Run for Your Life (TV series)
Run for Your Life is an American television drama television series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on NBC from 1965 to 1968. The series was created by Roy Huggins, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with The Fugitive.
Run for Your Life | |
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Title screen | |
Genre | Drama |
Created by | Roy Huggins |
Directed by | Nicholas Colasanto Ben Gazzara William Hale Fernando Lamas Leslie H. Martinson Leo Penn John Rich Michael Ritchie Stuart Rosenberg Alexander Singer Steve Previn |
Starring | Ben Gazzara |
Theme music composer | Pete Rugolo |
Composer | Pete Rugolo |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 86 (all in color) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Roy Huggins |
Producers | Robert Hamner Gordon Hessler Jo Swerling, Jr. |
Running time | 45–48 min |
Production company | Roncom Films |
Distributor | MCA TV |
Release | |
Original network | NBC |
Audio format | Monaural |
Original release | September 13, 1965 – March 27, 1968 |
Synopsis
Premise
Ben Gazzara played attorney Paul Bryan. When his doctor tells him he will die in no less than nine months, but in no more than eighteen months,[1] he decides to do all the things for which he had never had the time—to squeeze thirty years of living into one or two years of life. Much like Route 66, each episode features the main character on the move, encountering new people in new situations.
Background
Ben Gazzara originated the character of Paul Bryan on Kraft Suspense Theatre, in the episode "Rapture at Two-Forty," which aired on April 15, 1965 and served as the show's pilot. Well received, the show became a series that September. Near the beginning of that episode, the audience actually sees the conversation between Bryan and his doctor, which is heard only in voice-over in subsequent episodes of Run For Your Life. Although Bryan's doctor gave him no more than eighteen months to live, the series ran for three seasons, with 86 hour-long episodes, all filmed in color.
Episodes
Season 1 (1965–66)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "The Cold, Cold War of Paul Bryan" | Robert Butler & Leslie H. Martinson | Story by : Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) Teleplay by : Frank Fenton & Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) | September 13, 1965 |
2 | 2 | "The Girl Next Door is a Spy" | Leslie H. Martinson | Story by : Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) Teleplay by : Luther Davis | September 20, 1965 |
3 | 3 | "Someone Who Makes Me Feel Beautiful" | Leslie H. Martinson | Story by : Judith & Robert Guy Barrows Teleplay by : Robert Guy Barrows | September 27, 1965 |
4 | 4 | "How to Sell Your Soul for Fun & Profit" | Steve Previn | Story by : Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) Teleplay by : Frank Fenton & Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) | October 1, 1965 |
5 | 5 | "Never Pick Up a Stranger" | Leslie H. Martinson | Story by : Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) Teleplay by : Howard Browne | October 8, 1965 |
6 | 6 | "Our Man in Limbo" | Leslie H. Martinson | Story by : Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) Teleplay by : Paul Tuckahoe | October 22, 1965 |
7 | 7 | "Where Mystery Begins" | Leslie H. Martinson | Roy Huggins | October 29, 1965 |
8 | 8 | "The Savage Season" | Richard Benedict | Story by : Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) Teleplay by : Frank Fenton | November 8, 1965 |
9 | 9 | "This Town for Sale" | Richard Benedict | Story by : Chester Krumholz Teleplay by : George Kirgo | November 15, 1965 |
10 | 10 | "A Girl Named Sorrow" | Leslie H. Martinson | Judith & Robert Guy Barrows | November 22, 1965 |
11 | 11 | "The Voice of Gina Milan" | William Hale | Story by : Philip Saltzman Teleplay by : John W. Bloch & Philip Saltzman | November 29, 1965 |
12 | 12 | "The Time of the Sharks" | Leslie H. Martinson | Story by : Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) Teleplay by : Frank Fenton | December 6, 1965 |
13 | 13 | "Make the Angels Weep" | Leslie H. Martinson | Story by : Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) Teleplay by : John T. Dugan | December 13, 1965 |
