On this day in television and book history - The Blue Knight (1975 - 1976)

The Blue Knight

created by Albert Ruben and E. Jack Neuman,

based on the novel by Joseph Wambaugh,

was released in the United States on December 17, 1975,

and ran for two seasons until October 20, 1976.

The pilot episode was shown on May 9, 1975.

Theme music by Henry Mancini.

Partial cast:

George Kennedy, John Steadman, Barbara Rhoades, Lee Weaver, Lucy Saroyan, Robert Hays, Phillip Pine, Al Hansen, Jess Nadelman, Don Maxwell, Bruce Glover, Gerald McRaney, Tom Bower, Anthony Geary, James A. Watson Jr., Jason Bernard, Ben Frank, Kelly Thordsen, Marc Alaimo, Hoke Howell, Don Hanmer, Byron Mabe, Phillip Simms, Jonathan Goldsmith, Jan Peters, Harry Lauter, Ross Elliott, Alex Rocco, Vic Tayback, Joanna Moore, Mitchell Ryan, John Ireland, Verna Bloom, Steve Sandor, Suzanne Charny, Carmen Zapata, Jacqueline Scott, T.J. Castronovo, Mel Novak, Juno Dawson, Christina Hart, Claire Brennen, Edward James Olmos, Judson Pratt, Lewis Charles, Claudia Bryar, Thomas Carter, Joseph Wambaugh, Kitty Carl, Paul Fierro, Peter Brandon, Booth Colman, Roy West, Lisa Moore, Dorothy Dells, William C. Coleman, Hilary Beane, Sharon Compton, Lieux Dressler, Jason Sommers, Curtis Henderson, Dorothy Meyer, Rita Gomez, Brooks Almy, Michael O'Keefe, Aneta Corsaut, Anjanette Comer, Judith McConnell, Janet MacLachlan, Charles Aidman, Davis Roberts, Kathryn Reynolds, Michael Swan, Helen Craig, Lucy Marlow, Jeff Goldblum, Sherry Jackson, P. J. Soles, Katherine Helmond, Gary Lockwood, Joanne Linville, Elisha Cook Jr., Jim Davis, James Whitmore Jr., Salome Jens, Norman Fell, Guy Stockwell, John Quade, John Lone, Woodrow Parfrey, Hampton Fancher, Jillian Kesner, Kathleen Hughes, Rudy Ramos.

Recommended reading - The Blue Knight

The Blue Knight

by Joseph Wambaugh.
 
First published 1972.
Published by Grand Central Publishing.
Mass Market Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0446509191
ISBN-13: 978-0446509190
 
Description:
 

Ex-cop turned #1 New York Times bestselling writer Joseph Wambaugh forged a new kind of literature with his great early police procedurals. Gritty, luminous, and ultimately stunning, this novel is Wambaugh at his best – a tale of a street cop on the hardest beat of his life.

 

The Blue Knight.
 

Twenty and two. Those are the numbers turning in the mind of William "Bumper" Morgan: twenty years on the job, two days before he "pulls the pin" and walks away from it forever. But on the gritty streets of L.A., people look at Bumper like some kind of knight in armor – they've plied him with come-ons, hot tips, and the hard respect a man can't earn anywhere else. Now, with a new job and a good woman waiting for him, a kinky thief terrorizing L.A.'s choice hotels, and a tragedy looming, Bumper Morgan is about to face the only thing that can scare him: the demons that he's been hiding behind his bright and shiny badge...

 

“Marvelous … realistic, frightening, touching in its humanity. – Detroit Free Press.
 
“An extraordinary piece of craftsmanship.” – Los Angeles Times.

On this day in movie history - Mirage (1965)

Mirage

directed by Edward Dmytryk,

written by Peter Stone,

based on the novel Fallen Angel by Walter Ericson,

was released in the United States on July 7, 1965.

Music by Quincy Jones.

Cast:

Gregory Peck, Diane Baker, Walter Matthau, Kevin McCarthy, Jack Weston, Leif Erickson, Walter Abel, George Kennedy, Robert H. Harris, Anne Seymour, House B. Jameson, Hari Rhodes, Syl Lamont, Eileen Baral, Neil Fitzgerald, Franklin Cover.

On this day in movie history - The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

The Sons of Katie Elder

directed by Henry Hathaway,

written by William H. Wright, Allan Weiss and Harry Essex,

based on a story by Talbot Jennings,

was released in the United States on June 24, 1965.

Music by Elmer Bernstein.

Cast:

John Wayne, Dean Martin, Martha Hyer, Michael Anderson Jr., Earl Holliman, Jeremy Slate, James Gregory, Paul Fix, George Kennedy, Dennis Hopper, Sheldon Allman, John Litel, John Doucette, James Westerfield, Rhys Williams, John Qualen, Rodolfo Acosta, Strother Martin, Percy Helton, Karl Swenson.

