"Walking Tall" is an American television drama series that ran on Saturday nights at 9:00 p.m. on NBC from January 17, 1981 - March 31, 1981. This one-hour show was based on the life of Buford Pusser

Buford Pusser

Buford Hayse Pusser was the Sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee , from 1964 to 1970. Pusser is known for his virtual one-man war on moonshining, prostitution, gambling, and other vices on the Mississippi-Tennessee state-line. His story has directly inspired several books, songs, movies and at...

. Here, Pusser is the sheriff of McNeal County, TN, fighting criminals each week in the year 1969.

Bo Svenson

Bo Svenson

Bo Svenson is a Swedish-born American actor, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s.-Early life:...

 played Pusser, who he had played before in "Walking Tall Part 2

Walking Tall Part 2

Walking Tall Part 2 is the sequel to the crime/action film, Walking Tall. Walking Tall Part 2 was directed by Earl Bellamy, and produced by Charles A. Pratt. the film starred Bo Svenson as Pusser, who replaced Joe Don Baker who played Pusser in the first Walking Tall film...

" (1975) and "Walking Tall: Final Chapter

Walking Tall: Final Chapter

Walking Tall: Final Chapter is the third installment of the Walking Tall film series. The film was directed by Jack Starrett. The film opened in the U.S. on May 31, 1977. The on-screen title of the movie is "Final Chapter Walking Tall".-Plot:...

" (1977).

The rest of the cast included Rad Daily as Michael Pusser; Heather McAdam as Dwanna Pusser; Walter Barnes as Carl Pusser; Harold Sylvester as Deputy Aaron Fairfax; Jeff Lester as Deputy Grady Spooner; and Courtney Pledger as Deputy Joan Litton. L.Q. Jones appeared in one segment as John Witter, Pusser's long-time nemesis.

Guest stars included Robert Englund

Robert Englund

Robert Barton Englund is an American actor, voice-actor and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger, in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in...

, William Windom

William Windom

This page is about the former United States politician. William Windom was an American politician from Minnesota. He served as U.S. Representative from 1859 to 1869, and as U.S. Senator from 1870 to January 1871, from March 1871 to March 1881, and from November 1881 to 1883...

, Chuck Connors

Chuck Connors

Chuck Connors was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. His best known role from his forty-year film career was Lucas McCain in the 1960s ABC hit Western series The Rifleman....

, Merlin Olsen

Merlin Olsen

Merlin Jay Olsen was an American football player in the National Football League, NFL commentator, and actor. He played his entire 15-year career with the Los Angeles Rams and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons, a current record shared with Bruce Matthews...

, Ralph Bellamy

Ralph Bellamy

Ralph Bellamy was an American actor whose career spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:He was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lilla Louise , a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was fifteen and managed to get into a road show...

, Gail Strickland

Gail Strickland

Gail Strickland is an American character actress.Strickland was born in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of Theodosia and Lynn Strickland, who owned a tire shop...

, James MacArthur

James MacArthur

James Gordon MacArthur was an American actor best known for the role of Danny "Danno" Williams, the reliable second-in-command of the fictional Hawaiian State Police squad Hawaii Five-O.-Early life:...

, and Art Hindle

Art Hindle

Arthur Hindle is a Canadian actor and director.Hindle was born in Halifax. His family moved to Toronto while he was a child. Although shy as a youngster, he grew to be a rebellious and independent teenager...

.

David Gerber was the executive producer. Mel Swope was the producer. The theme song "Walking Tall" was sung by Brad Mercer. The lyrics were these: "You pay the price for every move you make/ Sometimes right can hurt you more than wrong/ But you can't do the choosing by the pain/ The only thing A man can do is live up to his name/ Walking tall, I'm putting people on the run/ Walking tall, because I did what had to be done/ Walking tall, feeling proud, ain't gonna run and hide/ I've got my pride, and I am walking tall."

At the time, Svenson was the highest paid actor in a television series.

NBC ran 7 episodes, then reran them in the summer of 1981. The series was then cancelled.

In 2006, Sony put the complete series out on DVD.