The Man and the Challenge
Encyclopedia
The Man and the Challenge is a 36-segment half-hour television
adventure
/science fiction
series which ran new episodes on NBC
from September 12, 1959, to June 11, 1960. It starred George Nader
as Dr. Glenn Barton, a research scientist for the Institute of Human Factors, an agency that conducted experiments designed to measure human endurance for the United States government. The series was produced
by Ivan Tors
.
Nader's costars included Jack Ging
as Dan Wright, Michael Masters as Bill Locke, the Canadian
-born Joyce Meadows
as Lynn Allen, and Michael Keith as Matt Adams. The episodes focused on various individuals setting world records of strength, endurance, and mastery of various difficult skills.
The program also featured appearances by Bethel Leslie
as Eleanor Beck in "The Early Warning", Ted Knight
, as Dr. Herter in the episode "Daredevils", and Raymond Bailey
, in the role of Dr. Kramer on the series opener "The Sphere of No Return". Joining Knight in that segment was Paul Burke
.
appeared as Liza Dantes in the October 17 episode "Invisible Force", along with William Conrad
, who was cast as Jim Harrigan. Here is a partial listing of some who appeared, their characters, the title of the episodes, and date of airing:
The Man and the Challenge continued in reruns until September 3, 1960. It was replaced by the western
The Tall Man
starring Clu Gulager
and Barry Sullivan
as Billy the Kid
and Pat Garrett
, respectively. It aired at the 8:30 Eastern slot on Saturdays opposite Steve McQueen
's Wanted: Dead or Alive on CBS and Leave It to Beaver on ABC. It followed and preceded NBC westerns, Bonanza
in its first season, and The Deputy
starring Henry Fonda
and Allen Case
, respectively.
In 1967, The Man and the Challenge was introduced in West Germany
.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
/science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series which ran new episodes 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...
from September 12, 1959, to June 11, 1960. It starred George Nader
George Nader
George Nader was an American film and television actor of Lebanese descent. He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 through 1974, including Phone Call from a Stranger , Congo Crossing , and The Female Animal...
as Dr. Glenn Barton, a research scientist for the Institute of Human Factors, an agency that conducted experiments designed to measure human endurance for the United States government. The series was produced
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
by Ivan Tors
Ivan Tors
Ivan Tors was a Hungarian playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer with an emphasis on non-violent but exciting science fiction, underwater filmed television and films, and films about animals...
.
Nader's costars included Jack Ging
Jack Ging
Jack Lee Ging is an American actor best known for his role as General Harlan 'Bull' Fullbright in the NBC television series The A-Team.-Early life:...
as Dan Wright, Michael Masters as Bill Locke, the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born Joyce Meadows
Joyce Meadows
Joyce Meadows is a Canadian-American actress. From 1960-1961, she co-starred as Stacy in the syndicated western series Two Faces West with Charles Bateman and Francis De Sales...
as Lynn Allen, and Michael Keith as Matt Adams. The episodes focused on various individuals setting world records of strength, endurance, and mastery of various difficult skills.
The program also featured appearances by Bethel Leslie
Bethel Leslie
Bethel Leslie was an American theatre, film, and television actress and a screenwriter.Born in New York City, Leslie was discovered by George Abbott, who cast her in the play Snafu in 1944...
as Eleanor Beck in "The Early Warning", Ted Knight
Ted Knight
Ted Knight was an American actor best known for playing the comedic role of Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort, and Judge Elihu Smails in Caddyshack.- Early years :...
, as Dr. Herter in the episode "Daredevils", and Raymond Bailey
Raymond Bailey
Raymond Thomas Bailey was an American actor on the Broadway stage, movies, and television. He is best known for his role as wealthy banker, Milburn Drysdale, in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies....
, in the role of Dr. Kramer on the series opener "The Sphere of No Return". Joining Knight in that segment was Paul Burke
Paul Burke (actor)
Paul Burke was an American actor best known for his lead roles in two 1960s ABC television series, Naked City and Twelve O'Clock High...
.
