''The Feather and Father Gang'' is a 1976–1977 American crime-drama television series starring Stefanie Powers and

Harold Gould Harold Vernon Goldstein (December 10, 1923 – September 11, 2010), better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom ''Rhoda'' (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom ''The Golden ...

, which centers on an attorney who enlists her con-man father and his team of bunco artists to help her solve crimes. The show aired from December 6, 1976, to July 30, 1977.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, p. 282.Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present, Sixth Edition'', New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, , p. 349.

Cast

* Stefanie Powers....Toni "Feather" Danton *

....Harry Danton *

Frank Delfino Frank J. Delfino (February 13, 1911 – February 19, 1997) was an American actor. Delfino had dwarfism, and most of his roles were related to his small stature. He remains best known for portraying the character of The Hamburglar in the McDonal ...

...Enzo *

Joan Shawlee Joan Shawlee (March 5, 1926 – March 22, 1987), nee Joan Fulton (and also credited sometimes under that name, such as in the film noir, Woman On The Run, 1950), was an American film and television actress. She is known for her recurring role i ...

....Margo *

Monte Landis Max Landstein (born 20 April 1933) is a Scottish-American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the comic foil in multiple episodes of ''The Monkees'', most notably as "Mr. Zero" in "The Devil and Peter Tork". He began ...

....Michael *Lewis Charles....Lou

Synopsis

Toni "Feather" Danton is a beautiful and clever young attorney. Her father, Harry Danton, is a shrewd and skillful confidence man. To keep Harry out of trouble, Feather hires him as an investigator for her law firm. Feather and Harry work together to help their friends and Feather's clients by bringing criminals to justice. Feather uses legal means, while Harry uses his underworld connections and extensive knowledge of scams and stings to help her with her cases. Harry assembles a gang of bunco artists—the "Feather and Father Gang"—who use disguises and elaborate ruses to trick the murderers and swindlers who victimize Feather's friends and clients into incriminating themselves.tvguide.com The Feather and Father Gang
/ref>''The New York Times'': The Feather and Father Gang
/ref>

Production

Created by William Driskill, ''The Feather and Father Gang'' was perceived as an imitation 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 ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

s successful

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

'', which aired from 1975 to 1978. Coincidentally, Powers later costarred with one of the stars of ''Switch,''

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and ''Hart to Hart'' (1979– ...

, in another crime drama, ''

Hart to Hart ''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset lifes ...

'', which ran for five seasons beginning in 1979. Larry White was the executive producer of ''The Feather and Father Gang''. Driskill wrote the pilot episode, "Never Con a Killer", a 90-minute made-for-television movie that was broadcast as the series sixth episode. Other writers who wrote episodes included

George Kirgo George Kirgo (born George Blumenthal; March 26, 1926 – August 22, 2004) was an American screenwriter, author and humorist. Early life Kirgo was born George Blumenthal in Hartford, Connecticut, the middle child of three born to Russian immigra ...

Harold Livingston Harold Livingston (September 4, 1924 – April 28, 2022) was an American novelist and screenwriter who was best known as the credited screenwriter for ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture'' (1979). Others, including Alan Dean Foster and Gene Roddenbe ...

, and

Mann Rubin Mann Rubin (December 11, 1927 – October 12, 2013) was an American film and television screenwriter, whose credits included '' The Best of Everything'' in 1959, '' Brainstorm'' in 1965, '' Warning Shot'' in 1967, '' The First Deadly Sin'' in 19 ...

.stafenaiepowersonline.com The Feather and Father Gang
/ref> Episode directors included Bruce Bilson,

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...

Buzz Kulik Seymour "Buzz" Kulik (July 23, 1922 – January 13, 1999) was an American film director and film producer, producer. He directed 72 films and television shows, including the landmark CBS television network anthology series ''Playhouse 90'' a ...

Jerry London Jerry London (born January 21, 1947) is an American television director and producer. Life and career London has directed more than forty television movies including Emmy Award nominated '' Chiefs''. London won best director for James Clavell ...

Ernest Pintoff Ernest Pintoff (December 15, 1931 in Watertown, Connecticut – January 12, 2002 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles) was an American film and television director, screenwriter and film producer. He won the Oscar for Best Animated Short for ''The ...

Seymour Robbie Seymour Robbie (August 25, 1919 – June 17, 2004) was a director of American television programs, whose work ranged from 1951 ('' Down You Go'') to 1990 ('' Father Dowling Mysteries''). His credits include game shows (e.g., ''The $64,000 Question' ...

, and

Barry Shear Barry Shear (March 23, 1923 in New York City – June 13, 1979 in Los Angeles) was an American film and television director and producer. Career Television career Shear began directing for television in the 1950s for the DuMont Television Net ...

Broadcast history

''The Feather and Father Gang''s first episode aired on December 6, 1976.epiguides.com The Feather and Father Gang
/ref> After a three-month hiatus, it returned to the ABC lineup on March 7, 1977, as a weekly series beginning with its second episode, airing at 10:00 pm on Mondays until April 4, 1977. It then went into hiatus again, returning to the air on Friday, May 13, 1977, when ABC broadcast its pilot, "Never Con a Killer", filmed to run as a 90-minute made-for-television movie, as its sixth episode. On May 21, 1977, the show returned to 60-minute episodes and settled into a new time slot at 10:00 pm on Saturdays. Criticized as a derivative and pale imitation of ''Switch'' and handicapped by its lack of a consistent broadcast day and time, ''The Feather and Father Gang'' garnered disappointing ratings and was cancelled after 14 episodes. Its last original episode aired on July 30, 1977, and the last rerun in prime time was on August 6, 1977.

Episodes

Sources

References

External links

''The Feather and Father Gang'' opening credits on YouTube

Clip from ''The Feather and Father Gang'' episode "The People's Choice" on YouTube

''The Feather and Father Gang'' pilot episode "Never Con a Killer" on YouTube

Promotional Photos from ''The Feather and Father Gang'' on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feather and Father Gang American Broadcasting Company original programming 1976 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings 1970s American crime drama television series English-language television shows Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Philadelphia