Meet McGraw
Encyclopedia
Meet McGraw is an American drama
tic television series starring Frank Lovejoy
in the role of the hard-hitting detective
McGraw, a man specifically given no first name in the program. Forty-one half-hour episodes aired on NBC
during the 1957-1958 season, sponsored by Procter & Gamble
. The series was produced by the Desilu Studios, most of whose productions were broadcast by CBS
. The theme song for the series is "One For My Baby" by Harold Arlen
and Johnny Mercer
.
Meet McGraw preceded The Bob Cummings Show
on Tuesday evenings on NBC. It aired at 9:00pm ET/PT opposite John Lupton
’s Western
series, Broken Arrow
on ABC and Bud Collyer
's To Tell the Truth
quiz show
on CBS.
After its cancellation, Meet McGraw was repeated as The Adventures of McGraw on ABC
in 1958-1959, but not in prime time
. A number of episodes of the series, including "Mohave" and "Lady in Limbo," are available on DVD
.
on February 25, 1954. Entitled "The Long Count", it features Audrey Totter
, Richard Deacon
, Paul Picerni
, Ellen Corby
, and Biff Elliot
. The plot involves a boxing
promoter who hires McGraw to watch his prize boxer (Picerni), who is infatuated with a pretty woman (Totter).
The first regular episode, called "Keys to the City," aired on July 2, 1957, more than two months prior to the beginning of the regular fall season. In it, McGraw is involved in a minor accident with a woman mayor
named Loretta Travers (played by Jean Willes
), who is in the midst of a reelection campaign.
In the second episode "Lady in Limbo," McGraw helps a young woman (played by Marcia Henderson) who is accused of murder
. In the investigation, the detective finds that identical twins - part of a magician's disappearing act – are involved in the unusual case. In "The Tycoon Story," an aircraft executive (played by Barry Atwater
) hires McGraw to find his runaway wife (portrayed by Angie Dickinson
). The businessman also finds that an ambitious assistant is trying to seize control of his company. Dickinson appears in another Meet McGraw episode, "McGraw in Reno," as Liza Parish.
In the episode "Border City", McGraw is hired by a citizen's committee to clean up corruption in a community. The detective then surprisingly runs into problems from a district attorney
and his hired gunman. Hugh Beaumont guest stars at the same time that he is also donning the role of Ward Cleaver
on the Leave It to Beaver situation comedy
. In "Ballerina", Hans Conreid, subsequently an occasional recurring guest star of The Danny Thomas Show
, hires McGraw to protect his prima ballerina
, who has a mortal enemy. In "The Elderly Doctor", McGraw searches for a physician
who disappears after he is given some valuable microfilm.
; stranded in a small town in the Mojave Desert
, he is accused of murdering a waitress; character actor
Claude Akins
guest stars. In "The Joshua Tree
", McGraw is again in the desert, where he finds the corpse of an artist who apparently died while at work. McGraw disputes the police, who list the death as one of natural causes. Paul Fix
, later the reliable Sheriff Micah Torrance on ABC
’s The Rifleman
, guest stars.
In "Friend of the Court", 12-year-old Tommy Cassady (portrayed by Billy Chapin
) runs away from boarding school
toward Reno
, Nevada
, in an effort to prevent his parents, (Dennis McCarthy and Catherine McLeod
) from obtaining a divorce
. In the penultimate episode on April 8, 1958, two brothers in the diamond
business steal a large gem and try to blame the theft on McGraw. Ross Elliott
guest stars.
Other Meet McGraw guests included Carl Esmond
, Chris Alcaide
, Jay Novello
, Sebastian Cabot
, Mary Castle
, Sally Brophy
, and Kathleen Nolan
. The final episode is entitled "Rare Perfume".
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
tic television series starring Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy
Frank Lovejoy was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He was born Frank Lovejoy Jr. in Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine...
in the role of the hard-hitting detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
McGraw, a man specifically given no first name in the program. Forty-one half-hour episodes aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
during the 1957-1958 season, sponsored by Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
. The series was produced by the Desilu Studios, most of whose productions were broadcast by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. The theme song for the series is "One For My Baby" by Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
and Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
.
