Sam Benedict
Sam Benedict is an American legal drama that aired on NBC from September 1962 to March 1963. The series was created and executive produced by E. Jack Neuman. The character Sam Benedict is based on real-life lawyer Jacob W. "Jake" Ehrlich, who served as technical consultant for the series.[1]
| Sam Benedict | |
|---|---|
 Edmond O'Brien and Yvonne Craig (1963) | |
| Genre | Legal drama |
| Created by | E. Jack Neuman |
| Written by | Joseph Calvelli E. Jack Neuman John Hawkins Laurence Heath Ellis Marcus Sidney Marshall Paul Mason Art Wallace |
| Directed by | Abner Biberman Lawrence Dobkin Richard Donner Ida Lupino Don Medford Paul Nickell Boris Sagal |
| Starring | Edmond O'Brien Richard Rust Joan Tompkins |
| Theme music composer | Nelson Riddle |
| Composer | Jeff Alexander |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 28 |
| Production | |
| Producer | William Froug |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production company | MGM Television |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 15, 1962 – March 30, 1963 |
Synopsis
The series starred Edmond O'Brien as flamboyant San Francisco attorney Sam Benedict. Richard Rust portrayed his 24-year-old associate, Henry "Hank" Tabor. Joan Tompkins co-starred in all episodes as Trudy Wagner.[2] Most episodes followed two story lines: first Benedict's case and then Tabor's.
Guest stars
- Elizabeth Ashley
- Phyllis Avery
- Larry Blyden
- Hazel Court
- Yvonne Craig
- Howard Duff
- Ross Elliott, four episodes as Marty Rhodes
- Gloria Grahame
- Ellen Holly
- Marsha Hunt
- Diana Hyland
- Nancy Kelly
- Otto Kruger
- Elizabeth MacRae
- Burgess Meredith
- Gary Merrill
- Vera Miles
- Maria Palmer
- Michael Parks
- Claude Rains
- Darryl Richard
- Ruth Roman
- Joseph Schildkraut[3]
- Inger Stevens
- Barbara Stuart
- George Tobias
Reception and cancellation
Sam Benedict faced competition from two variety programs: The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show on ABC, which was cancelled before Sam Benedict, and the first season of The Jackie Gleason Show on CBS.
In the 1962–1963 season, Sam Benedict was replaced at the 7:30 Eastern time slot on Saturdays by another MGM series about a trainee and his mentor: The Lieutenant starring Gary Lockwood and Robert Vaughn,[4] Rebroadcasts of the series continued from April to September 7, 1963.
Home media
On November 22, 2016, Warner Bros. released Sam Benedict – The Complete Series on DVD via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release, available through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.[5]
References and notes
- The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1029. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
- Joan Tompkins, "Trudy Wagner" on Sam Benedict:https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0867000/
- Joseph Schildkraut received a best actor Emmy Award nomination in 1963 for his guest-starring role on Sam Benedict. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- The 1962–1963 and 1963–1964 American network television schedules.
- 'The Complete Series' of the 1962 NBC Legal Drama Archived 2016-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Sam Benedict at IMDb
- Sam Benedict at TV.com