6.8 /10 1 Votes
5.6/10 TV Created by E. Jack Neumann First episode date 15 September 1962 Network NBC Number of episodes 28 | 7.9/10 IMDb Genre Legal drama Theme music composer Nelson Riddle Final episode date 30 March 1963 Number of seasons 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Written by Joseph Calvelli
E. Jack Neuman
John Hawkins
Laurence Heath
Ellis Marcus
Sidney Marshall
Paul Mason
Art Wallace Directed by Abner Biberman Lawrence Dobkin Richard Donner Ida Lupino Don Medford Paul Nickell Boris Sagal Starring Edmond O'Brien Richard Rust Joan Tompkins Cast Edmond O'Brien, Richard Rust, Joseph Schildkraut Similar DuPont Show of the Month, Alcoa Premiere, The Bill Dana Show, The Dick Powell Show, Julie and Carol at Carnegie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sam Benedict is an American legal drama that aired on NBC from September 1962 to March 1963. The series was created and executive produced by E. Jack Neumann.
Contents
Sam Benedict is based on real-life lawyer Jacob W. "Jake" Ehrlich, who served as technical consultant for the series.
Synopsis
The series starred Edmond O'Brien as flamboyant San Francisco attorney Sam Benedict. Richard Rust portrayed his 24-year-old associate, Hank Tabor. Joan Tompkins co-starred in all episodes as Trudy Wagner. Most episodes followed two story lines: first Benedict's case and then Tabor's.
Guest stars
Joseph Schildkraut received a best actor Emmy Award nomination for his guest role. I
Reception and cancellation
Sam Benedict faced competition from two variety programs: The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show on ABC (which was axed before Sam Benedict) and the first season of The Jackie Gleason Show on CBS.
In the 1963-1964 season, Sam Benedict was replaced at the 7:30 Eastern time slot on Saturdays by another MGM series about a trainee and his mentor: The Lieutenant starring Gary Lockwood and Robert Vaughn,. Rebroadcasts of the series continued from April to September 7, 1963.
DVD release
On November 22, 2016, Warner Bros. released Sam Benedict- The Complete Series on DVD via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release, available through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.