''Beacon Hill'' is a prime time period drama series which aired on

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 Entertainmen ...

in 1975. Set after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in Boston's Beacon Hill area, the show was conceived as an Americanized version of the popular British series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1971–1975) and focused on the wealthy Irish-American Lassiter family and their Irish immigrant servants, who reside together on

Louisburg Square Louisburg Square is a street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bisected by a small private park. The park is maintained by the Louisburg Square Proprietors. While the Proprietors pay taxes to the City of Boston, the city d ...

. The show was produced by

Jacqueline Babbin Jacqueline Babbin (July 26, 1926 – October 6, 2001) was an American television/theatre writer, producer, and executive. Early life Jacqueline Babbin was born on July 26, 1926 in New York City, in the borough of Manhattan. She entered high school ...

and

Beryl Vertue Beryl Frances Vertue (''née'' Johnson; 8 April 1931 – 12 February 2022) was an English television producer, media executive, and agent. She was founder and chairman of the independent television production company Hartswood Films. Early lif ...

, the former literary agent of ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' co-creator

Jean Marsh Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

Production

The first episode cost $900,000 to produce, and the music was composed by

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only seventeen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. This collection of all four is referred to as an " EGOT ...

Christopher Schemering ''The Soap Opera Encyclopedia'' is a 1985 reference book by Christopher Schemering which assembles comprehensive information about all daytime and prime time soap operas broadcast up to the date of publication. It was revised and reprinted in 198 ...

of '' The Soap Opera Encyclopedia'' called ''Beacon Hill'' "the most touted prime-time soap since the

Lana Turner Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized per ...

- George Hamilton debacle '' The Survivors''". The series premiered on August 25, 1975, with an "impressive audience" of "43% of people watching TV" that evening, but it could not sustain those ratings. Schemering wrote that "the overly large cast and fragmented stories did not allow the audience to get its bearings." The show was cancelled after 11 weeks (two further episodes remained unaired) with its last episode airing on November 4, 1975.

Cast and characters

The show starred

Stephen Elliott Stephen Elliott may refer to: Entertainment *Stephen Elliott (actor), (1918–2005), American actor * Stephen Elliott (author) (born 1971), American author and activist Sport *Steve Elliott (footballer, born 1958), English footballer *Steve Ellio ...

as patriarch Benjamin Lassiter, a self-made businessman and ''

éminence grise An ''éminence grise'' () or grey eminence is a powerful decision-maker or adviser who operates "behind the scenes", or in a non-public or unofficial capacity. This phrase originally referred to François Leclerc du Tremblay, the right-hand man ...

'' at

Boston City Hall Boston City Hall is the seat of city government of Boston, Massachusetts. It includes the offices of the mayor of Boston and the Boston City Council. The current hall was built in 1968 to assume the functions of the Old City Hall. It is a cont ...

, and

Nancy Marchand Nancy Lou Marchand (June 19, 1928 – June 18, 2000) was an American actress. She began her career in theatre in 1951. She was most famous for her television portrayals of Margaret Pynchon on ''Lou Grant'' and Livia Soprano on ''The Sopranos''. ...

as his wife Mary, an elegant society woman from a wealthy family. They have five children; eldest daughter Maude (

Maeve McGuire Maeve McGuire (born July 24, 1937) is an American actress, known for her role as "Nicole Travis Drake" on the soap opera ''The Edge of Night'', which she played from 1968 to 1974 and from 1975 to 1977. Nicole originally started off as a schemer b ...

), who is married to yachting enthusiast Richard Palmer (

Edward Herrmann Edward Kirk Herrmann (July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) was an American actor, director, and writer. He was perhaps best known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries '' Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976) and 1982 film ...

); middle daughter Emily (DeAnn Mears), who is married to stockbroker Trevor Bullock (Roy Cooper) and is the mother of the spoilt Betsy (

Linda Purl Linda Purl (born September 2, 1955) is an American actress and singer, known for her roles as Ashley Pfister (Fonzie's girlfriend) on ''Happy Days'' (she originally played Gloria as Richie’s date in season 2 episode 6), Sheila Munroe in the 1982 ...

); "plain jane" Rosamond (

Kitty Winn Katherine Tupper "Kitty" Winn (born February 21, 1943) is a former American actress. She is best known for her roles as the opioid use disorder, heroin addict Helen in the romantic drama ''The Panic in Needle Park'' (1971), for which she won the ...

), who helps out the family business; bohemian Fawn (Kathryn Walker), who is having an affair with her Italian piano teacher Giorgio Bellonci (

Michael Nouri Michael Nouri (born December 9, 1945) is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his television roles, including Dr. Neil Roberts on ''The O.C.'', Phil Grey on ''Damages'', Caleb Cortlandt on ''All My Children'', Eli David in ...

); and Robert, the Lassiter's only son, who has returned from Frances after losing an arm in

. The servants consist of Arthur Hacker ( George Rose), the family butler; his wife Emmeline (

Beatrice Straight Beatrice Whitney Straight (August 2, 1914 – April 7, 2001) was an American theatre, film and television actress and a member of the prominent Whitney family. She was an Academy Award and Tony Award winner as well as an Emmy Award nominee. ...

), the head housekeeper; his niece Maureen Mahaffey ( Susan Blanchard), who works as a maid; his nephew Brian Mallory (

Paul Ryan Rudd Paul Ryan Rudd (born Paul Kenneth Rudd; May 15, 1940 – August 12, 2010)Fox, Margalit,, ''The New York Times''. August 14, 2010. was an American actor, theatre director and professor.Rizzo, Frank"Paul Rudd, Actor in '70s, Dies at Age 70 in Gree ...

), the chauffeur who is having an affair with Rosamond; former chauffeur Harry Emmet (Barry Snider); footman Terence O'Hara (

David Rounds David Rounds (October 9, 1930, Bronxville, New York – December 9, 1983, Lomontville, Ulster County, New York) was an American actor of stage and screen. He received both a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award in 1980 for his role in ''Mornin ...

); cook William Piper (Richard Ward) and his son Grant (Don Blakely); Marilyn Gardiner (

Holland Taylor Holland Virginia Taylor (born January 14, 1943) is an American actress. She won the 1999 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Judge Roberta Kittleson on ABC's ''The Practice'' (1998–2003). F ...

), Mary's personal assistant and secretary; and maids Eleanor (Sydney Swire) and Kate (Lisa Pelican).

Episodes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beacon Hill (Tv Series) American television series based on British television series CBS original programming English-language television shows 1975 American television series debuts 1975 American television series endings American television soap operas Television shows set in Boston