The F.B.I. | |
---|---|
Genre | Police procedural |
Starring | Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Philip Abbott William Reynolds |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 9 |
No. of episodes | 241 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Quinn Martin Philip Saltzman [1] |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Production companies | QM Productions (1965–1974) Warner Bros. Television (1965–1967; 1970–1974) Warner Bros.- Seven Arts Television (1967–1970) |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | September 19, 1965 – April 28, 1974 |
Related | |
Today's FBI (1981–1982) |
The F.B.I. is an American police procedural television series created by Quinn Martin and Philip Saltzman for ABC and co-produced with Warner Bros. Television, with sponsorship from the Ford Motor Company, Alcoa and American Tobacco Company (Tareyton and Pall Mall brands) in the first season. Ford sponsored the show alone for subsequent seasons. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1965 until its end in 1974. Starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Philip Abbott and William Reynolds, the series, consisting of nine seasons and 241 episodes, chronicles a group of FBI agents trying to defend the US government from unidentified threats. For the entirety of its run, it was broadcast on Sunday nights.
Produced by Quinn Martin and based in part on concepts from the 1959 Warner Bros. theatrical film The FBI Story , the series was based on actual FBI cases, with fictitious main characters carrying the stories. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. played Inspector Lewis Erskine, a widower whose wife had been killed in an ambush meant for him. Philip Abbott played Arthur Ward, assistant director to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Although Hoover served as series consultant until his death in 1972, he never appeared in the series.
Stephen Brooks played Inspector Erskine's assistant, Special Agent Jim Rhodes, for the first two seasons. Lynn Loring played Inspector Erskine's daughter and Rhodes' love interest, Barbara, in the twelve episodes of the show's first season. Although the couple were soon engaged on the show, that romantic angle was soon dropped.
In 1967, Brooks was replaced by William Reynolds, who played Special Agent Tom Colby until 1973. The series would enjoy its highest ratings during this time, peaking at No. 10 in the 1970–1971 season. For the final season, Shelly Novack played Special Agent Chris Daniels.
Some episodes ended with a "most wanted" segment hosted by Zimbalist, noting the FBI's most wanted criminals of the day, decades before the Fox Network aired America's Most Wanted . The most famous instance was in the April 21, 1968, episode, when Zimbalist asked for information about fugitive James Earl Ray, who was being hunted for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
The series aired on ABC at 8 p.m. Sunday from 1965 to 1973, when it was moved up to 7:30 p.m. for the final season. The series was a co-production of Quinn Martin Productions and Warner Bros. Television, as Warner Bros. held the television and theatrical rights to any project based on The FBI Story. It was the longest-running of all of Quinn Martin's television series, airing nine seasons.[ citation needed ]
Every detail of every episode of the series was carefully vetted by F.B.I. second-in-command Clyde Tolson. [2] Actors playing F.B.I. agents, and other participants, were given background checks to guarantee that no "criminals, subversives, or Communists" were associated with the show. [3] The premiere episode of the first season, "The Monster," about a handsome serial killer who strangled women with their own hair, so shocked Tolson that he recommended the show be cancelled. [4] J. Edgar Hoover attempted to cancel the show on at least seven other occasions. [5] Upon Tolson's direction, the violence in the show was severely curtailed in the final three seasons. [6]
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
1 | 32 | September 19, 1965 | May 8, 1966 | |
2 | 29 | September 18, 1966 | April 16, 1967 | |
3 | 27 | September 17, 1967 | April 28, 1968 | |
4 | 26 | September 22, 1968 | March 30, 1969 | |
5 | 26 | September 14, 1969 | March 8, 1970 | |
6 | 26 | September 20, 1970 | March 21, 1971 | |
7 | 26 | September 12, 1971 | March 19, 1972 | |
8 | 26 | September 17, 1972 | April 1, 1973 | |
9 | 23 | September 16, 1973 | April 28, 1974 |
Warner Bros. (under the Warner Home Video label) has released all nine seasons of The F.B.I. on DVD in region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection. These are Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) releases and are available through Warner's online store and Amazon.com. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] The ninth and final season was released on September 23, 2014. [13]
DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
---|---|---|
