This Date in THE FBI History: Suzanne Pleshette, Ray Danton, Gene Raymond, and Larry Linville star in “The Inheritors,” airing Dec. 27, 1970. This episode was filmed on location in Guerneville, a Northern California town near the Russian River. THE FBI DOSSIER is now available from Black Pawn Press

Posted on December 27, 2025 by admin

  1. THE INHERITORS
    Original Airdate: Dec. 27, 1970

Synopsis. After narrowly avoiding arrest in Montana, grafter Glen Frye (played by Ray Danton) heads for the wine country near Guerneville, California, where he hopes to settle a score with former accomplice Temple Alexander (played by Suzanne Pleshette). Temple once ran off with the $10,000 that Frye had planned on using as seed money for an operation.

LEARN MORE about “The Inheritors”  in THE FBI DOSSIER, everything you wanted to know—and more—about the long-running ABC-TV series produced by Quinn Martin and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

THE FBI DOSSIER is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.

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This Date in ROCKFORD FILES History: “Loss,” the conclusion of the two-part episode “Profit and Loss,” airs on Dec. 27, 1974. LEARN MORE about this episode in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press

Posted on December 27, 2025 by admin
  1. PROFIT AND LOSS (Part 2: LOSS)
    Original Air Date:     December 27, 1974

    Synopsis. Rockford considers quitting the FDI case when he is hired by Doris Parker, the widow of an FDI computer programmer. Doris has long suspected the company of murdering her husband. Upon reading that the man who printed FDI’s annual report was found dead in his shop, Rockford deduces that both Doris’ husband and the printer were killed after they, like Alec Morris, discovered the forgery scheme. With help from Doris and Rocky, Jim sets out to prove it.

    According to “The House on Willis Avenue” (an episode that aired at the end of the fourth season), Rockford’s efforts in cracking the FDI case were recognized in a front-page story that ran in the Los Angeles Times. That article, “Willis Avenue” adds, helped cement Rockford’s reputation as one of the top private detectives in Los Angeles.

    LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details

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This Date in THE FBI History: Arthur O’Connell, John McIntire, Cecil Kellaway, and Dabney Coleman star in “The Hijackers,” airing Dec. 26, 1965. This episode marks the only time that THE FBI attempted to make a lighthearted comedy. THE FBI DOSSIER is now available from Black Pawn Press

Posted on December 26, 2025 by admin

  1. THE HIJACKERS
    Original Airdate: Dec. 26, 1965

Synopsis. In Milwaukee, Harold “Smitty” Smith (played by Arthur O’Connell), a conniving truck driver forced into early retirement by the Interstate Transfer company, arranges for two friends to steal his old rig. Smitty intended the stunt as a practical joke—after all, in thirty years of driving, he had never been hijacked. When he realizes that the truck contained a $500,000 shipment of furs, Smitty tries to use the theft to get his old job back.

LEARN MORE about “The Hijackers”  in THE FBI DOSSIER, everything you wanted to know—and more—about the long-running ABC-TV series produced by Quinn Martin and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

THE FBI DOSSIER is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.

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This date in MAVERICK TV history: Donna Mills, James Woods, and Howard Duff star in “Dead Man’s Hand,” the first of a two-part episode of YOUNG MAVERICK, airing Dec. 26, 1979. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press

Posted on December 26, 2025 by admin

4./5. DEAD MAN’S HAND (Two-parter) Original Airdates: December 26, 1979 and January 2, 1980
Synopsis. Trouble ensues for Ben Maverick when he inherits a pat hand from a gambler who died during a high-stakes poker game.

Young Maverick (CBS, 1979-1980) was an ill-fated attempt to update the Maverick formula of the late 1950s to TV audiences of the late 1970s. Starring Charles Frank as Ben Maverick, the Harvard-educated son of Cousin Beauregard Maverick, the series faced an uphill fight during its brief network run and was canceled after just six broadcasts. The two-part episode “Dead Man’s Hand” featured Howard Duff, future Emmy Award winner James Woods, and future Knots Landing star Donna Mills.

LEARN MORE about Young Maverick in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, shelters, individual, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available in softcover through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.

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This Date in THE FBI History: Ralph Bellamy, Peter Mark Richman, and Elizabeth Allen star in “The Death Wind,” airing Dec. 25, 1966. THE FBI DOSSIER is now available from Black Pawn Press

Posted on December 25, 2025 by admin

  1. THE DEATH WIND
    Original Airdate: Dec. 25, 1966

Synopsis. A merchant marine ship carrying cylinders of chlorine to Port Spencer, Hawaii is deliberately sunk by its captain in an effort to collect the insurance money. The contents of the sunken cargo pose an immediate problem: Chlorine, when mixed with water, sets off a poisonous gas that could wipe out the entire population of the island when spread by high winds. With a tsunami headed for Hawaii at 500 miles per hour, Erskine has just a few hours to retrieve the chlorine before it’s too late.

LEARN MORE about “The Death Wind”  in THE FBI DOSSIER, everything you wanted to know—and more—about the long-running ABC-TV series produced by Quinn Martin and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

THE FBI DOSSIER is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.