Meet McGraw preceded The Bob Cummings Show
The Bob Cummings Show
The Bob Cummings Show is an American sitcom starring Robert "Bob" Cummings which was produced from January 2, 1955 to September 15, 1959, and originally sponsored by R.J. Reynolds' Winston cigarettes...
on Tuesday evenings on NBC. It aired at 9:00pm ET/PT opposite John Lupton
John Lupton
John Rollin Lupton was an American film and television actor.Upon graduation from New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lupton secured immediate stage work. Then he was signed as a contract player at MGM in Hollywood...
’s Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series, Broken Arrow
Broken Arrow (TV series)
Broken Arrow is a Western series which ran on ABC-TV in prime time from 1956 through 1958 on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Repeat episodes were shown by ABC on Sunday afternoons during the 1959–60 season...
on ABC and Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer
Bud Collyer was an American radio actor/announcer who became one of the nation's first major television game show stars...
's To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
quiz show
Quiz Show
Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film produced and directed by Robert Redford. Adapted by Paul Attanasio from Richard Goodwin's memoir Remembering America, the film is based upon the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s...
on CBS.
After its cancellation, Meet McGraw was repeated as The Adventures of McGraw on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in 1958-1959, but not in prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
. A number of episodes of the series, including "Mohave" and "Lady in Limbo," are available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Early episodes
The pilot episode was broadcast as a segment of Four Star PlayhouseFour Star Playhouse
Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953...
on February 25, 1954. Entitled "The Long Count", it features Audrey Totter
Audrey Totter
Audrey Mary Totter is an American actress and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract star of Austrian-Slovene and Swedish descent...
, Richard Deacon
Richard Deacon (actor)
Richard Deacon , born in Philadelphia, was an American television and motion picture actor.-Career:The bald and usually bespectacled character actor often portrayed pompous or imperious figures. He made appearances on The Jack Benny Show as a salesman and a barber, and on NBC's Happy as a hotel...
, Paul Picerni
Paul Picerni
-Life and career:Picerni was born in New York City, New York. He was an Eagle Scout who joined the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, where he served as a B-24 Liberator bombardier in the China-Burma-India Theater. He flew 25 combat missions with the 493rd Bomb Squadron of the 7th...
, Ellen Corby
Ellen Corby
Ellen Corby was an American actress. She is most widely remembered for the role of "Grandma Esther Walton" on the CBS television series The Waltons, for which she won three Emmy Awards...
, and Biff Elliot
Biff Elliot
Biff Elliot is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as popular detective Mike Hammer in the 1953 version of I, the Jury, and as his guest appearance in the Star Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark".-Early life:...
. The plot involves a boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
promoter who hires McGraw to watch his prize boxer (Picerni), who is infatuated with a pretty woman (Totter).
The first regular episode, called "Keys to the City," aired on July 2, 1957, more than two months prior to the beginning of the regular fall season. In it, McGraw is involved in a minor accident with a woman mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
named Loretta Travers (played by Jean Willes
Jean Willes
Jean Willes was an American film actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films between 1934 and 1972.-Career:...
), who is in the midst of a reelection campaign.
In the second episode "Lady in Limbo," McGraw helps a young woman (played by Marcia Henderson) who is accused of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. In the investigation, the detective finds that identical twins - part of a magician's disappearing act – are involved in the unusual case. In "The Tycoon Story," an aircraft executive (played by Barry Atwater
Barry Atwater
Garrett "Barry" Atwater was an American character actor who appeared frequently on TV from the 1950s into the 1970s...
) hires McGraw to find his runaway wife (portrayed by Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
). The businessman also finds that an ambitious assistant is trying to seize control of his company. Dickinson appears in another Meet McGraw episode, "McGraw in Reno," as Liza Parish.
In the episode "Border City", McGraw is hired by a citizen's committee to clean up corruption in a community. The detective then surprisingly runs into problems from a district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
and his hired gunman. Hugh Beaumont guest stars at the same time that he is also donning the role of Ward Cleaver
Ward Cleaver
Ward Cleaver is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Leave It to Beaver. Ward and his wife, June, are often invoked as archetypal suburban parents of the babyboomer 1950s. The couple are the parents of Wally, a thirteen-year-old in the eighth grade, and seven-year-old ...
on the Leave It to Beaver situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
. In "Ballerina", Hans Conreid, subsequently an occasional recurring guest star of The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show is an American sitcom which ran from 1953-1957 on ABC and from 1957-1964 on CBS...
