''The F.B.I.'' is an American police television series created by

Quinn Martin Quinn Martin (born Irwin Martin Cohn; May 22, 1922 – September 5, 1987) was an American television producer. He had at least one television series running in prime time every year for 21 straight years (from 1959 to 1980). Martin is a membe ...

and Philip Saltzman for

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 ...

and co-produced with Warner Bros. Television, with sponsorship from the Ford Motor Company,

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

and American Tobacco Company (

Tareyton Tareyton is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. History Tareyton began as a variation of Herbert Tareyton cork-tipped non-filter cigarettes (whose slogan was, "There's ''someth ...

and Pall Mall brands) in the first season. Ford sponsored the show alone for subsequent seasons. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1965 until its end in 1974. Starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.,

Philip Abbott Philip Abbott (March 20, 1924 – February 23, 1998) was an American character actor. He appeared in several films and numerous television series, including a lead role as Arthur Ward in the crime series ''The F.B.I.'' Abbott was also the founder ...

and William Reynolds, the series, consisting of nine seasons and 241 episodes, chronicles a group of FBI agents trying to defend the US Government from unidentified threats. For the entirety of its run, it was broadcast on Sunday nights.

Synopsis

Produced by

and based in part on concepts from the 1959 Warner Bros. theatrical film ''

The FBI Story ''The FBI Story'' is a 1959 American drama film starring James Stewart, and produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The screenplay by Richard L. Breen and John Twist is based on a book by Don Whitehead. Plot John Michael ("Chip") Hardesty (James S ...

'', the series was based on actual FBI cases, with fictitious main characters carrying the stories.

Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (November 30, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series ''77 Sunset Strip'' and ''The F.B.I.'' He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the se ...

played

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

Lewis Erskine, a widower whose wife had been killed in an ambush meant for him.

played Arthur Ward, assistant director to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Although Hoover served as series consultant until his death in 1972, he never appeared in the series. Stephen Brooks played Inspector Erskine's assistant, Special Agent Jim Rhodes, for the first two seasons. Lynn Loring played Inspector Erskine's daughter and Rhodes' love interest, Barbara, in the twelve episodes of the show's first season. Although the couple was soon engaged on the show, that romantic angle was soon dropped. In 1967, Brooks was replaced by William Reynolds, who played Special Agent Tom Colby until 1973. The series would enjoy its highest ratings during this time, peaking at No. 10 in the 1970–1971 season. For the final season, Shelly Novack played Special Agent Chris Daniels. Some episodes ended with a "most wanted" segment hosted by Zimbalist, noting the FBI's most wanted criminals of the day, decades before the Fox Network aired ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

''. The most famous instance was in the April 21, 1968, episode, when Zimbalist asked for information about fugitive James Earl Ray, who was being hunted for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The series aired on ABC at 8 p.m. Sunday from 1965 to 1973, when it was moved up to 7:30 p.m. for the final season. The series was a co-production of

Productions and Warner Bros. Television, as Warner Bros. held the television and theatrical rights to any project based on ''The FBI Story''. It was the longest-running of all of Quinn Martin's television series, airing nine seasons.

Background

Every detail of every episode of the series was carefully vetted by F.B.I. second-in-command Clyde Tolson. Actors playing F.B.I. agents, and other participants, were given background checks to guarantee that no "criminals, subversives, or Communists" were associated with the show. The premiere episode of the first season, "The Monster," about a handsome serial killer who strangled women with their own hair, so shocked Tolson that he recommended the show be cancelled. J. Edgar Hoover attempted to cancel the show on at least seven other occasions. Upon Tolson's direction, the violence in the show was severely curtailed in the final three seasons.

Cast

as Inspector Lewis Erskine *

as Arthur Ward * William Reynolds as Special Agent Tom Colby * Lynn Loring as Barbara Erskine (season 1) * Stephen Brooks as Special Agent Jim Rhodes (seasons 1 and 2) * Shelly Novack as Special Agent Chris Daniels (season 9) * Dean Harens as Special Agent Bryan Durant *Lew Brown as Special Agent Allen Bennett * Anthony Eisley as Special Agent Chet Randolph * Hank Brandt as Special Agent William Converse (recurring role)

Episodes

Nielsen ratings

*Season 1: Not in Top 30 *Season 2: #29, 20.2 *Season 3: #22, 21.2 *Season 4: #18, 21.7 *Season 5: #24, 20.6 *Season 6: #10, 23.0 *Season 7: #17, 22.4 *Season 8: #29, 19.2 *Season 9: Not in Top 30

Home media

Warner Bros. (under the Warner Home Video label) has released all nine seasons of ''The F.B.I.'' on DVD in region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection. These are Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) releases and are available through Warner's online store and Amazon.com. The ninth and final season was released on September 23, 2014.The 9th and Final Season is Now Available on DVD!

Similar series

* An updated and revamped version of the series, ''

Today's FBI ''Today's FBI'' is an American crime drama television series, an updated and revamped version of the earlier series ''The F.B.I.'' Like the original program, this series is based on actual cases from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigat ...

'', executive produced by

David Gerber David Gerber (July 25, 1923 – January 2, 2010) was a television executive producer. His notable work on television included the 1970s TV series '' Police Story'' and '' Police Woman''. Other executive producer credits include '' Jessie'', '' The ...

for Columbia Pictures Television, aired on ABC from October 1981 through April 1982 in the same Sunday 8 p.m. time slot as its predecessor. * A remake of the original series, produced by Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment for

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, was set for air in Fall 2008, but it didn't materialise. * In September 2018, a similar series, titled '' FBI'', debuted on CBS; this series was co-created by Dick Wolf and Craig Turk for Universal Television. Unlike ''The F.B.I.'' and ''Today's FBI'', however, the cases presented are largely fictional. Would be followed by two spinoffs: '' FBI: Most Wanted'' and '' FBI: International''.

Popular culture

* The '' Lupin the Third Part II'' episode ''Diamonds Shining in the Robot's Eye'' parodies ''The F.B.I.''. * In 1971, ''MAD'' Magazine published a satire titled ''The F.I.B.'' * The series was featured in Quentin Tarantino's ninth film ''

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is a ...

'', wherein Rick Dalton, the film's main character, portrayed the villain in an altered version of "All the Streets Are Silent" (air date November 28, 1965), the eleventh episode of the first season of ''The F.B.I.'' Rick Dalton replaced the character played by

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

in the original episode.

References

External links

* *
''The FBI'' Open and Close of programThe FBI Tribute Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:F.B.I., The 1960s American crime television series 1970s American crime television series American Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios 1965 American television series debuts 1974 American television series endings English-language television shows Television series about the Federal Bureau of Investigation Television shows set in California Espionage television series