Rudy Bond's
Television Appearances
LUX VIDEO THEATRE
SUSPENSE
THE WEB
ELGIN TV HOUR
JUSTICE
WINDOWS
STAR STAGE
STUDIO ONE
PONTIAC PRESENTS PLAYWRIGHTS 56
GOODYEAR PLAYHOUSE
THE U.S. STEEL HOUR
THE ETERNAL LIGHT
PLAYHOUSE 90
ADVENTURE AT SCOTT ISLAND
KRAFT TELEVISION THEATRE
THE INVESTIGATOR
NEW YORK CONFIDENTIAL
NAKED CITY
And this, some time in the summer of 1959
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BRENNER
THE SECRET WHITE HOUSE TAPES, aka THE WHITE HOUSE TRANSCRIPTS
* This docu-drama, appearing in the USA on NBC, re-created the scandal that occurred during the Nixon Administration. Rudy played John Mitchell, Harry Spillman was Richard Nixon, Jon Terry was Haldeman, Glenn Kezer was Ehrlichman, Russell Horton was John Dean, Scott Ricketson was Ziegler, and Dolph Sweet played Henry Peterson. It was first shown in 1974 on CBC in Canada shortly before Nixon resigned, and WNAC in Boston shortly after his resignation. Then it was shown on network television in early October that year.
PETROCELLI
A rather different legal drama began on NBC on Sept. 11, 1974. Tony
Petrocelli, played by Barry Newman, was a big-city criminal lawyer from the
East who moved to the Southwestern US and set up a law practice (in cattle
country!) (In 1970, Barry created this role in a movie called The Lawyer.) Often he would take cases even the client could not afford to pay
him. Other regular cast members were Susan Howard, Albert Salmi and David Huddleston.
* "By Reason Of Madness" aired 10-11pm Wednesday, Sept. 25, 1974. Petrocelli is baffled by his client, a woman who admits to killing her husband simply because he was humming a melody that annoyed her --- and yet she insists that she was perfectly sane at the time. Rudy
was billed as "Dr. Starnberg", and other guest stars included
Lynda Day George as Vickie Richardson, John Vernon as Barney Majors, Loretta Swit as Ella Knox, James MecEachin as Dr. Herb Shoate and Rory Calhoun as Edgar Richardson.
To see photos, click Petrocelli
The final episode aired March 3, 1976.
KOJAK
On Oct. 24, 1973, CBS introduced us to police Lt. Theo Kojak, played by Telly Savalas, a tough, stubborn, streetwise cop who did things his way. "Who loves ya, baby" became a catch phrase, and Kojak with his lollipops soon became a part of the American image. "Savalas first played the role in a 1973 TV-movie, "The Marcus-Nelson Murders"....the movie was based on the Wylie-Hoffert murders which occurred in 1963."(TT) Other regular cast members included
Dan Frazer, Kevin Dobson, George Savalas (Telly's real-life brother), and from
1974-77, Vince Conti and Mark Russell.
Rudy was in two episodes.
"Where Do You Go When You Have No Place To Go" aired 9-10 pm Sunday Dec. 12, 1976. Joe Arrow (played by Stephen Macht), a Mohawk Indian (and recently fired ironworker), desperate for an audience with a construction kingpin, breaks into his former boss's apartment to beg him for his job back. He's mistaken for a burglar, a scuffle breaks out and he ends up killing him. Rudy was billed as "Ben", and other guest stars included Blair Brown as Stella, Maureen Anderman as Assistant DA Lockman, Charles White as Reilly,
Martin Rudy as Albert Beck and Patricia Mauceri as Yolanda.
"Justice For All" aired 10-11pm Saturday Jan. 7, 1978. Kojak has been recruited to be lead investigator for a powerful law firm--great salary and benefits. His involvement with a series of deaths due to "hot smack" leads him to believe the offer has strings. A young man who has bankrolled the drug operation is represented by the firm, and his father has bribed a lower echelon dealer to confess ($150,000 per year in prison). Kojak decides to remain on the force because of his sense of justice. Rudy was billed
as "the Janitor", and becomes a major witness in identifying a drug dealer who is responsible for the deaths of seven people because of bad heroin. Other guest stars included Charles
Aidman as Tom DeHaven, Michael Cavanaugh as Sonny Canavere, Sammy Williams as Billy Spender, Peter Hobbs as Kyle Becker and George Wyner as Asst. DA Linnick.
The series ended April 15, 1978. But beginning 1989, Telly reprised his Kojak role for
several ABC Mystery Movies.
To see photos, click KOJAK
QUINCY, M.E.
On October 3, 1976, this show began as one segment of the revolving "NBC Sunday Mystery Movie", but proved so popular, it became a weekly show early the next year.
"Jack Klugman starred as Dr. Quincy, a medical examiner for the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. Quincy's intense curiosity about his cases often led him to discount his initial impressions. After ordering additional tests and doing some independent investigative work, he was able to shed new light on matters."(TT)
This was a very popular show, another one of my favorites. The last regular episode was shown Sept. 5, 1983.
