McCloud
 Sam
McCloud was a deputy marshal from Taos, New Mexico.
He toted a
walnut-handled six-shooter, chewed match sticks and said
"there ya go" incessantly.
McCloud was not happy, He hankered for New Mexico but he was
stuck in New York City - seconded to the tough 27th Precinct for training in metropolitan police work.
And his supervisor, Chief of Detectives Peter B Clifford (JD
Cannon) kept giving him dull jobs.
Somehow though, McCloud always managed to find action for
himself and his six-shooter.
One of his partners in the 27th
Precinct was Sgt Maggie Clinger (played by Sharon Gless - warming
up for a starring role in Cagney and Lacey).
Sam McCloud - with his sheepskin coat, bolo tie, and cowboy hat
- was a classic sort of unflappable western hero transplanted to
the modern mean streets.
He was a skilled shot, a self-effacing
guy seemingly impervious to cynical insults, and (despite
exhibiting a bit of sexism at times) he was also a gentleman.
After all those years with a limp and a bear, Dennis Weaver
finally had a solid role to chew on along with his match sticks.
Following a two-hour pilot film that aired on 17 February 1970,
the opening episode of McCloud was broadcast on 16
September 1970, as part of Four-in-One, a one-hour NBC
series that comprised a quartet of unconnected dramas, all sharing
the 10-11 p.m. slot on Wednesdays.
The three other rotating shows were Night Gallery (an
anthology of horror stories hosted by Rod Serling), San
Francisco International (starring ex-Sea Hunt hunk
Lloyd Bridges as the manager of Northern California’s largest
and busiest airport) and The Psychiatrist, with Roy Thinnes
playing Dr. James Whitman.
McCloud then became part of The NBC Mystery Movie
franchise, where it remained alongside Columbo and McMillan
& Wife throughout its six-year run, winning Dennis Weaver
four Emmy Award nominations.
The show was sold as a stand-alone series overseas, and was
particularly popular in Australia (where an episode of McCloud was
duly filmed).
According to the 1989 telemovie The Return Of Sam McCloud,
the moustachioed cop eventually became a US senator.
"There you go" . . .
|
