''Lucas Tanner'' is an American drama series that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

during the 1974–75 season. The title character, 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 Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

who becomes an English teacher at the fictional

Harry S Truman Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

High School in

Webster Groves, Missouri Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster University. Geography Webster Groves is located at ( ...

, a suburb of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. 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 Kimberly Beck (born January 9, 1956) is a former American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Trish Jarvis in Joseph Zito's '' Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter'' (1984). Her other film roles include Alfred Hitchcock's ''Marni ...

, 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 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 Joseph Henry Garagiola Sr. (February 12, 1926 – March 23, 2016) was an American professional baseball catcher, later an announcer and television host, popular for his colorful personality. Garagiola played nine seasons in Major League Basebal ...

.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 ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (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 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