Synopsis: Thrust Into Television

Many movie character actors found steady work and arguably more exposure with the advent of television.

MORRIS ANKRUM (1897-1964) 

Ankrum was an American radio, television, and film character actor appearing in countless films from the 1930s to the mid-1950s. His credits were largely concentrated in the Western and Science-Fiction genres, often as authority figures, scientists, numerous military figures, judges, bankers, and even psychiatrists in more than 270 films and television episodes. His portrayal of Native Americans was less believable, however. Because of his commanding facial countenance, Ankrum could also play believable villains. Between numerous and varied television appearances, he could be seen as a judge on twenty-two episodes of Perry Mason. Somewhat ironic since Ankrum had a law degree from the University of Southern California. A career he pursued before getting the acting bug.

Discover more about Ankrum's career at IMDB.

The Marauders From Planet Mercury

The redesigned 1963 Mercurys were simply upscale Fords, yet I have a special fondness for the one-year-only 1964 Montclair Marauder 4-door hardtop model pictured above. Purchased in 1966 by my dad, it was his first car with air conditioning. 

An acknowledged tweak to the 1963 model, the 1964 outward styling added a convex grille and pointed front fenders which better facilitated the accent "fin" at the rear, providing an accelerating, forward look. Out back the round taillights got flattened into ovals. Aside from my dad's "pink champaign" car color (officially Pink Frost), the image above is the same. The most distinctive feature for me is the stylish C-chrome piece to facilitate the extra two doors, something the 1963 fastback models did not offer. It softens the overall roof line and is not as jolting as the more common "welded-in-place" 2-door fastbacks. I cannot attest to the exact engine specs on the car pictured, but my dad's car came with the 4-barrel/390ci/300hp version. 

Note: The 1964 Mercury possessed a more aggressive appearance than the soft, bloated Fords of the same year. The Marauder's two checkboard racing flags emblem, forward the front wheels, added a faux excitement to me as a youth. 

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

 

A former patient returns home after a nervous breakdown to discover her father has remarried. Her stepmother wants to force her back into a sanitarium. Kimble discovers what is going on.

The Homecoming, 1964
Guest stars: Shirley Knight, Richard Carlson, Gloria Grahame

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

Kimble medical training saves the life of a young boy with a serious medical condition unknown to the kidnappers.

Never Stop Running, 1964
Guest stars: Claude Akins, Joanna Moore, Wright King

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

A terminally ill man tries to help Kimble elude Gerard but his wife's suspicions come into play.

Somebody to Remember, 1964

Guest stars: Gilbert Roland, Madlyn Rhue

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

Kimble reunites with the man who saved his life in the Korean War but his heroism left him physically and psychologically scarred.

Taps for A Dead War, 1964
Guest stars: Tim O'Connor, Lee Grant

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

 

Kimble helps a wounded man (a bank robber) who then takes the doctor hostage. The wounded criminal's sister later recognizes Kimble from a wanted poster. The police descend.

Rat In A Corner, 1964
Guest stars: Warren Oates, Malachi Throne

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

 

Kimble is drawn into a domestic storm between father and daughter in Reno. Aside from his wise counsel, the doctor is able to use his medical skills while posing as a lifeguard. 

   
Where The Action Is, 1964
Guest star Telly Savalas

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

 

For the first time since trial, Kimble returns home to a father with a serious health concern and a younger brother believing he is guilty.

Note: This episode is notable for Jacqueline Scott's first appearance as Kimble's sister. Her phone conversation with her brother "out of the blue" is a series highlight. Scott's acting was genuine and quite believable. Robert Keith was in failing health in real life, dying in 1966.

Home Is The Hunted, 1964
Guest stars: Jacqueline Scott, Andrew Prine, Robert Keith

A Game-Changer

 

On this day in 1964, the last of 732 Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers was delivered to the United States Air Force and assigned to the 380th Air Refueling Squadron at Plattsburgh Air Force Base in January. The KC-135 was developed to replace Boeing's slower, piston-engined KC-97 tanker and improve efficiency with Boeing's B-52 bomber. The Model 367-80 “Dash Eighty served as proof-of-concept prototype and is very similar in appearance to the Model 707 and 720 airliners but is structurally a different aircraft. It is also shorter than the 707 and has a smaller diameter fuselage. The newest Stratotanker in service is KC-135R 64-14840 at 56 years old. It is presently assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing, Ohio Air National Guard.

A Christmastime Tradition

 

On this date in 1964, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer premiered on NBC in the United States. The stop motion animated special was produced by Videocraft International, Ltd., later known as Rankin/Bass Productions. It was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour. Burl Ives narrated the film as the animated Sam the Snowman and the music was written by Johnny Marks. The adventure classic still captivates young children thanks to a swift pace and the encounters with a variety of characters. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS. More at RUDOLPH.

