MAN WITH A CAMERA: THE COMPLETE SERIES, the first and only weekly TV series starring screen legend Charles Bronson (Once Upon a Time in the West, Death Wish, The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven), becomes available for wide release on digital platforms and DVD beginning Tuesday, May 12 from MPI Media Group.
Loosely based on the popular radio series Casey, Crime Photographer (and, to a degree, on Crime Photographer, an early TV series starring Darren McGavin), MAN WITH A CAMERA (ABC, 1958-1960) starred Charles Bronson as Mike Kovac, a former World War II combat photographer now freelancing in New York City. Known for getting the photographs that no other lens man can, Kovac found assignments from newspapers, insurance agencies, and private individuals, while also helping the New York police solve various baffling crimes. Kovac not only utilized then-state-of-the-art photographic technology (including a Minox III mini-camera fastened to his belt), but often developed negatives on the spot by converting the trunk of his car into a portable darkroom. In that respect, Kovac’s innovativeness paved the way for such other resourceful TV characters as Jim Rockford.
Character actor Ludwig Stossel starred as Kovac’s immigrant father, Anton, while James Flavin played Kovac’s police contact, Lieutenant Donovan. Produced by Desilu Studios, MAN WITH A CAMERA also featured such guest stars as Angie Dickinson, Yvonne Craig, Ruta Lee, Tom Laughlin, Harry Dean Stanton, Joe di Reda, Gavin MacLeod, Grant Williams, and Sebastian Cabot.
