Hi Guys,Steve wrote:Wow, I didn't even hear he had passed. I am old enough to remember the original run of the show, I always had a pre-teen crush on Gail Fisher as Peggy. God Speed "Touch" (what a great trivia question)..........I still think the first Magnum theme sounded an awful lot like the opening theme to Mannix...
It's been over 40 years since I saw it but I recall Connors did his Mannix character on one of the color Lucy series - The Lucy Show? - that ran in the 1960's and 1970's. A constant was Gale Gordon as Lucy's boss, eventually her 2 real life kids replaced her previous "family" in the last version. Lucy also had Colonel Hogan and Sgt. Schultz in a episode, though how they mixed the 2 fictional settings I can't remember but it must have been bizarre.
Gail Fisher went to Metuchen High in NJ, hailing from the Potters Field area of Edison which, as when she grew up, is the "Black" side of town. She was the first African American in history to star in a national tv commercial.
Fisher was a significant figure in that millions of Americans saw for the first time a classy, educated Black woman whose white boss respected and had affection for as a fully realized human being. Mannix dwarfed Star Trek in the ratings and ran far longer so 'Peggy' was more important at the time than Uhura, though of course in reruns Star Trek became part of the culture worldwide while Mannix has faded.
My family never missed an episode when I was growing up and I agree with you guys, the theme was awesome. Production values were always good and the color was beautiful.
Plus back then tv series weren't so stage bound and actually filmed outside most of the time, as a bonus you get to see the world as it was, period cars, incredibly low prices in the supermarket, etc.
It's also fun on occasion to spot the child actor who later became a star, like Helen Hunt portraying Murray's daughter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show.
It just now occurs to me but I believe "Mannix" appeared more than once on Murder She Wrote.