14 | 14 | "Journey into Yesterday" | Richard Benedict | Teleplay by : Lou Shaw Based on a story by Marc Norman | December 27, 1965 |
15 | 15 | "Strangers at the Door" | Stuart Rosenberg | Tom Allen | January 3, 1966 |
16 | 16 | "Carnival Ends at Midnight" | Richard Benedict | Story by : Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) Teleplay by : Boris Sobelman | January 10, 1966 |
17 | 17 | "The Rediscovery of Charlotte Hyde" | William Hale | Story by : Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) Teleplay by : Harold Gast | January 24, 1966 |
18 | 18 | "The Night of the Terror" | TBA | TBA | January 31, 1966 |
19 | 19 | "Keep My Share of the World" | Richard Benedict | Story by : Harold Livingston Teleplay by : John W. Bloch | February 7, 1966 |
20 | 20 | "In Search of April" | Stuart Rosenberg | Story by : Roy Huggins (aka John Thomas James) Teleplay by : Alvin Sargent | February 14, 1966 |
21 | 21 | "Hoodlums on Wheels" | TBA | Halsted Welles | February 21, 1966 |
22 | 22 | "Who's Watching the Fleshpot?" | Leslie H. Martinson | Roy Huggins | March 7, 1966 |
23 | 23 | "Sequestro: Part 1" | Richard Benedict | A. Martin Zweiback | March 14, 1966 |
24 | 24 | "Sequestro: Part 2" | Richard Benedict | A. Martin Zweiback | March 21, 1966 |
25 | 25 | "Don't Count on Tomorrow" | Stuart Rosenberg | TBA | March 28, 1966 |
26 | 26 | "The Cruel Fountain" | Stuart Rosenberg | Henry Slesar | April 4, 1966 |
27 | 27 | "Night Train from Chicago" | Richard Benedict | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Robert Bloch | April 11, 1966 |
28 | 28 | "The Last Safari" | Abner Biberman | Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : John W. Bloch & Mel Goldberg | April 25, 1966 |
29 | 29 | "The Savage Machines" | Richard Benedict | Story by : Robert Guy Barrows Teleplay by : William Wood | May 2, 1966 |
30 | 30 | "The Sadness of a Happy Time" | TBA | Teleplay by : John W. Bloch Based on a story by Patrick Kennedy | May 16, 1966 |
Season 2 (1966–67)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
31 | 1 | "The Day Time Stopped" | Leo Penn | Henry Slesar | September 12, 1966 |
32 | 2 | "I Am the Late Diana Hays" | Michael Ritchie | Dale & Katherine Eunson | September 19, 1966 |
33 | 3 | "The Borders of Barbarism" | Richard Benedict | Teleplay by : Roy Huggins Based on the novel by Eric Williams | September 26, 1966 |
34 | 4 | "The Committee for the 25th" | William Graham | Story by : Tom Allen Teleplay by : Luther Davis | October 3, 1966 |
35 | 5 | "The Dark Beyond the Door" | Richard L. Bare | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : John W. Bloch | October 10, 1966 |
36 | 6 | "The Sex Object" | Leo Penn | Henry Slesar | October 17, 1966 |
37 | 7 | "The Edge of Volcano" | Leo Penn | Ed Waters & Paul David Moessinger | October 24, 1966 |
38 | 8 | "Grotenberg Mask" | Nicholas Colasanto | Henry Slesar | October 31, 1966 |
39 | 9 | "The Treasure Seekers" | Nicholas Colasanto | Max Ehrlich | November 14, 1966 |
40 | 10 | "The Man Who Had No Enemies" | Michael Ritchie | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : John W. Bloch | November 21, 1966 |
41 | 11 | "A Game of Violence" | Leo Penn | Louis Guardino | November 28, 1966 |
42 | 12 | "Hang Down Your Head and Laugh" | Michael Ritchie | Story by : Jack Curtis Teleplay by : Adrian Joyce & Jack Curtis | December 5, 1966 |
43 | 13 | "Tears from a Glass Eye" | Leo Penn | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Luther Davis | December 12, 1966 |
44 | 14 | "Time and a Half on Christmas Eve" | Michael Ritchie | Story by : Dan Aubry Teleplay by : A. Martin Zweiback | December 19, 1966 |
45 | 15 | "The Shock of Recognition" | William Hale | John D.F. Black | December 26, 1966 |
46 | 16 | "Flight from Tirana" | John Rich | Joel Murcott | January 9, 1967 |
47 | 17 | "A Rage for Justice" | Leo Penn | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : John W. Bloch | January 16, 1967 |
48 | 18 | "The List of Alice McKenna" | Michael Ritchie | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Jerry Ludwig & David W. Rintels | January 23, 1967 |
49 | 19 | "The Face of the Antagonist" | Nicholas Colasanto | Howard Browne | January 30, 1967 |
50 | 20 | "Baby, the World's on Fire" | Leo Penn | Shirl Hendryx | February 6, 1967 |
51 | 21 | "Rendezvous in Tokyo" | Richard Benedict | Harold Livingston | February 13, 1967 |
