Dan August
Dan August is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from September 23, 1970, to April 8, 1971. Burt Reynolds played the title character. Reruns of the series aired in prime time on CBS from May to October 1973 and from April to June 1975.
| Dan August | |
|---|---|
 Reynolds as Dan August. | |
| Starring | Burt Reynolds Norman Fell Ned Romero Richard Anderson |
| Opening theme | "Dan August Theme" by Dave Grusin |
| Composer(s) | Dave Grusin Dave Vincent (pilot only) Richard Markowitz Tom Scott Patrick Williams Duane Tatro |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Quinn Martin |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45 mins. |
| Production company(s) | QM Productions |
| Distributor | CBS Television Distribution (syndication) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | September 23, 1970 – April 8, 1971 |
Premise
Police lieutenant Dan August investigates homicide cases in his (fictional) hometown of Santa Luisa, California. (The town is supposedly based on Santa Barbara but was filmed in Oxnard in Ventura County.)
Cast
Reynolds stars as police lieutenant Dan August. Other cast members include:
- Norman Fell as Sergeant Charles Wilentz, August's partner
- Richard Anderson as Police Chief Untermeyer
- Ned Romero as Sergeant Joe Rivera
- Ena Hartman as Katie Grant
Barney Phillips had a recurring role as Mike Golden, the medical examiner.
Guest stars
Guest stars including Diana Muldaur in the pilot episode "Murder by Proxy"; Martin Sheen in "Dead Witness to a Killing"; Dabney Coleman in "The King Is Dead"; Larry Hagman in "The Law"; John Ritter in "Quadrangle of Death"; and Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, Mickey Rooney, and Gary Busey in "The Manufactured Man". Ahna Capri played Linda Perry in "Death Chain" and "Prognosis: Homicide".
Other guest actors to appear on the show include Michael Ontkean, Joan Hackett, Vera Miles, Annette O'Toole, Gary Collins, Ricardo Montalbán, Ford Rainey, Carolyn Jones, Fritz Weaver, John Marley, Janice Rule, Alexandra Hay, Norman Alden, Joan Van Ark, Bradford Dillman, Geraldine Brooks, Donna Mills, Victor French, Richard Basehart, Sherry Lansing, Monte Markham, Jan-Michael Vincent, Stephen Collins, Laurence Luckinbill, Lee Meriweather, Sal Mineo, Fernando Lamas, Ellen Corby, Susan Oliver, John Beck, Michael Pataki, Diana Hyland and Simon Scott.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Murder by Proxy" | George McCowan | Robert C. Dennis | September 23, 1970 | |
| 2 | "The Murder of a Small Town" | Harvey Hart | Robert Dozier | September 30, 1970 | |
| 3 | "Love Is a Nickel Bag" | George McCowan | Arthur Weingarten | October 7, 1970 | |
| 4 | "The King Is Dead" | Gene Nelson | Jack Turley | October 14, 1970 | |
| 5 | "In the Eyes of God" | Harvey Hart | Barry Trivers | October 21, 1970 | |
| 6 | "The Color of Fury" | Harvey Hart | William Wood | October 28, 1970 | |
| 7 | "Invitation to Murder" | Robert Douglas | Mel Goldberg | November 4, 1970 | |
| 8 | "The Union Forever" | George McCowan | Chester Krumholz | November 11, 1970 | |
| 9 | "Epitaph for a Swinger" | Lewis Allen | Nicholas E. Baehr | November 18, 1970 | |
| 10 | "When the Shouting Dies" | Robert Totten | Robert Dozier (t), Robert L. Goodwin (s) | November 25, 1970 | |
| 11 | "The Soldier" | Lewis Allen | Stephen Kandel | December 2, 1970 | |
| 12 | "Quadrangle for Death" | Nicholas Webster | Norman Katkov (s/t), Stephen Kandel (t), Roland Wolpert (s) | December 16, 1970 | |
| 13 | "Passing Fair" | Arnold Laven | Warren Duff | December 30, 1970 | |
| 14 | "The Titan" | George McCowan | Richard Carr (s/t), Robert C. Dennis (t) | January 7, 1971 | |