, hires McGraw to protect his prima ballerina
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
, who has a mortal enemy. In "The Elderly Doctor", McGraw searches for a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
who disappears after he is given some valuable microfilm.
Other episodes
In "Mojave", McGraw's car breaks down in the desertDesert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
; stranded in a small town in the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, he is accused of murdering a waitress; character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
Claude Akins
Claude Akins
Claude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
guest stars. In "The Joshua Tree
Joshua tree
Yucca brevifolia is a plant species belonging to the genus Yucca. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, Yucca palm, Tree yucca, and Palm tree yucca....
", McGraw is again in the desert, where he finds the corpse of an artist who apparently died while at work. McGraw disputes the police, who list the death as one of natural causes. Paul Fix
Paul Fix
Paul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns. Fix appeared in more than a hundred movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career spanning from 1925 to 1981...
, later the reliable Sheriff Micah Torrance on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
’s The Rifleman
The Rifleman
The Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran...
, guest stars.
In "Friend of the Court", 12-year-old Tommy Cassady (portrayed by Billy Chapin
Billy Chapin
Billy Chapin is an American former child actor, known for a considerable number of screen- and TV-performances from 1943 to 1959 and best remembered for both his roles as the “Diaper-manager” Christie Cooper in the 1953 family feature The Kid from Left Field, starring Dan Dailey, Anne Bancroft and...
) runs away from boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
toward Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, in an effort to prevent his parents, (Dennis McCarthy and Catherine McLeod
Catherine McLeod
Catherine McLeod was an American actress who made over sixty television and movie appearances between 1944 and 1976...
) from obtaining a divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
. In the penultimate episode on April 8, 1958, two brothers in the diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
business steal a large gem and try to blame the theft on McGraw. Ross Elliott
Ross Elliott
Ross Elliott was an American television and film character actor. He began his acting career with Orson Welles in Mercury Theatre, where he performed in Welles' famed radio program The War of the Worlds....
guest stars.
Other Meet McGraw guests included Carl Esmond
Carl Esmond
Carl Esmond was an Austrian stage actor, born in Vienna, Austria. His birth name was Willy Eichberger which he later changed to Charles Esmond and finally to Carl Esmond. Like many of his fellow actors, Esmond fled Nazi Germany to England during World War II. Esmond continued to appear on the...
, Chris Alcaide
Chris Alcaide
Christopher "Chris" Alcaide was an American actor particularly known for his role in television westerns. He surfaced to national attention as Deputy Joshua Tate in the 1956 film Gunslinger, co-starring Beverly Garland as a woman marshal.In 2003, Alcaide was among recipients, including the Sons of...
, Jay Novello
Jay Novello
Jay Novello was an American radio, film, and television character actor.Born in Chicago as Michael Romano, of Italian descent, Novello began his career as a radio actor, playing Jack Packard on the Hollywood version of I Love a Mystery for a brief period, circa 1944...
, Sebastian Cabot
Sebastian Cabot (actor)
Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was an English film and television actor, best remembered as the gentleman's gentleman, "Giles French," opposite Brian Keith's character, in the 1960s sitcom Family Affair. He was also known for playing Dr...
, Mary Castle
Mary Castle
Mary Ann Castle was an American actress of early film and television whose personal problems destroyed her once burgeoning career. Her best known role was as female detective Frankie Adams in the syndicated western series, Stories of the Century, which aired from 1954 to 1955.-Early years:Castle...
, Sally Brophy
Sally Brophy
Sally Cullen Brophy was a Broadway and television actress and college theatre arts professor.Brophy was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She studied at the Royal Academy in London, and then pursued a career on Broadway. In 1951 she was an understudy in Second Threshold. In 1954-1955, she starred as the...
, and Kathleen Nolan
Kathleen Nolan
Kathleen Nolan is an American actress. She is sometimes confused with actress Jeanette Nolan. From 1957 to 1962, she played the role of Kate McCoy, a housewife in her late twenties, in the Walter Brennan series The Real McCoys....
. The final episode is entitled "Rare Perfume".