Selected episodes and guest stars
Most guest stars on The Man and the Challenge were not well known at the time, though screen star Debra PagetDebra Paget
Debra Paget is an American actress and entertainer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s in a variety of feature films including Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments and Love Me Tender, the film début of Elvis Presley.-Early life and career:Paget was born in Denver, Colorado...
appeared as Liza Dantes in the October 17 episode "Invisible Force", along with William Conrad
William Conrad
William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
, who was cast as Jim Harrigan. Here is a partial listing of some who appeared, their characters, the title of the episodes, and date of airing:
- James BestJames BestJames Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
as David Malloory and Robert KarnesRobert KarnesRobert A. Karnes was a prolific television actor who also appeared in some films early in his career, including mostly uncredited parts in The Best Years of Our Lives , Miracle on 34th Street , Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye , and From Here to Eternity...
as Henderson (both KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
natives) and Robert ConradRobert ConradRobert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep...
as Bill Howard, costarred in "Maximum Capacity" on September 19.
- Whit BissellWhit BissellWhitner Nutting Bissell , better known as Whit Bissell, was an American actor.-Early life:Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of prominent surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell. He trained with the Carolina Playmakers, a theatrical organization associated with the University of North Carolina at...
as Dr. Robert Widener and Bethel Leslie as Nina Robinson in "Odds Against Survival" on September 26
- Julie AdamsJulie AdamsJulie Adams is an American film and television actress, sometimes credited as Julia Adams or Betty Adams.-Life and career:...
as Linda Webb and Otto KrugerOtto KrugerOtto Kruger was an American actor who began his career in 1915. His career was most prolific during the 1930s and 1940s.-Career:...
as David Mumford in "Experiments in Terror" on October 10
- Sue RandallSue RandallMarion Burnside Randall, who acted under the name Sue Randall, was an American actress best known for her role as the kindly Alice Landers, Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver's grade-school teacher in ABC's sitcom, Leave It to Beaver.Philadelphia-born Randall's debut on the small screen was in the 1955...
as Phyllis, in "The Windowless Room", January 30, 1960
- Frank Maxwell, as Colonel Bill Blake in "The Extra Sense", April 2
- Darryl HickmanDarryl HickmanDarryl Gerard Hickman is an American film and television actor, former television executive, and child star of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
as Max Edwards in "Man in a Capsule", April 9
- Tyler McVeyTyler McVeyTyler McVey was an American character actor.-Early life and career:McVey was born in Bay City on Saginaw Bay in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. His first screen role, uncredited, came at the age of 39 in 1951, when he portrayed Brady in the The Day the Earth Stood Still...
as Captain Whitlow in "The Dropper", April 23
- Karl SwensonKarl SwensonKarl Swenson was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor.-Biography:Born in Brooklyn, New York of Swedish parentage, Swenson made several appearances with Pierre-Luc Michaud on Broadway in the 1930s and 40s, including the title role in Arthur Miller's first production, The Man Who...
as Dr. Lindstrom in "Breakoff", June 4.
The Man and the Challenge continued in reruns until September 3, 1960. It was replaced by the 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...
The Tall Man
The Tall Man (TV series)
The Tall Man is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1960 to 1962. The series was produced by Revue Productions.-Synopsis:...
starring Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager
Clu Gulager is an American television and film actor. He is particularly noted for his co-starring role as William H. Bonney in the 1960–62 NBC TV series The Tall Man and for his role in the later NBC series The Virginian...
and Barry Sullivan
Barry Sullivan (actor)
Barry Sullivan was an American movie actor who appeared in over 100 movies from the 1930s to the 1980s.Born in New York City, Sullivan fell into acting when in college playing semi-pro football...
as Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
and Pat Garrett
Pat Garrett
Patrick Floyd "Pat" Garrett was an American Old West lawman, bartender, and customs agent who was best known for killing Billy the Kid...
, respectively. It aired at the 8:30 Eastern slot on Saturdays opposite Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
's Wanted: Dead or Alive on CBS and Leave It to Beaver on ABC. It followed and preceded NBC westerns, Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
in its first season, and The Deputy
The Deputy (TV series)
The Deputy is a 1959-1961 half-hour NBC western series featuring Henry Fonda as Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory and Allen Case as Deputy Clay McCord, a storekeeper who tried to avoid using a gun.-Production:...
starring Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
and Allen Case
Allen Case
Allen Case was an American television actor most noted for the lead role of Deputy Clay McCord in NBC's The Deputy opposite series regular Henry Fonda...
, respectively.
In 1967, The Man and the Challenge was introduced in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.