Run, Buddy, Run
Encyclopedia
Run, Buddy, Run is a 16-episode situation comedy
starring Jack Sheldon
, which ran on CBS television
from September 12, 1966, until January 2, 1967. Sheldon, also a trumpet
player, portrayed Buddy Overstreet, an "ordinary guy", an accountant
, on the run from a group of comical gangster
s. As the plot unfolds, while he is taking a steam bath, Buddy overhears mobster "Mr. Devere" or "Mr. D", played by Bruce Gordon
, plotting the death of a "Chicken Little". Jim Connell played Gordon's bumbling son, "Junior". Gregg Palmer
appeared in the recurring role of Harry, a gunman in Chicago.
In a typical segment, Buddy Overstreet enters a new town trying to establish employment, and Mr. D would arrive and force Buddy into a narrow exit. In the ninth episode, Buddy is working as a welder
in a factory
when he tells a coworker Devere Enterprises has put a price on his head. The colleague double-crosses Buddy, and phones Mr. D's office long-distance.
In the November 14 episode, Buddy works as a waiter
in a nightclub and plays his trumpet to the guests. In the November 21 segment, Buddy turns a Mexican
hotel
into a tourist spot suddenly frequented by Mr. D and the mob.
In his production of Run, Buddy, Run, Leonard Stern
used many of the same technical persons behind his Get Smart
series on NBC
. The program aired on Monday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern, sandwiched between the last season of Gilligan's Island
starring Bob Denver
and The Lucy Show
with Lucille Ball
. It failed to garner sufficient ratings and was dropped at midseason after sixteen episodes were produced. Its competition was I Dream of Jeannie
on NBC and the second half of The Iron Horse, an ABC Western
about the railroad.
In the last episode, "Buddy Overstreet, Please Come Home", Mr. D is chased by tax
auditors and faces potential financial ruin, and the secret of Chicken Little is revealed. This means that Buddy can return home, for he is no longer being pursued by Mr. D.
Among guests on the series were Jack Albertson
, Sid Melton
, Burt Mustin
, J. Pat O'Malley
, Julie Sommars
, and Vaughn Taylor
.
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...
starring Jack Sheldon
Jack Sheldon
Jack Sheldon is an American bebop and West Coast jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He is a trumpet player and was a comedian on The Merv Griffin Show, as well as the voice heard on several episodes of the educational music television series Schoolhouse Rock.-Biography:Sheldon was born in...
, which ran on CBS television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
from September 12, 1966, until January 2, 1967. Sheldon, also a trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
player, portrayed Buddy Overstreet, an "ordinary guy", an accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
, on the run from a group of comical gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
s. As the plot unfolds, while he is taking a steam bath, Buddy overhears mobster "Mr. Devere" or "Mr. D", played by Bruce Gordon
Bruce Gordon (actor)
Bruce Gordon was an American actor best known for playing Frank Nitti in the ABC television series The Untouchables....
, plotting the death of a "Chicken Little". Jim Connell played Gordon's bumbling son, "Junior". Gregg Palmer
Gregg Palmer
Gregg Palmer, originally Palmer Lee is an American actor, known primarily for his prolific work in television westerns...
appeared in the recurring role of Harry, a gunman in Chicago.
In a typical segment, Buddy Overstreet enters a new town trying to establish employment, and Mr. D would arrive and force Buddy into a narrow exit. In the ninth episode, Buddy is working as a welder
Welder
A welder is a tradesman who specializes in welding materials together. The materials to be joined can be metals or varieties of plastic or polymer...
in a factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
when he tells a coworker Devere Enterprises has put a price on his head. The colleague double-crosses Buddy, and phones Mr. D's office long-distance.
In the November 14 episode, Buddy works as a waiter
Waiter
Waiting staff, wait staff, or waitstaff are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers — supplying them with food and drink as requested. Traditionally, a male waiting tables is called a "waiter" and a female a "waitress" with the gender-neutral version being a "server"...
in a nightclub and plays his trumpet to the guests. In the November 21 segment, Buddy turns a Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
into a tourist spot suddenly frequented by Mr. D and the mob.
In his production of Run, Buddy, Run, Leonard Stern
Leonard B. Stern
Leonard Bernard Stern was an American screenwriter, film and television producer, director, and one of the creators, with Roger Price, of the classic word game Mad Libs.-Life and career:...
used many of the same technical persons behind his Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
series 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...
. The program aired on Monday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern, sandwiched between the last season of Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
starring Bob Denver
Bob Denver
Robert Osbourne "Bob" Denver was an American comedic actor known for his roles as Gilligan on the television series Gilligan's Island and the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 TV series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.-Early life:Denver was born in New Rochelle, New York, and raised in...
and The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
with Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
. It failed to garner sufficient ratings and was dropped at midseason after sixteen episodes were produced. Its competition was I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
on NBC and the second half of The Iron Horse, an ABC 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...
about the railroad.
In the last episode, "Buddy Overstreet, Please Come Home", Mr. D is chased by tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
auditors and faces potential financial ruin, and the secret of Chicken Little is revealed. This means that Buddy can return home, for he is no longer being pursued by Mr. D.
Among guests on the series were Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson was an American character actor dating to vaudeville. A comedian, dancer, singer, and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his roles as Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure , Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Amos Slade in the 1981 animated film The Fox...
, Sid Melton
Sid Melton
Sid Melton was an American actor known for his roles as incompetent carpenter Alf Monroe in the CBS sitcom Green Acres and as Uncle Charlie Halper, proprietor of the Copa Club, in Make Room for Daddy and its spin-offs.Born as Sidney Meltzer in Brooklyn, New York, he was the brother of screenwriter...
, Burt Mustin
Burt Mustin
Burton Hill "Burt" Mustin was an American character actor.-Early life:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to W. I. and Sadie Mustin, Mustin was a 1903 graduate of the Pennsylvania Military College , earning his degree in civil engineering...
, J. Pat O'Malley
J. Pat O'Malley
James Patrick O'Malley was an English singer and character actor, who appeared in many American films and television programs during the 1940s–1970s, using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley...
, Julie Sommars
Julie Sommars
Julie Sommars is an American actress. She played assistant District Attorney Julie March on the TV series, Matlock from 1987 to 1994...
, and Vaughn Taylor
Vaughn Taylor
Vaughn Joseph Taylor is an American golfer who turned professional in 1999.Taylor was born in Roanoke, Virginia but was raised in Augusta, Georgia from infancy. After attending Hephzibah High School, he played golf for Augusta State University where he was an honorable mention All-American his...
.