Harold Robbins' The Survivors

Last updated
Harold Robbins' The Survivors
Lana Turner Rossano Brazzi The Survivors 1969.jpg
Rossano Brazzi and Lana Turner in a scene
Also known asThe Survivors
Genre Soap opera
Created byRichard De Roy
Michael Gleason
Harold Robbins
Starring Lana Turner
George Hamilton
Diana Muldaur
Ralph Bellamy
Natalie Schafer
Kevin McCarthy
Jan-Michael Vincent
Clu Gulager
Louis Hayward
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes15
Production
Running time60 minutes
Production company Universal Television
Original release
Network ABC
Release22 September 1969 (1969-09-22) 
17 September 1970 (1970-09-17)

The Survivors is an American primetime soap opera aired by the ABC television network as part of its fall 1969 lineup. [1]

Contents

Series overview

The series was based on the book of the same title written by bestselling author Harold Robbins, who was credited as a cocreator and wrote the script for the series debut.

Hollywood film star Lana Turner made her only television appearance as a regular series character on The Survivors. The show also starred Jan-Michael Vincent, Ralph Bellamy, Diana Muldaur, George Hamilton, Louis Hayward, Kevin McCarthy, Clu Gulager and Natalie Schafer. [2] However, the program was a ratings failure, losing badly to Mayberry R.F.D. and The Doris Day Show on CBS and The NBC Monday Movie on NBC. It was canceled at midseason, although it was rerun the following summer.

Cast and characters

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
1"Chapter One" Michael Ritchie Harold RobbinsSeptember 29, 1969 (1969-09-29)14.2 [3]
Baylor Carlyle demands the resignation of his son-in-law Philip Hastings because of embezzlement. Also stars Celeste Yarnall and Jean-Paul Vignon.
2"Chapter Two" Paul Henreid Preston WoodOctober 6, 1969 (1969-10-06)13.9
Baylor learns that he only has a short time to live and decides to bring Duncan into the bank.
3"Chapter Three" Frank McDonald Arthur Weiss October 13, 1969 (1969-10-13)12.3
Baylor grants Duncan's request for a bank loan to Miguel Santerra after meeting with the revolutionary. Also stars Larry Hovis and Jean Hale.
4"Chapter Four" Paul Wendkos Odie Hawkins & Arthur WeissOctober 20, 1969 (1969-10-20)13.1
Tracy and Antaeus meet again after a twenty-year absence. Also stars Parley Baer.
5"Chapter Five" Ralph Levy Steffi BarrettOctober 27, 1969 (1969-10-27)12.7
Jeff leaves home to go live with his friends Tom and Sheila. Also stars Roger Garrett.
6"Chapter Six" H. Bruce Humberstone Steffi BarrettNovember 10, 1969 (1969-11-10)9.1
Philip offers Tracy a divorce in exchange for her share of the bank when Baylor dies.
7"Chapter Seven" Marc Daniels Story by: Jo Pagano & Arthur Weiss
Teleplay by: Steffi Barrett & Stuart Jerome
November 17, 1969 (1969-11-17)8.7
Philip discovers that the Carlyle Bank has financed Santerra's revolution. Also stars David Cassidy and Zalman King.
8"Chapter Eight" Anton Leader Norman PaulNovember 24, 1969 (1969-11-24)9.5
Tracy tells Jeff that Philip is not his father.
9"Chapter Nine" Lee Philips Preston WoodDecember 1, 1969 (1969-12-01)14.7
Riakos tells Senator Jennings (Clu Gulager) of the Carlyle Bank's involvement in the Santerra revolution. Also stars Burr DeBenning and Schell Rasten.
10"Chapter Ten" Lewis Allen D.C. Fontana & Norman PaulDecember 8, 1969 (1969-12-08)10.2
Baylor is subpoenaed to testify before the Senate about his bank loan to Santerra's revolutionary group. Also stars Max Kleven, Bartlett Robinson and James B. Sikking.
11"Chapter Eleven"Paul HenreidStory by: Walter Doniger
Teleplay by: Norman Katkov
December 15, 1969 (1969-12-15)9.5
Duncan finds Baylor dead. Also stars S. John Launer and George Fenneman.
12"Chapter Twelve"unknownunknownDecember 22, 1969 (1969-12-22)unknown
Duncan tells Tracy he suspects Philip of murder.
13"Chapter Thirteen"Lewis AllenunknownDecember 29, 1969 (1969-12-29)11.6
The reading of Baylor's will is interrupted by the appearance of his widow, Eleanor (Natalie Schafer). Also stars Paul Stewart and Michael Ansara.
14"Chapter Fourteen"unknownunknownJanuary 5, 1970 (1970-01-05)11.8
Philip announces that he and Eleanor will fight Baylor's will.
15"Chapter Fifteen"unknownunknownJanuary 12, 1970 (1970-01-12)11.5
Duncan is injured in an automobile accident, and in the subsequent investigation, police find that it was no accident.