"A Blow To The Head...A Blow To The Heart" (have on tape) aired 10-11 PM Friday Sept. 23, 1977. After a championship bout a young boxer collapses and dies. His wife thinks that it wasn't an accident and asks Quincy, a friend of her husband's trainer and the coroner on call, to see if he can find out how he really died.
Once Quincy has completed the autopsy he begins to wonder if the woman is right, there is certainly something that does not seem to be quite right with the death, something that is made even more certain when Quincy is approached by 4 thugs who tell him in no uncertain terms that he better hurry up and make his report.
Rudy was billed as "Yancy". Other guest stars include Moses Gunn, Nehemiah Persoff, Lynne Moody, Randy Shields, Gloria Manon, Norman Alden and Rodney Hoston.
To see photos, click QUINCY
ROCKFORD FILES
This was another of my favorite shows, first aired by NBC on Sept. 13, 1974.
Jim Rockford, played by James Garner, was a private eye. The show began shortly
after he got out of prison (for a crime he had not committed. He was later proven innocent,) and this probably was the reason for his own focus: he usually took cases that the police considered closed, often turning up new
evidence that proved the innocence of the supposed guilty party. (As you can
imagine, he was not popular with most of the police.) Other regular cast
members were Noah Beery Jr (as Jim's dad), Joe Santos, and Stuart Margolin. The final episode aired July 25, 1980.
"The Attractive Nuisance" (have on tape) aired 9-10pm Friday, Jan. 6, 1978. The plot
centers on what happens when Jim's father decides to open a restaurant with a partner...who turns out to be a onetime mob figure who wants to use the restaurant as a front to sell stolen auto parts; and someone who was spying on him sues him after falling from his trailer roof. Regular cast
members that season also included Gretchen Corbett and James Luisi. Rudy was
billed as "Bennie" (an FBI agent.) Other guest
stars included Victor Jory as Eddie LaSalle, Ken Lynch as Vince Whitehead, Dick Balduzzi as Don Silver, Hunter von Leer as Skip Spence, John Morgan Evans as Vinnie, Jess
Nadelman as Bruce Weinstock, Jeanne Fitzsimmons as Joy Silver, Joey Tornatore as Sid, Paul Sorenson as Inspector Claybourn, Jerome Guardino,
Joseph Della Sorte as Dave Young, Will Gill Jr. as an FBI agent, and Richard Doyle as a Paramedic. To see photos, click ROCKFORD
BARETTA
There had been a TV show called Toma, a police show taking place in
New York and starring Tony Musante. When Tony
decided to leave the show, at first they picked Robert Blake to be his
replacement. But then they realized that a brand new show would work even
better, so they moved the setting to California, called the character Tony
Baretta, and premiered it Jan. 17, 1975 on ABC. Baretta, as a streetwise cop with
a unique style, was an instant hit. (I vividly remember the scenes where he
played around with Fred, his pet cockatoo.) Other regulars included Edward
Grover, Tom Ewell, Michale D. Roberts and Chino Williams. The final episode aired June 1, 1978.
* "The Gadjo" aired 10-11pm Thursday Mar. 30, 1978. The plot: Baretta's partner is scorned by his Gypsy parents after he refuses to perform a ceremonial atonement for killing his brother in a shoot-out. Rudy was billed as
"Volga", and other guest stars included Angela Clarke as Mrs. Volga, Rene Enriquez as Meyer, Patricia Hyland as Anne, Claudio Martinez as Bano,
Panchito Gomez as Emile, Robert Viharo as Rodriguez and Jesse Aragon as Joe.
AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL
ABC produced a wonderful series of special programs for children, and as
you can see by the name, they came on just in time for the kids to watch
when they came home from school.
"A Special Gift" (have on tape) aired Oct. 24, 1979. It is the story of Peter,
growing up on his father's farm, but who has dreams of a career in ballet.
You can imagine the conflict with his father, and the difficulty he has
keeping it secret from his school friends. It received several awards,
including the prestigious Peabody Award. Stephen Austin is the young man.
Rudy is billed as "Dr. Schultz"
He acted in over 100 television shows. Some of these include:
BIG STORY (sometime in 1949-57, NBC)
MARTIN KANE, PRIVATE EYE (sometime in 1949, NBC)
TREASURY MEN IN ACTION aka FEDERAL MEN (sometime in 1950-55, ABC)
THE BIG VALLEY (most likely 1968-69)
COLUMBO (sometime in 1971-77, NBC)
BARNEY MILLER (sometime in 1975-82, ABC)
I have not been able to verify the specific
episodes of these shows yet.
I also remember him on a medical show...not sure if it was BEN CASEY or DR KILDARE.
He played a patient who refused to stay in his bed, so to get him to stay there,
they tied him down...with thread!
zanestein@zanestein.com
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