''Run for Your Life'' is an American

television drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

television series starring

Ben Gazzara Biagio Anthony Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nominations ...

as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...

from

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full term as ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

. The series was created by

Roy Huggins Roy Huggins (July 18, 1914 – April 3, 2002) was an American novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven television series, including '' Maverick'', '' The Fugitive'', ''Hunter'', and ''The Rockford Files''. He ...

, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with '' The Fugitive''.

Synopsis

Ben Gazzara Joan Collins Run For Your Life

Premise

Ben Gazzara played attorney Paul Bryan. When his doctor tells him he will die in no less than 9 months, but in no more than 18 months, he decides to do all the things for which he had never had the time—to squeeze 10 years of living into one or two years of life. Much like ''

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

,'' each episode features the main character on the move, encountering new people in new situations.

Background

Gazzara originated the character of Paul Bryan on ''

Kraft Suspense Theatre The ''Kraft Suspense Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced and broadcast from 1963 to 1965 on NBC. Sponsored by Kraft Foods, it was seen three weeks out of every four and was pre-empted for Perry Como's ''Kraft Mu ...

,'' in the episode "Rapture at Two-Forty," which aired on April 15, 1965, and served as the show's pilot. Well received, the show became a series that September. Near the beginning of that episode, the audience actually sees the conversation between Bryan and his doctor, which is heard only in voice-over in subsequent episodes of ''Run For Your Life.'' Although Bryan's doctor gave him no more than 18 months to live, the series ran for three seasons, with 86 hour-long episodes, all filmed in color.

Episodes

Pilot (''Kraft Suspense Theatre'', 1965)

SOURCES

Season 1 (1965–66)

SOURCES

Season 2 (1966–67)

SOURCES

Season 3 (1967–68)

Production

Bryan needed to have a disease from which he would die, but would not affect his quality of life otherwise. The disease selected was

chronic myelogenous leukemia Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), also known as chronic myeloid leukemia, is a cancer of the white blood cells. It is a form of leukemia characterized by the increased and unregulated growth of myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the accumulat ...

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0058844, title=Run for Your Life
The Ultimate Episode Guide to ''Run For Your Life'' With Ben Gazzara

''Run for Your Life'' opening and closing credits on YouTube

''Krat Suspense Theatre'' episode "Rapture at Two-Forty" (pilot for ''Run for Your Life'') on YouTube

''Run for Your Life'' episode "The Girl Next Door Is a Spy" on YouTube

''Run for Your Life'' episode "Someone Who Makes Me Feel Beautiful" on YouTube
1965 American television series debuts 1968 American television series endings 1960s American drama television series American television spin-offs English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series by Universal Television Television series created by Roy Huggins Television series about lawyers