''Ben Jerrod'' is an American serial which ran from April 1, 1963 to June 28, 1963. The series is most notable for being the first daytime drama to be regularly televised in color. Michael M. Ryan played the show's title character. The cast also included Addison Richards,

Lyle Talbot Lyle Florenz Talbot (born Lisle Henderson, also credited Lysle Talbot; February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996) was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on ...

, Gerald Gordon, and

Isabel Randolph Isabel Randolph (December 4, 1889 – January 11, 1973) was an American character actress in radio and film from the 1940s through the 1960s and in television from the early 1950s to the middle 1960s. Early life She was born in 1889 in Ch ...

. The show was one of the least-durable soap operas on television. The show was created by

Roy Winsor Roy William Winsor (April 13, 1912 – May 31, 1987) was an American soap opera writer, creator, producer and mystery novelist. He created three of the longest running soap operas in US television history. Biography Roy William Winsor was born ...

. The show was produced by Joseph Hardy. The two had collaborated earlier in New York on ''

Love of Life ''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation ''Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ''Th ...

'' and ''

The Secret Storm ''The Secret Storm'' is an American soap opera that the CBS television network transmitted from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas ''Search for Tomorrow'' and ''Love ...

''. William Kendall Clark was the writer, and

Fred Carney Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rodr ...

was the director. The show's musical bridges were provided by a guitar and percussion instruments.

Synopsis

The series follows two

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

lawyers defending a socialite accused of murdering her husband.

Cast

*Michael M. Ryan as Ben Jerrod * Addison Richards as John Abbott, Jerrod's older partner *

Jeanne Baird Jeanne Baird is a former American actress. During her career, her name was often confused with that of singer Eugenie Baird. Early years Baird was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and raised and educated in Santa Barbara, California. She attend ...

as Agnes Abbott, daughter of John Abbott *

as Lt. Choates *Regina Gleason as Janet Donnelli *Ken Scott as Jim O'Hara, Donnelli's boyfriend * Peter Hansen as druggist Peter Morrison *

Martine Bartlett Martine Bartlett (April 24, 1925 – April 5, 2006) was an American actress. A life member of The Actors Studio, Bartlett is best-remembered, albeit not by name, for her chilling performance as Hattie Dorsett, the seriously disturbed, abusive mot ...

as Lil Morrison, wife of Peter Morrison *Gerald Gordon as Sam Richardson *

Denise Alexander Denise Alexander is an American actress, best known for her role as Lesley Webber on ''General Hospital'', a role she originally played from 1973 to 1984 (contract), 1996 to 2009, and a guest stint in 2013, in honor of the show's 50th anniversa ...

as Emily Sanders *William Phipps as Coroner Engle *John Napier as D.A. Dan Joplin *Don Collier as Abel Forsythe *Adele Pike as Jo Helton *Charlotte Stewart as Ingénue *Isabel Randolph *Paul Geary

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0056740 1963 American television series debuts 1963 American television series endings American television soap operas NBC original programming Television shows set in Rhode Island English-language television shows