Television film

A made-for-TV-movie was filmed in 1971 based on the series titled The Last of the Powerseekers. Universal Television decided to re-edit two of The Survivors episodes into the TV movie. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Muldaur</span> American actress

Diana Muldaur is an American film and television actress. Muldaur's television roles include Rosalind Shays on L.A. Law and Dr. Katherine Pulaski in the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She also appeared in two episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series in the late 1960s, playing two different roles. She has been nominated for an Emmy twice, as a supporting actress on L.A. Law in 1990 and 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Lansing (actor)</span> American actor (1928–1994)

Robert Lansing was an American stage, film, and television actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Gregory (actor)</span> American actor (1911–2002)

James Gregory was an American character actor known for his deep, gravelly voice, and playing brash roles such as Schaffer in Al Capone (1959), the McCarthy-like Sen. John Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the audacious General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), and crusty Inspector Frank Luger in the television sitcom Barney Miller (1975–1982).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin McCarthy (actor)</span> American actor (1914–2010)

Kevin McCarthy was an American stage, film and television actor, remembered as the male lead in the horror science fiction film Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Hyland</span> American actress (1936–1977)

Diana Hyland was an American stage, film, and television actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clu Gulager</span> American actor (1928–2022)

William Martin Gulager, better known as Clu Gulager, was an American television and film actor and director born in Holdenville, Oklahoma. He first became known for his work in television, appearing in the co-starring role of William H. Bonney in the 1960–1962 NBC television series The Tall Man and as Emmett Ryker in another NBC Western series, The Virginian. He later had a second career as a horror film actor, including a lead part in Dan O'Bannon's The Return of the Living Dead (1985). He also was in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985). In 2005 he started acting in his son's horror films — the Feasts films and Piranha 3DD — in his 80s.

John Thompson Gulager is an American actor, cinematographer and film director.

<i>Planet Earth</i> (film) 1974 American science fiction film

Planet Earth is a 1974 American made-for-television science fiction film that was created by Gene Roddenberry, written by Roddenberry and Juanita Bartlett. It first aired on April 23, 1974 on the ABC network, and stars John Saxon as Dylan Hunt. It was presented as a pilot for what was hoped to be a new weekly television series. The pilot focused on gender relations from an early 1970s perspective. Dylan Hunt, confronted with a post-apocalyptic matriarchal society, muses, "Women's lib? Or women's lib gone mad..." The film also stars Diana Muldaur, Ted Cassidy, Janet Margolin, Christopher Cary, Corrine Camacho, and Majel Barrett. Marc Daniels directed the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Brandt</span> American actor (1919–2008)

Melville Brandt was an actor and NBC staff announcer.

The Kraft Suspense Theatre is an American television anthology series that was produced and broadcast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall specials once monthly. Como's production company, Roncom Films, also produced Kraft Suspense Theatre.. Writer, editor, critic, and radio playwright Anthony Boucher served as consultant on the series.

<i>Born Free</i> (TV series) American TV series or program

Born Free is an American adventure/drama series based on the 1966 movie of the same name. It aired on the NBC television network from September 9 to December 30, 1974, produced by Columbia Pictures Television and starring and narrated by Diana Muldaur.

The Long Hot Summer is an American drama series from 20th Century Fox Television that was broadcast on ABC-TV for one season from 1965–1966. It was aired in the UK on ITV.

<i>The Tall Man</i> (TV series) American TV series or program

The Tall Man is a half-hour American Western television series about Sheriff Pat Garrett and gunfighter Billy the Kid that aired on NBC from September 10, 1960, to September 1, 1962, filmed by Revue Productions.

Three Steps to Heaven is an American soap opera that aired on NBC from August 3, 1953 to December 31, 1954. It was written by Irving Vendig. Don Pardo was the announcer. One of the directors was Gordon Rigsby.

Kenny Rogers as The Gambler is a 1980 American Western television film directed by Dick Lowry. The film premiered on CBS on April 8, 1980. It was loosely based on the Grammy-winning Kenny Rogers song of the same name, and stars the singer as Brady Hawkes, a gambler trying to reunite with a son he never knew, played by Ronnie Scribner. It was a critical and commercial success, receiving an Eddie Award and two Emmy nominations, and resulting in four sequels.

Diane Roter is an American actress best known for her appearances in the long-running TV Western The Virginian in its fourth season, which ran from 1965 to 1966. She then appeared in an episode of Laredo, which was a spin-off from The Virginian series in 1966 and later appeared in an episode of the TV show Family Affair in 1969. She is also known as Danielle Roter and made appearances in television and film from 1959 until 1970. She currently is a professional writer, actor, director, critic, and arts journalist. She is a certified teaching artist. She has also worked as an editor, computer tutor, algebra teacher, writing and performance coach, and political organizer. She is as also known as Dani Roter.

<i>Call to Danger</i> American TV series or program

Call to Danger was broadcast as a New CBS Tuesday Night Movie television film on February 27, 1973. Initially ordered as a pilot, titled Deadly Target, the series was envisioned as a vehicle for Peter Graves should his current series, Mission: Impossible, not be renewed. Diana Muldaur was cast as the female lead. Parts of the movie were filmed on location in Washington, D.C.

"The Big Slide" was an American television play broadcast on November 8, 1956, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. It was the sixth episode of the first season of Playhouse 90. Red Skelton and Shirley Jones starred in the play about a silent movie star. Skelton was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for best performance by an actor. Martin Manulis was the producer, and Ralph Nelson was the director.

"The Day Before Atlanta" is an American television play broadcast on April 9, 1959, as part of the CBS television series, Playhouse 90. The cast is led by Jack Warden. Ralph Nelson is the director and John Gay the writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Gehring</span> American film and television actor (1929–2000)

Theodore Edwin Gehring Jr. was an American film and television actor. He is known for playing the recurring role as Charlie on 16 episodes of the American sitcom television series Alice.

References

Citations

  1. Schemering, Christopher (1987). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Ballantine Books. pp. 223–225. ISBN   0-345-35344-7.
  2. "The Survivors (1969) Cast". TVGuide.com. TV Guide . Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  3. Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.
  4. Hyatt 2003, p. 193.

Sources

Further reading

Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows