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{{infoboxInfobox television
| image = Ben Murphy Patricia Stich Lorne Greene Griff 1973.JPG
| show_name = ''[[Griff (TV series)|Griff]]''
| caption = [[Ben Murphy]], [[Patricia Stich]] and [[Lorne Greene]]
| format = [[Crime drama]]
| genre = [[Crime drama]]
| picture_format = [[Color]] (1973-1974)
| creator = [[Larry Cohen]]
| runtime = 60 minutes
| writer =
| starring = [[Lorne Greene]]<br>[[Ben Murphy]]<br>[[Vic Tayback]]<br>Patricia Stich
| director =
| country = {{flagcountry|United States}}
| presenter =
| creator=Larry Cohen
| starring = [[Lorne Greene]]<br>[[Ben Murphy]]<br>[[Vic Tayback]]<br>[[Patricia Stich]]
| executive_producer=[[Steven Bochco]]<br />
| theme_music_composer =
David Victor<br />
| opentheme =
Peter S. Fischer<br />
| composer =
Robert F. O'Neill<ref>{{cite web|url= http://tv.nytimes.com/show/156112/Griff/overview|title=''Griff'' (Overview)|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' on-line|access date=February 28, 2009}}</ref>
| country = United States
| network = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| language = English
| first_aired = [[September 29]], [[1973]]
| num_seasons = 1
| last_aired = [[January 5]], [[1974]]
| num_episodes = 13
| num_seasons = One-third
| list_episodes =
| num_episodes = 13
| executive_producer = [[Steven Bochco]]<br />David Victor<br />Peter S. Fischer<br />Robert F. O'Neill
| imdb_id = 006958
| producer =
| tv.com_id=
| editor =
| cinematography =
| camera = [[Single-camera setup|Single-camera]]
| runtime = 48 mins.
| company = Groverton Productions<br>[[Universal Television]]
| channel = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1973|09|29}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1974|01|04}}
}}
 
'''''Griff''''' is an American [[crime drama]] starring [[Lorne Greene]] and [[Ben Murphy]], which aired on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] from September 29, 1973, to January 4, 1974.<ref name=Vincent>{{cite book|last=Terrace|first=Vincent|title=Complete Encyclopedia of Television Programs (1947-1979)|year=1980|publisher=South Brunswick and New York|isbn=0-498-02488-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/completeencyclop0000terr/page/269 269]|url=https://archive.org/details/completeencyclop0000terr/page/269}}</ref>
 
==Synopsis==
}}
Lorne Greene portrayed Wade "Griff" Griffin, a former police officer who becomes a [[private detective]].<ref name=Vincent /> Ben Murphy plays Greene's 31-year-old partner, S. Michael "Mike" Murdock. [[Vic Tayback]] portrays Captain Barney Marcus of the [[Los Angeles Police Department]], Griff's continuing contact with the police. Patricia Stich appeared as Gracie Newcombe, the secretary for the two detectives.<ref>Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', New York: Penguin Book, 1996, 4th ed., p. 344</ref>
'''Griff''' is a 13-episode [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[crime drama]] starring [[Lorne Greene]] (1915-1987) and [[Ben Murphy]] (born 1942), which aired from September 29, 1973, to January 5, 1974. Nine months after the expiration of his role as [[Ben Cartwright]] on [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC]]'s ''[[Bonanza]]'' [[Western (genre)|western]] [[television series|series]], Greene portrayed Wade "Griff" Griffin, a former [[police]] officer who becomes a [[private detective]]. Murphy, an [[Arkansas]] native who grew up near [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], [[Illinois]], previously portrayed '''Kid Curry''' on ABC's ''[[Alias Smith and Jones]]'' western series. In ''Griff'' he played Greene's 31-year-old partner, S. Michael "Mike" Murdock. [[Vic Tayback]], later the operator of the fictitious Mel's Diner of [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]]'s ''[[Alice (TV series)|Alice]]'' [[sitcom]], portrays [[Captain (rank)|Captain]] Barney Marcus of the [[Los Angeles Police Department]], Griff's continuing contact with the police. Patricia Stich appeared as Gracie Newcombe, the secretary for the two detectives.<ref>Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', New York: Penguin Book, 1996, 4th ed., p. 344</ref>
One of the ''Griff'' executive producers was [[Steven Bochco]], later of ABC's ''[[N.Y.P.D. Blue]]''.<ref name=ctva>{{cite web|url=http://ctva.biz/US/Crime/Griff.htm|title=''Griff''|publisher=Classic Television Archive|access date=February 28, 2009}}</ref>The three other executive producers were David Victor, Peter S. Fischer, and Robert F. O'Neill.<ref name=ctva/>
 