On this day in movie history - The Dirty Dozen (1967)

The Dirty Dozen

directed by Robert Aldrich,

written by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller,

based on the novel, by E. M. Nathanson,

was released in the United States, on June 15, 1967.

Music by Frank De Vol.

Cast:

Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Trini López, Ralph Meeker, Robert Ryan, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Clint Walker, Robert Webber, Tom Busby, Ben Carruthers, Stuart Cooper, Robert Phillips, Colin Maitland, Al Mancini, George Roubicek, Thick Wilson, Dora Reisser, Lewis Alexander, Michael Anthony, William Baskiville, Roy Beck, Cynthia Bizeray, Leo Britt, Harry Brooks Jr., Ken Buckle, Jack Carter, Alan Chuntz, Harold Coyne, Gerry Crampton, Hugh Elton, Gary Files, Suzanne Fleuret, Judith Furse, Hal Galili, Victor Gallucci, Alan Gibbs, Romo Gorrara, Willoughby Gray, Patrick Halpin, Alan Harris, Gerard Heinz, John G. Heller, George Hilsdon, John Hollis, Alf Joint, Angela Kay, Juba Kennerley, Eric Kent, John Ketteringham, Hildegard Knef, Ann Lancaster, Roy Lansford, Aileen Lewis, Dickey Luck, Richard Marner, Mark McBride, Dick Miller, John More, Lou Morgan, Norman Morris, Lionel Murton, Suzanne Owens-Duval, Joe Phelps, Edith Raye, Mike Reid, Terry Richards, Jack Ross, Gordon Ruttan, Frederick Schiller, Bunny Seaman, Michael Segal, Jack Sharp, Richard Shaw, Tony Snell, Warren Stanhope, Michael Stayner, Emile Stemmler, Michael Stevens, Bill Strange, Fred Stroud, Elliott Sullivan, John Tatham, Rocky Taylor, Burnell Tucker, Hedger Wallace, Ken Wayne, Theodore Wilhelm, Jeremy Wilkin, Fred Wood, Vicki Woolf.

On this day in television history - The Asphalt Jungle (1961)

The Asphalt Jungle

directed by Herman Hoffman, Gerald Mayer and Joseph M. Newman,

was released in the United States on April 2, 1961, and ran for one season until June 25, 1961.

Inspired by The Asphalt Jungle (1950), directed by John Huston, based on the novel by W. R. Burnett.

Music by Calvin Jackson.

Cast:

Jack Warden, Arch Johnson, William Smith, Dallas Mitchell, George Kennedy, Bernard Kates, Terry Becker, Milton Selzer, Adam Williams, Barnaby Hale, Frank Maxwell, Ted Knight, Norma Crane, Douglas Odney, Robert Vaughn, John Ireland, Skip Homeier, Fritz Weaver, Philip Carey, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Paul Stewart, Leo Penn, Edward Binns, Robert Douglas, Ellen Madison, Eric Berry, Vera Miles, Beverly Garland, Joyce Meadows, Virginia Christine, Linda Watkins, Ross Elliott, Paul Carr, Malcolm Atterbury, Robert F. Simon, Alexander Scourby, Leora Dana, Sydney Pollack, Lurene Tuttle, Ken Lynch, Eileen Ryan, Val Avery, Steve Brodie, Erin O'Brien, Paul Genge, Suzi Carnell, Carl Don, Gavin MacLeod, Morgan Woodward, Dabbs Greer, Robert H. Harris, Arthur Batanides, Jena Engstrom, Robert Sampson, Emile Meyer, Guy Raymond, Barry Russo, John Astin, Elizabeth MacRae, Josip Elic, Maxine Stuart, Nora Marlowe, Lew Gallo, James Bonnet, Robert Bailey, Jerry Wayne, Zolya Talma, Yvette Vickers, John Harmon, Than Wyenn, Jan Arvan, Hugh Sanders, Jack Reitzen, Mary Lawrence, Charles Cantor, Kay Doubleday, Pat Meikle, Michael Constantine, Ellen Corby, Robert Brubaker, Joan Tompkins, Will J. White, Jay Adler, Frank Behrens, Iphigenie Castiglioni, Ken Tilles, Frank Overton, Henry Beckman, James Seay, Warren J. Kemmerling, Gene Roth, Ollie O'Toole, Lou Krugman, Felix Deebank, Joan Staley, Everett Sloane, Frank Ferguson, Abraham Sofaer, Adrienne Marden, John Zaremba, Brad Morrow, Miriam Goldina, Marianne Stewart, Joseph Mell, Arny Freeman, Clegg Hoyt, David White, Joseph Ruskin, Natalie Trundy, William Keene, Dori Simmons, Michael Parks, Warren Parker, Joe Turkel, James Westerfield, Gene Coogan, Ken Berry, John Davis Chandler, Ian Wolfe, Robert Bice, Richard George.

Born on this day – George Kennedy:

George Kennedy

Actor

February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016