| 15 | "Death Chain" | Ralph Senensky | Robert C. Dennis | January 21, 1971 | |
| 16 | "Dead Witness to a Killing" | Ralph Senensky | Arthur Weingarten | January 28, 1971 | |
| 17 | "The Law" | Ralph Senensky | Mel Goldberg | February 4, 1971 | |
| 18 | "The Worst Crime" | Gerald Mayer | Richard Landau | February 11, 1971 | |
| 19 | "Circle of Lies" | Richard Benedict | Harry Kronman | February 18, 1971 | |
| 20 | "Trackdown" | Jerry Jameson | Rick Husky | February 25, 1971 | |
| 21 | "Bullet for a Hero" | Ralph Senensky | Nicholas E. Baehr | March 4, 1971 | |
| 22 | "The Manufactured Man" | Richard Benedict | Arthur Dales (s), Robert C. Dennis (t) | March 11, 1971 | |
| A young woman returns to town after having been away for a year, and she's murdered just a few minutes after getting off the bus. Suspects include a popular candidate for governor, members of his campaign staff, and his son. | |||||
| 23 | "The Meal Ticket" | Seymour Robbie | Robert Collins | March 18, 1971 | |
| 24 | "Days of Rage" | Ralph Senensky | Stephen Kandel (s), Richard Landau (s/t) | March 25, 1971 | |
| 25 | "Prognosis: Homicide" | Virgil W. Vogel | Robert C. Dennis | April 1, 1971 | |
| 26 | "The Assassin" | Gene Nelson | Mel Goldberg | April 8, 1971 | |
Production
Reynolds later recalled "I swore I'd never play a cop on TV because you can't make jokes or have a broad. You wind up loving your car a lot. I was halfway out the door when Quinn said the magic words - $15,000 a week."[1]
Relation to earlier works
The series was based on Quinn Martin's 1970 made-for-TV movie House on Greenapple Road, starring Janet Leigh, which was based on Harold R. Daniels's 1966 mystery novel of the same name. It was directed by Robert Day from a script by George Eckstein. Christopher George played Dan August, with Keenan Wynn as Sergeant Wilentz and Barry Sullivan as Chief Untermeyer. Ned Romero was the only actor in the film who reprised his role in the series. The film also featured Julie Harris, Walter Pidgeon, Ed Asner, Eve Plumb, Lynda Day, Joanne Linville, Tim O'Connor, Mark Richman, and William Windom.[2]
Television films
In 1980, a movie titled Dan August: Once Is Never Enough aired on ABC. In fact, this was a re-editing of episode 15, "Death Chain," with episode 25, "Prognosis: Homicide." ABC and Quinn Martin productions were looking to further capitalize on the success of Burt Reynolds, at the time riding high on the international success of the Smokey and the Bandit films and the public's interest with his private life with actress Sally Field. Subsequently, another television film, editing together the Diana Muldaur and Dabney Coleman episodes ("Murder by Proxy" and "The King Is Dead"), produced Dan August: The Jealousy Factor.[3]
Home media
On December 7, 2018, Visual Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1.[4]
Reception
While not initially popular enough to be renewed for a second season, Dan August became a fan favorite in reruns, particularly after Reynolds' popularity surged in the mid-1970s with his escalating movie career. CBS re-aired the series both on The CBS Late Movie and in prime time during summer "rerun seasons" of both 1973 and 1975 to larger audiences.[5]
References
- Burt Prelutsky: Two Centerfolds. Los Angeles Times 24 December 1972, p. K14.
- Marill, Alvin H. Movies Made for Television: The Telefeature and the Mini-Series 1964-1986. Page 190.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Dan August - The Complete Collection". Retrieved 2018-10-12.
- Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946-Present (4th edition). New York, Ballantine Books, 1988. Pages, pp. 181-182.
External links
- Dan August on IMDb
- Dan August at TV.com