The First Season, Part 1 | 16 | May 24, 2011 |
The First Season, Part 2 | 16 | August 2, 2011 |
The Second Season, Part 1 | 16 | February 14, 2012 |
The Second Season, Part 2 | 13 | February 14, 2012 |
The Third Season, Part 1 | 16 | September 11, 2012 |
The Third Season, Part 2 | 11 | September 11, 2012 |
The Fourth Season, Part 1 | 13 | February 26, 2013 |
The Fourth Season, Part 2 | 13 | February 26, 2013 |
The Fifth Season, Part 1 | 13 | June 4, 2013 |
The Fifth Season, Part 2 | 13 | June 4, 2013 |
The Sixth Season | 26 | October 15, 2013 |
The Seventh Season | 26 | February 25, 2014 |
The Eighth Season | 26 | June 10, 2014 |
The Ninth Season | 23 | September 23, 2014 |
In December 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery, via Warner Bros, Television Studios (current rights owner of the series) launched a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel dedicated to the series and made all nine seasons of the series available for streaming online on Tubi. [14] [15]
John Edgar Hoover was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final Director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). President Calvin Coolidge first appointed Hoover as director of the BOI, the predecessor to the FBI, in 1924. After 11 years in the post, Hoover became instrumental in founding the FBI in June 1935, where he remained as director for an additional 37 years until his death in May 1972 – serving a total of 48 years leading both the BOI and the FBI under eight Presidents.
Clyde Anderson Tolson was the second-ranking official of the FBI from 1930 until 1972, from 1947 titled Associate Director, primarily responsible for personnel and discipline. He was the protégé and long-time top deputy of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
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Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was an American actor best known for his starring roles in the television series 77 Sunset Strip and The F.B.I. He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the series Maverick and as the voice of Alfred Pennyworth in the DC Animated Universe.
Philip Abbott was an American character actor. He appeared in several films and numerous television series, including a lead role as Arthur Ward in the crime series The F.B.I.
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William DeClercq Reynolds was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Special Agent Tom Colby in the 1960s television series The F.B.I. and his film and television roles during the 1950s through the 1970s.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been a staple of American popular culture since its christening in 1935. That year also marked the beginning of the popular "G-Man" phenomenon that helped establish the Bureau's image, beginning with the aptly titled James Cagney movie, G Men. Although the detective novel and other police-related entertainment had long enthralled audiences, the FBI itself can take some of the credit for its media prominence. J. Edgar Hoover, the Bureau's "patriarch", took an active interest to ensure that it was not only well represented in the media, but also that the FBI was depicted in a heroic, positive light and that the message, "crime doesn't pay", was blatantly conveyed to audiences. The context, naturally, has changed profoundly since the 1930s "war on crime", and especially so since Hoover's death in 1972.
Girl on the Run is a 1958 private detective film directed by Richard L. Bare and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Erin O'Brien, Shepperd Strudwick, Edd Byrnes and Barton MacLane.
William T. Orr was an American actor and television producer associated with various Western and detective programs of the 1950s-1970s. In most of his Warner Bros. series, he was billed as "Wm. T. Orr." Orr began his career as an actor; his film credits included The Mortal Storm, The Gay Sisters, and The Big Street.
Eleventh Hour is an American science-based drama television series, which is based on the 2006 British series of the same name. The series was a joint venture between Jerry Bruckheimer Television, Granada America and Warner Bros. Television. The series ran on CBS for one season from October 9, 2008 to April 2, 2009.
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J. Edgar is a 2011 American political drama film based on the career of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, directed, produced and scored by Clint Eastwood. Written by Dustin Lance Black, the film focuses on Hoover's life from the 1919 Palmer Raids onward. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role along with Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Josh Lucas, and Judi Dench, and features Adam Driver in his film debut.
The Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (SFSAFBI) is the official worldwide benevolent service organization for former Special Agents of the FBI. In 1972, the Society was called "Mr. Hoover's Loyal Legion" by The Nation.