''Lucas Tanner'' is an American drama series that aired on NBC during the 1974–75 season. The

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

, played by

David Hartman David Hartman is the name of: *David Hartman (rabbi) (1931–2013), American-Israeli rabbi *David Hartman (TV personality) David Downs Hartman (born May 19, 1935) is an American journalist and media host who began his media career as an actor. He ...

, was a former

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player and sportswriter who becomes an English teacher at the fictional Harry S Truman Memorial High School in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. He changed professions following the death of his wife and child. Episodes often deal with the resistance of traditional teachers to Tanner's unorthodox teaching style. Regular co-stars included

Rosemary Murphy Rosemary Murphy (January 13, 1925 – July 5, 2014) was a German-American actress of stage, film, and television. She was nominated for three Tony Awards for her stage work, as well as two Emmy Awards for television work, winning once, for her ...

, Kimberly Beck, and ten-year-old

Robbie Rist Robbie Rist (born April 4, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for playing Cousin Oliver in ''The Brady Bunch'', Martin in '' Grady'' and "Little John" in ''Big John, Little John''. Rist is also known for voicing assorted characters in te ...

. Unusually, the show was actually filmed in Webster Groves, rather than on a Hollywood backlot. That gave it a somewhat unusual "look" for a prime-time TV series. A 90-minute

pilot film is a Japanese animated short film directed by Masaaki Ōsumi, which was created around 1969. It is the first animated adaptation of the ''Lupin III'' manga series, created by Monkey Punch in 1967. The 12-minute film was created by Tokyo Movie ...

of the series aired on NBC the week of May 4, 1974; the pilot also starred

Kathleen Quinlan Kathleen Denise Quinlan Abbott (born November 19, 1954) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1977 film of the novel '' I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,'' and her Golden ...

and Joe Garagiola.NBC TV Guide ad for week of May 4, 1974, at Vintage Toledo TV.
/ref> This series was Hartman's last work as an actor. In November 1975, he began as co-host of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

''. To date, he has not returned to acting.

Episodes

References

*Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh, '' The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows'' (7th ed. 1999), p. 601.

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0071008, Lucas Tanner 1974 American television series debuts 1975 American television series endings 1970s American workplace drama television series 1970s American high school television series American English-language television shows Tanner, Lucas NBC original programming Television series about educators Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in Missouri Television shows set in St. Louis NBC television dramas