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

Apparently, Kimble cannot fully disguise his medical credentials. He is asked by a married couple to help their "son" get to a doctor. Strangely, they are unaware he is a hemophiliac. This is highly suspicious to Kimball and he soon discovers the truth. The couple plan to get a 200 grand ransom by kidnapping a young boy. The doctor notices bruising from being snatched but cannot convince the kidnappers that the child needs a coagulant to promote blood clotting. Now, they are getting a bit suspicious of Kimble. The doctor comes up with a plan to smuggle the child away from the greedy couple and take him to a nearby hospital.

Never Stop Running, 1964 
Claude Akins and Joanna Moore guest star

The Pilot Ejected

 

On this day in 1964, Gene Roddenberry's original draft of the first Star Trek pilot, "The Cage," was released. NBC reportedly called it "too cerebral", "too intellectual", and "slow with not enough action." Apparently having some faith in the concept, the network commissioned a second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." The series struggled for ratings its entire run, not becoming iconic until the movie franchise was well underway. The USS Enterprise was under the command of Captain Christopher Pike, played by noted film actor, Jeffrey Hunter, seated far left above. Illogically, Leonard Nimoy plays a rather emotional Spock but the first officer was played by Majel Barrett, known as Number One. Much of the footage from "The Cage" was later incorporated into season one's two-parter episode, "The Menagerie" (1966). Hunter bowed out of any future episodes to concentrate on his movie career, which ended tragically in 1969 by a brain hemorrhage and subsequent fall down a three-stair set of steps at his home, fracturing his skull. The same year the Star Trek series was canceled.

A Noted Television Theme

 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television. The series follows two secret agents working for an international counterespionage agency called the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. The first series to capitalize on the 007 gadget craze made stars of Robert Vaughn, the singular initial focus, and David McCallum, as a Russian agent. McCallum became so popular he was added as an UNCLE agent and the heartthrob for many teenage girls. Jerry Goldsmith wrote the theme, starting off with his trademark snare drums then a syncopated rhythm under a trumpet solo. By the end of the four-season series, the theme lost its intrigued with a trendy jazz arrangement. Here is the "clean" 1964 version.

The Chesapeake Roller Coaster

 

On this date in 1964, the original 2-lane northbound Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (officially the Lucius J. Kellam, Jr. Bridge-Tunnel) was opened after 42 months of construction in the state of Virginia. The 2-lane southbound lanes were opened in 1999 making it a four-lane 20-mile-long vehicular toll crossing of the lower Chesapeake Bay, replacing the long-standing ferry system as the primary channel crossing. The crossing consists of a series of low-level trestles interrupted by two nearly one-mile-long tunnels beneath two Atlantic shipping channels, Thimble Shoals and the Chesapeake Channel. The manmade islands, each approximately 5.25 acres in size, are located at each end of the two tunnels. 

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

 

Tuesday Weld plays a sculptor with hysterical blindness and hard-to-fathom mood swings in Dark Corner (1964), her single appearance on the popular show. Kimble, innocently working as a farmhand soon recognizes her condition which is treatable. She is not interested. Weld puts the man in manipulative. She likes getting what she wants. The bust she creates of Kimble gets the attention of the local sheriff. Kimble is just a Weld phone call away from being visited by the police. Weld's character is quite annoying. Crahan Denton, Paul Carr and Elizabeth MacRae add authenticity to this episode.

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

 

Kurt Russell tries to capture Kimball in two appearances as different characters on The Fugitive. In Nemesis (1964) he plays Philip Gerard Jr. His dad gets a phone call that Kimble is nearby, cutting their vacation short. Junior escapes the safety of a sheriff's cabin then encounters Kimble. The boy does everything he can to lead his dad to the fugitive. In a Plain Paper Wrapper (1966) Russell starred as Eddie, who pitches in to buy a mail-order rifle in order to bring Kimball to justice. Russell's dad, Bing, plays a police officer.

Richard Kimble's Brief Encounters

 

Carol Rossen was a frequent female guest star on ABC's The Fugitive, appearing five times. Her intensity and depth were a good match opposite Janssen. First, she and her husband (Leslie Nielson) decide to kidnap a young boy for ransom in Tiger Left, Tiger Right (1964); her husband (Telly Savalas) thinks Kimble was responsible for their daughter's death in May God Have Mercy (1965); she was the love interest to Kimble in Middle of a Heat Wave (1965); then she and Kimble are duped into a scheme to discredit a demanding music instructor (Donald Pleasence) in With Strings Attached (1966); she played a prostitute whose self-serving ways appears to help Kimble from a severe beating in A Clean and Quiet Town (1966).