52 | 22 | "The Calculus of Chaos" | William Hale | Bill S. Ballinger & Lou Breslow | February 20, 1967 |
53 | 23 | "The Assassin" | Nicholas Colasanto | Henry Slesar | February 27, 1967 |
54 | 24 | "The Carpella Collection" | Alexander Singer | Robert Foster & Philip DeGuere | March 6, 1967 |
55 | 25 | "A Very Small Injustice" | TBA | TBA | March 13, 1967 |
56 | 26 | "East of the Equator" | Fernando Lamas | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Henri Simoun | March 20, 1967 |
57 | 27 | "A Choice of Evils" | Ben Gazzara | Story by : Rita Lakin Teleplay by : Alvin Sargent & Rita Lakin | April 3, 1967 |
58 | 28 | "Tell it to the Dead" | Leo Penn | Story by : Philip DeGuere & Betty Andrews Teleplay by : Luther Davis | April 10, 1967 |
59 | 29 | "Better World Next Time" | Michael Ritchie | Jack Miller | April 17, 1967 |
60 | 30 | "The Word Would Be Goodbye" | Alf Kjellin | TBA | April 24, 1967 |
Season 3 (1967–68)
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
61 | 1 | "Who's Che Guevara?" | Michael Ritchie | Philip DeGuere & Robert Foster | September 13, 1967 |
62 | 2 | "The Inhuman Predicament" | Alexander Singer | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Barry Pritchard & Robert Hamner | September 20, 1967 |
63 | 3 | "Three Passengers for the Lusitania" | Richard Benedict | Erich Faust | September 27, 1967 |
64 | 4 | "The Frozen Image" | Nicholas Colasanto | Mel Torme | October 4, 1967 |
65 | 5 | "Trip to the Far Side" | Fernando Lamas | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Paul Tuckahoe | October 11, 1967 |
66 | 6 | "The Company of Scoundrels" | Michael Ritchie | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Howard Browne | October 18, 1967 |
67 | 7 | "At the End of the Rainbow There's Another Rainbow" | Nicholas Colasanto | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Henry Slesar & Roy Huggins | October 25, 1967 |
68 | 8 | "Down with Willy Hatch" | Richard Benedict | Richard Baer | November 1, 1967 |
69 | 9 | "The Naked Half Truth" | Michael Ritchie | Story by : Roger O. Hirson Teleplay by : Marc Norman & Roger O. Hirson | November 8, 1967 |
70 | 10 | "Tell It Like It Is" | Ben Gazzara | Shirl Hendrix | November 15, 1967 |
71 | 11 | "Cry Hard, Cry Fast: Part 1" | Michael Ritchie | Luther Davis | November 22, 1967 |
72 | 12 | "Cry Hard, Cry Fast: Part 2" | Michael Ritchie | Luther Davis | November 29, 1967 |
73 | 13 | "The Mustafa Embrace" | Murray Golden | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Robert Hamner | December 6, 1967 |
74 | 14 | "It Could Only Happen in Rome" | Alexander Singer | Elick Moll | December 13, 1967 |
75 | 15 | "Fly by Night" | Richard Benedict | TBA | December 20, 1967 |
76 | 16 | "A Dangerous Proposal" | Barry Shear | Story by : Tom Blackburn Teleplay by : Robert Hamner | January 3, 1968 |
77 | 17 | "One Bad Turn" | Ben Gazzara | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Paul Mason | January 10, 1968 |
78 | 18 | "The Rape of Lucrece" | Larry Peerce | Story by : Dale & Katherine Eunson Teleplay by : Chase Mellon | January 17, 1968 |
79 | 19 | "The Killing Scene" | Ben Gazzara | Story by : Edward DeBlasio Teleplay by : Philip DeGuere & Robert Foster | February 1, 1968 |
80 | 20 | "Sara-Jane, You Never Whispered Again" | Alexander Singer | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Adrian Joyce | February 8, 1968 |
81 | 21 | "Strategy of Terror" | TBA | TBA | February 15, 1968 |
82 | 22 | "The Dead on Furlough" | Alexander Singer | Story by : Paul Freeman Teleplay by : James M. Miller | February 22, 1968 |
83 | 23 | "Beware My Love" | George McCowan | Robert L. Thompson | March 2, 1968 |
84 | 24 | "Carol" | Ben Gazzara | Story by : Robert Foster Teleplay by : Philip DeGuere & Robert Foster | March 9, 1968 |
85 | 25 | "Life Among the Meat Eaters" | Robert Day | Story by : Robert Hamner Teleplay by : Mann Rubin | March 16, 1968 |
86 | 26 | "The Exchange" | John Moxey | Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Howard Browne | March 27, 1968 |
Production
Bryan needed to have a disease that he would die from but which would not affect his quality of life otherwise. The disease selected was chronic myelocytic leukemia.[2]
References
- Dialogue in opening of episodes of Run For Your Life.
- Heldenfels, Rich (2015-09-25). "Mailbag: Why networks drop shows; a TV-series flashback with Ben Gazzara". Akron Beacon-Journal.