The two-hour pilot movie, titled ''Man on the Outside'', did not air until June 25, 1975, almost a year and a half after the cancellation of the series. Ben Murphy does not appear in the pilot, which has a plot identical to the plot of the pilot for ''[[Barnaby Jones]]''. Wade Griffin's son is murdered, and Griff goes after the man who killed him.
 
==Selected episodes==
''The Case of the Baltimore Girls'' is a TV movie compiled from two episodes, "The Last Ballad" (November 10, 1973) and "All the Lonely People" (October 13, 1973), and features [[Kim Hunter]], [[Patricia Crowley]], [[Lawrence Pressman]], [[Dabney Coleman]], [[William Windom (actor)|William Windom]], and [[Herbert Rudley]].
 
*"The Case of the Baltimore Girls", a two-hour pilot episode, condensed to an hour under the title "All the Lonely People", features [[Kim Hunter]], [[Patricia Crowley]], [[Lawrence Pressman]], [[Dabney Coleman]], [[William Windom (actor)|William Windom]], and [[Herbert Rudley]]. The detectives investigate clients of a dating service who face [[extortion]] or even [[murder]].<ref name=ctva/>
''Death Follows a Psycho'' is another TV movie compiled from two episodes, "Countdown to Terror" (November 17, 1973) & "Elephant in a Cage" (November 24, 1973).
 
*"The Framing of Billy the Kid", not a western character, but [[Nick Nolte]] as a professional football player, Billy Randolph, who is accused of murder. [[Susan Howard]], subsequently of CBS's ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'', portrays Evan Sands in the episode.<ref name=ctva/>
==Guest stars==
* [[Christopher Connelly (actor)|Christopher Connelly]]
*"Death by Prescription" with [[Barbara Feldon]], [[Jared Martin]], [[Mark Miller (actor)|Mark Miller]], and [[Warren Stevens]]<ref name=ctva/>
* [[Barbara Feldon]]
* [[Norman Fell]]
*"Don't Call Us; We'll Call You", with [[Ben Piazza]] (1934-1991) as Henry Pizer; Gracie, the detectives' secretary, is terrorized by anonymous threats on her life.<ref name=ctva/>
* [[Susan Howard]]
* [[Warren Stevens]]
*"Prey" -- [[singer]] [[Sal Mineo]] (1939-1976) plays a [[Middle East]]ern president named Gamal Zaki, whom Griff and Mike must protect from an [[assassination]] attempt. [[Scott Hylands]] portrays the waiting assassin. Oddly, three years later, Mineo was himself murdered.<ref name=ctva/>
* [[Sal Mineo]]
* [[Ricardo Montalbán]]
*"The Last Ballad" -- Griff investigates the death of a rock singer after she undergoes an [[abortion]] when the provider, Dr. Martha Reed, played by Kim Hunter, is held by the police. William Windom, formerly of ''[[The Farmer's Daughter (TV series)|The Farmer's Daughter]]'', appears in the role of Christopher Woods.<ref name=ctva/> This episode was aired not long after the [[United States Supreme Court]] legalized abortion in its companion ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' and ''[[Doe v. Bolton]]'' opinions.
* [[Nick Nolte]]
* [[Ben Piazza]]
*"Countdown to Terror" with [[Ricardo Montalban]]<ref name=ctva/>
* [[Inga Swenson]]
 
*"Elephant in a Cage" with [[character actor]] [[Harold J. Stone]], a veteran of many crime dramas
==Production notes==
The series was executive produced by [[Steven Bochco]], David Victor, Peter S. Fischer and Robert F. O'Neill.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://tv.nytimes.com/show/156112/Griff/overview|title=''Griff'' (Overview)|accessdate=February 28, 2009 | first=Ron | last=Wertheimer|work=The New York Times }}</ref>
*"Her Name Was Nancy" with [[Michael Callan]], formerly of the NBC sitcom ''[[Occasional Wife]]'', and [[Christopher Connelly (actor)|Christopher Connelly]], formerly Norman Harrington of ABC's ''[[Peyton Place (TV series)|Peyton Place]]''<ref name=ctva/>
 
