''79 Park Avenue'', also known as ''Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue'', is an American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television miniseries developed and co-written by Richard De Roy, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by

Harold Robbins Harold Robbins (May 21, 1916 – October 14, 1997) was an American author of popular novels. One of the best-selling writers of all time, he wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages. Early life Robbins was b ...

. The miniseries stars

Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 1963, aged 17, in '' 110 in the Shade''. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical prod ...

as Marja Fludjicki, a poor but beautiful girl who is forced into

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

despite sincere efforts to make a living and ultimately becomes

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's most famous

madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for Woman, women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French ...

. It also stars

Marc Singer Marc Singer (born January 29, 1948) is a Canadian-born American actor best known for his roles in the '' Beastmaster'' film series, as Mike Donovan in the original 1980s TV series '' V'', and as Matt Cantrell in ''Dallas''. Early life Singer wa ...

and

David Dukes David Coleman Dukes (June 6, 1945 – October 9, 2000) was an American character actor. He had a long career in films, appearing in 35. Dukes starred in the miniseries ''The Winds of War'' and ''War and Remembrance'', and he was a frequent telev ...

. Directed and produced by

Paul Wendkos Abraham Paul Wendkos (September 20, 1925 – November 12, 2009) was an American television and film director. Early life and education Wendkos was born in Philadelphia to parents Simon Wendkos and Judith Wendkos. Wendkos served in World War II ...

, the miniseries premiered on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

on October 16, 1977, and concluded on October 18, 1977. Warren received critical acclaim and a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for her performance.

Cast

Production

It stars

as a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

and

as a

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

struggling to survive in the 1930s.

Barbara Barrie Barbara Barrie (born Barbara Ann Berman; May 23, 1931) is an American actress and author. Her film breakthrough came in 1964 with her performance as Julie in the landmark film ''One Potato, Two Potato'', for which she won the Best Actress Awar ...

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

, and

Polly Bergen Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan in ''The Helen Mo ...

co-starred.Buck, Jerry (14 October 1977)
'79 Park Avenue' Book Needed Careful Editing For TV
''Santa Cruz Sentinel'' (

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

story)Beck, Marilyn (28 September 1977)
Warren is happy with hooker role
''San Bernardino Sun'' (Gannett New Service story)Sharbutt, Jay (5 October 1977)
Only One Lesley Ann Warren
''Santa Cruz Sentinel'' (

content)(16 October 1977)
Cinderella on Park Avenue
''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' The teleplay was split among three writers, with Richard DeRoy doing the first part, Jack Guss the second, and Lionel E. Siegel the third.(9 September 1977)
79 Park Avenue New Mini-Series
''Dixon Evening Telegraph''

Reception

The show was a ratings success. Part I (which debuted on Sunday October 16, 1977) was the 10th most watched show in the United States for the week (22.3 rating, 16.3 million homes)(21 October 1977)
World Series Big Hit
''Santa Cruz Sentinel'' (

story) and the ratings momentum jumped for the last two installments. Part II (Monday, October 17, 1977) was the second-most watched primetime show for the following week (29.9 rating, 21.8 million homes), and Part III (Tuesday October 18) was third. (27.7 rating, 20.2 million homes).(27 October 1977)
ABC Tops in Television Ratings
''Desert Sun'' (

content) The critical reviews of the series were not positive, but not overly vicious, recognizing the series for what it was and no more.

Tom Shales Thomas William Shales (born November 3, 1944) is an American writer and retired critic of television programming and operations. He was a television critic for ''The Washington Post'' from 1977 to 2010, for which Shales received the Pulitzer Pr ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' called the series a "laughable tawdry throwback to movie eyebrow raisers of the '50s, though without any of their appealingly cheap panache. Television loves to raise the subject of sex and then avoid it like the plague."(15 October 1977)
Imitating Life on 'Park Avenue'
''

'' Joan Hanauer of

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

described the series as "what is usually called a 'woman's show'", meaning, "the romance is unrealistically sentimental and the moral tone is high, which in no way interferes with depicting the sleaziest kind of sex." She found the second installment to be strongest of the three.Hanauer, Joan (15 October 1977)
Unhappy Hooker at '79 Park'
''Galesburg Register Mail'' (

content) And although he credited the performances of the lead actors, John J. O'Connor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' was also underwhelmed by the series, calling it an "already tired story ... manufactured for mass consumption with all of the artistic concern afforded a can of baked beans." O'Connor, John J. (23 October 1977)
Pretenses Aside, It's Titillation As Usual
''

'' O'Connor's year end review of 1977 television referred to ''79 Park Avenue'' and ''

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

'' as "dumb pot-boilers" which "tarnished considerably" the "promising concept of mini-series." O'Connor, John J. (31 December 1977)
Picking television's best -- and worst -- of 1977
''San Bernardino Sun'' (

news service) That the series might be somewhat controversial due to the sexual nature of the story was known from the beginning. Executive Producer

George Eckstein George Eckstein (May 3, 1928 – September 12, 2009) was an American writer and television producer whose career spanned three decades, from the early 1960s through the late 1980s. Eckstein was a producer of many popular television programs such a ...

admitted "broadcasting standards people got very apprehensive when it was announced that this property was going to be on TV."Henninger, Paul (12 October 1977)
Robbins' potboiler gets stirred by NBC
''San Bernardino Sun'' (Gannett News Service story), p. C-6. And when

Fred Silverman Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as '' ...

took over at NBC in June 1978, he promised to stop lurid programming like ''79 Park Avenue''. Silverman stopped plans for a sequel to the miniseriesMaurice, Dick (21 November 1978)
No more beer in store for TV's Archie Bunker
''Desert Sun'' and also halted a planned rerun in 1979.(25 July 1979)
Brokerage firm is enamored by films
''San Bernardino Sun''

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{Paul Wendkos 1977 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings 1970s American drama television series 1970s American television miniseries 1970s romantic drama television series American romantic drama television series English-language television shows Television series by Universal Television Television series set in the 1930s Television shows based on American novels Television shows set in New York City NBC original programming Rape in television Prostitution in American television Films directed by Paul Wendkos