Miami Undercover
Miami Undercover is a low-budget 30-minute[1] American crime drama series that aired in broadcast syndication in 1961 for a total of 38 episodes. The series stars Lee Bowman (who had previously played sleuth Ellery Queen on television) and boxer-turned-actor Rocky Graziano.[2] Most episodes were shot on location in Miami.
Miami Undercover | |
---|---|
Genre | Crime drama |
Directed by | Howard W. Koch |
Starring | Lee Bowman Rocky Graziano |
Theme music composer | Johnny Green |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 38 |
Production | |
Producers | Howard W. Koch Aubrey Schenck |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 25 minutes |
Production company | Ziv-United Artists |
Release | |
Original network | Syndication |
Original release | January 23 – October 9, 1961 |
Synopsis
Jeff Thompson is a private investigator working for the Miami Hotel Owners' Association. Each episode featured "a different beauty contest winner".[3]
Cast
- Lee Bowman as Jeff Thompson[1]
- Rocky Graziano as Rocky[1]
Episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "The Thrush" | Howard W. Koch | Steve Fisher | January 23, 1961 |
2 | "Calypso Lady" | Unknown | Unknown | January 30, 1961 |
3 | "Damita" | Unknown | Unknown | February 6, 1961 |
4 | "The Clown" | Unknown | Unknown | February 13, 1961 |
5 | "Bet Your Death" | Howard W. Koch | Ellis Kadison | February 20, 1961 |
6 | "Miss Venus" | Unknown | Unknown | February 27, 1961 |
7 | "Miss Miami Beach" | Unknown | Unknown | March 6, 1961 |
8 | "Triple Cross" | Unknown | Unknown | March 13, 1961 |
9 | "One Hour to Noon" | Unknown | Unknown | March 20, 1961 |
10 | "Cha Cha Caper" | Unknown | Unknown | March 27, 1961 |
11 | "The Tom Dane Story" | Unknown | Unknown | April 3, 1961 |
12 | "Precious Jade" | Unknown | Unknown | April 10, 1961 |
13 | "Wrong Pigeon" | Howard W. Koch | Story by : P.K. Palmer Teleplay by : John C. Higgins | April 17, 1961 |
14 | "Sunken Treasure" | Howard W. Koch | Gerald Drayson Adams | April 24, 1961 |
15 | "Murder After Death" | Unknown | Unknown | May 1, 1961 |
16 | "Blowup" | Unknown | Unknown | May 8, 1961 |
17 | "The Rocky Caper" | Unknown | Unknown | May 15, 1961 |
18 | "Kitty" | Unknown | Unknown | May 22, 1961 |
19 | "Operation Hurricane" | Unknown | Unknown | May 29, 1961 |
20 | "Cukie Dog" | Unknown | Unknown | June 5, 1961 |
21 | "The Assassin" | Unknown | Unknown | June 12, 1961 |
22 | "The Baby Sitter" | Unknown | Unknown | June 19, 1961 |
23 | "A Bullet Waits" | Unknown | Unknown | June 26, 1961 |
24 | "Mystery of the Swamp" | Unknown | Unknown | July 3, 1961 |
25 | "Auto Motive" | Unknown | Unknown | July 10, 1961 |
26 | "Demise of an Artist" | Unknown | Unknown | July 17, 1961 |
27 | "The Big Frame" | Unknown | Unknown | July 24, 1961 |
28 | "The Swami" | Unknown | Unknown | July 31, 1961 |
29 | "Room 9" | Unknown | Unknown | August 7, 1961 |
30 | "Credit Unlimited" | Unknown | Unknown | August 14, 1961 |
31 | "The Victims" | Unknown | Unknown | August 21, 1961 |
32 | "Study in Mosaic" | Unknown | Unknown | August 28, 1961 |
33 | "Tiny Thief Caper" | Unknown | Unknown | September 4, 1961 |
34 | "The Lethal Ledger" | Unknown | Unknown | September 11, 1961 |
35 | "A Woman's Weapon" | Unknown | Unknown | September 18, 1961 |
36 | "School for Girls" | Lee Sholem | Herbert Abbott Spiro | September 25, 1961 |
37 | "Goodbye to Joan" | Unknown | Unknown | October 2, 1961 |
38 | "Storm Over Diana" | Unknown | Unknown | October 9, 1961 |
Production
United Artists' (UA) Aubrey Schenck-Howard W. Koch Productions filmed 38 episodes of Miami Undercover in Florida in the fall of 1959. Limited time slots for syndicated series and an excess of shows that featured private investigators resulted in the show's not being broadcast until January 1961. By then UA had acquired Ziv Productions, whose sales people helped to gain 141 markets for the show. An additional factor was that the UA-Ziv combination had no other new programs to meet its commitments for January 1961.[3]
References
- McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 544. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
- TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes & Noble. 2004. pp. 414. ISBN 0-7607-5634-1.
- Erickson, Hal (1989). Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987'. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 111–112. ISBN 0-7864-1198-8.