''Griff'' was filmed by Groverton Productions at [[Universal City Studios]] in Los Angeles. The series followed the ''ABC Suspense Movie'' at the 10 p.m. Eastern timeslot on Saturdays opposite CBS's ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]'' and the ''[[NBC Saturday Night at the Movies]]''.<ref>McNeil, ''Total Television'', appendix</ref>
*"Hammerlock" with [[Norman Fell]], formerly on another crime drama, NBC's ''[[87th Precinct (TV series)|87th Precinct]]'' (1961-1962)<ref name=ctva/>
 
==Episodes==
*"Isolate and Destroy" with [[Inga Swenson]] and [[Pamela Hensley]]<ref name=ctva/>
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC
*"Fugitive from Fear", the series finale, about an escaped convict who leads an upright life for thirteen years until he is suddenly exposed by a relentless [[prison]] guard.<ref name=ctva/>
! Episode # || Title || Plot/Notes || Original air date
|-
''Griff'' was filmed by Groverton Productions at [[Universal City Studios]] in Los Angeles.<ref name=ctva/> The series followed the ''ABC Suspense Movie'' at the 10 p.m. Eastern timeslot on [[Saturday]]s opposite CBS's ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]'' and the ''[[NBC Saturday Night at the Movies]]''.<ref>McNeil, ''Total Television'', appendix</ref>
| 1 || "The Framing of Billy the Kid" || Griff and Mike investigate the case of a pro football player who's accused of killing a drug dealer. He claims he's been framed, though he has a previous arrest for marijuana possession on his record. || September 29, 1973
|-
| 2 || "Death by Prescription" || A woman ([[Barbara Feldon]]) is accused of killing her husband, a renowned heart surgeon, on his cabin cruiser after an all-night party. Griff tries to prove that the man died after going into a diabetic coma. || October 6, 1973
|-
| 3 || "All the Lonely People" || The murder of a girl whose date was arranged by a computer dating service is investigated. || October 13, 1973
|-
| 4 || "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" || The search is on to discover the identity of the mentally ill person who's terrorizing Griff and Mike's secretary, Gracie. || October 20, 1973
|-
| 5 || "Prey" || A Middle Eastern leader, Gamal Zaki ([[Sal Mineo]]), visits Los Angeles but is being stalked by a would-be assassin who's a master of disguises. || October 27, 1973
|-
| 6 || "The Last Ballad" || Griff investigates the death of a rock singer who underwent a legal abortion performed by his friend, Dr. Martha Reid. || November 10, 1973
|-
| 7 || "Countdown to Terror" || A bank robber with a bomb attached to him takes four people hostage and holds them in a bank vault, with Griff called into negotiate for their release. || November 17, 1973
|-
| 8 || "Elephant in a Cage" || A veteran police officer is charged with murder, but as Griff gets closer to the truth, the guilty party is planning on killing him under the guise of an accident. || November 24, 1973
|-
| 9 || "Her Name Was Nancy" || Griff and Mike investigate the claims of Mike's friend, a former prisoner of war, who claims that someone is trying to kill him. || December 8, 1973
|-
| 10 || "Hammerlock" || The daughter of ex-convict Jeff Harker contacts Griff about her father, who's being pressured to take part in a bank robbery, with the criminals threatening his daughter's life. || December 15, 1973
|-
| 11 || "Isolate and Destroy" || An armed, unknown assailant begins his plan to kill Griff by shooting two of his friends. || December 22, 1973
|-
| 12 || "Fugitive from Fear" || Griff tries to help a frightened youngster locate his father, an ex-convict from Louisiana, who's afraid he'll die if he's returned to prison.|| January 5, 1974
|-
|}
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
 
==External links==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griff (TV series)}}
* {{IMDb title|0069587|Griff}}
[[Category:Television shows set in California]]
 
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company network shows]]
{{Larry Cohen}}
[[Category:1973 television series debuts]]
 
[[Category:1974 television series endings]]
[[Category:1970s1973 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:Drama1974 American television series endings]]
[[Category:Television1970s seriesAmerican bycrime NBCdrama Universaltelevision Televisionseries]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Television series by Universal Television]]
[[Category:Television series created by Larry Cohen]]
[[Category:Television shows set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American detective television series]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company television dramas]]
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