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This Date in MAVERICK TV History: Peter Breck and Merry Anders star in “Destination: Devil’s Flat,” airing Dec. 25, 1960. MAVERICK: LEGEND OF THE WEST: Revised Third Edition is now available both as an eBook and in softcover paperback through Black Pawn Press

Posted on December 25, 2025 by admin
  1. DESTINATION: DEVIL’S FLAT
    Original Airdate: December 25, 1960


Synopsis. Wells Fargo authorities, long frustrated by the antics of train robber Incredible Clay Corey, dispatch undercover agents throughout the Kansas City railway to find the notorious bandit, whose description is unknown. The $2,000 reward for Corey’s capture entices Bart, who finds himself flat broke (and extremely hungry) in the small town of Crenshaw, Kansas.

LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West, featuring more than 100 pages of new information about the show that made James Garner a star. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of the third edition will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. The revised third edition of Maverick: Legend of the West is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.
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This Date in THE FBI History: Sondra Locke, Don Gordon, and Kim Richards star in “Dark Christmas,” airing Dec. 24, 1972. THE FBI DOSSIER now available from Black Pawn Press

Posted on December 24, 2025 by admin

  1. DARK CHRISTMAS
    Original Airdate: Dec. 24, 1972

Synopsis. In Geiger, Colorado, Erskine and Colby must rescue a woman and her daughter from the contract killer who has taken them hostage until his target—the woman’s husband—returns from an out-of-town trip.

This holiday-themed episode shows that, even after seven years on the air and more than two hundred episodes produced, The FBI was still capable of creating evocative moments of genuine suspense.

LEARN MORE about “Dark Christmas”  in THE FBI DOSSIER, everything you wanted to know—and more—about the long-running ABC-TV series produced by Quinn Martin and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

THE FBI DOSSIER is available through Black Pawn Press, Amazon.com, and wherever books are sold online.

Posted in Celebrities, Classic Shows, Film Stars, Next Show, Television Star | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This Date in ROCKFORD FILES History: Ron Rifkin stars in “The Trouble with Warren,” airing Dec. 24, 1976. LEARN MORE about this episode in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press

Posted on December 24, 2025 by admin
  1. THE TROUBLE WITH WARREN
    Original Air Date:     December 24, 1976

    Synopsis. Beth’s intellectually brilliant but socially inept cousin Warren (played by Ron Rifkin) is the prime suspect in the murder of his boss. Rockford agrees to help, only to find himself in trouble with the police on a lengthy string of charges.

    This episode features Ron Rifkin, whom we last saw catching his breath after his character had been chased by Rockford to the foot of the Hoover Dam building in the closing moments of “Roundabout,” and Shirley Anthony, a longtime friend of series writer/producer Juanita Bartlett.

    LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details

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This Date in ROCKFORD FILES History: Larry Linville stars in “A Deadly Maze,” airing Dec. 23, 1977. Written by Juanita Bartlett, this episode received an Edgar Award nomination for Best Television Episode of the season. LEARN MORE about this episode in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press

Posted on December 23, 2025 by admin
  1. A DEADLY MAZE
    Original Air Date:     December 23, 1977

    Synopsis. Facing a serious cash flow stoppage, Rockford agrees to find a man’s missing wife—a case he’d normally decline. Jim doesn’t realize that his client, Eric Von Albach (played by Larry Linville), is a behavioral scientist who is using him as a guinea pig in a government-funded study to determine how monetary reinforcement influences certain people’s ability to complete their work under stress. The “missing wife” case was part of the charade Von Albach concocted to measure Rockford’s reactions. The experiment hits a snag, however, when the woman Von Albach hired to play his wife ends up dead.Larry Linville was an inspired choice to play the cold, calculating, eccentric, and ever scientific Professor Von Albach. At the time of this episode, Linville had just completed his five-year stint as Major Frank Burns on M*A*S*H. LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details
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TV CONFIDENTIAL Show No. 719.4 with guest Tom Sturges is now available for listening on demand for free wherever you find podcasts

Posted on December 22, 2025 by admin

Tom Sturges. Photo by Zack Schwartz

Tom Sturges on why the music industry is a great big playground
Original Airdates: Dec. 19-22, 2025
TVC 719.4: Ed welcomes Tom Sturges, son of Academy Award-winning writer/director Preston Sturges, one of the top executives in the music industry, and the author of such books as Every Idea is a Good Idea, A Good Divorce Begins Here, and Preston Sturges: The Last Years of Hollywood’s First Writer-Director. Tom’s latest book, Men Explained… Finally, is a humorous, totally unscientific, and yet often very wise look at the male species that reveals such universal Man Truths as Why All Men are Really Fourteen Year-Old-Boys, Why Men Are Like Whales, Why All Men Have Three Basic Needs, and Why Every Problem in the World Can Be Solved with Duct Tape. Topics this segment include how Tom’s thirty-five years in the music business have helped him develop many of the observations about men that appear in Men Explained… Finally; how the key to survival for most men comes from their ability to compartmentalize; and why the goal of Tom’s book is to help men have better relationships with the women in their lives. Men Explained… Finally is available wherever books are sold through Centimilla Press.

Shaquille O’Neal from his 1993 music video “What’s Up Doc (Can We Rock)?”

Tom Sturges, Preston Sturges, and Shaquille O’Neal
Original Airdates: Dec. 19-22, 2025
TVC 719.5: Tom Sturges talks to Ed about how his father, Preston Sturges, embodied some of the “man truths” that Tom writes about in his new book, Men Explained… Finally; how Tom came to work with NBA star Shaquille O’Neal when O’Neal became a rap artist; and what Tom looks for when determining whether a new song has what it takes to become a hit record. Men Explained… Finally is available wherever books are sold through Centimilla Press.

Posted in Celebrities, Classic Shows, Film Stars, Podcasts, Television Star | Leave a comment