characters added. Anthony Zerbe, who played Lt. Trench won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role on the series.
Recurring characters included Farrah Fawcett-Majors, as Harry's attractive next-door neighbor and sometime girlfriend Sue Ingram; Paul Tulley as Sgt. Roberts, Lt. Trench's assistant; Les Lannom as Lester Hodges, a bumbling private-eye wannabe; Tom Atkins as Sgt Frank Cole; and Bill Henderson as Spencer Johnson, Harry's frustrated car mechanic.
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