''Pursuit '' is a one-hour

American television Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically cate ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

series which aired live on CBS from October 22, 1958, to January 14, 1959.

Overview

As the program's title implies, each episode focused on a person or group that was being pursued. Plans for the program were under way in December 1957, with Charles Russell moving from New York to the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

to produce the show. Writers engaged in the project were Charles Larsen, Jonathan Latimer, Don Sanford, Robert Soderberg, and Hagar Wilde. The program's pilot, "The Lady Died at Midnight" starred Earl Holliman and was broadcast on February 23, 1958. Russell and Eva Wolas alternated weeks as producers, and the

Mennen Mennen is a brand owned in most parts of the world by the Colgate-Palmolive Company. Its most notable product, Mennen Speed Stick, with its fougère perfume and green wide stick, was the US market leader among deodorants and antiperspirants for ...

company had full sponsorship on alternate weeks.

Episodes

Among the presentations were "Kiss Me Again, Stranger", starring

Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings''. On television, Hunter ...

and

Margaret O'Brien Angela Maxine O'Brien (born January 15, 1937) is an American film, radio, television, and stage actress, and is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Beginning a prolific career as a child actress in feature ...

, "Epitaph For a Golden Girl" starring

Michael Rennie Michael Rennie (born Eric Alexander Rennie; 25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was a British film, television and stage actor, who had leading roles in a number of Hollywood films, including his portrayal of the space visitor Klaatu in the s ...

Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned more than 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his part as Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' ...

, and Sally Forrest, and

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series ...

's "The Last Night of August", starring

Franchot Tone Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known ...

and

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in '' Giant'' (1956). In the next ten year ...

and written by

. Other episodes included "Tiger on a Bicycle" (November 12, 1958), with Laraine Day,

Dan Duryea Dan Duryea ( , January 23, 1907 – June 7, 1968) was an American actor in film, stage, and television. Known for portraying a vast range of character roles as a villain, he nonetheless had a long career in a wide variety of leading and second ...

Chester Morris John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Award nomination for ''Alibi'' ( ...

, David Ladd, and Neville Brand, and "The Vengeance" (October 22, 1958), with Sal Mineo, Stu Erwin,

Carol Lynley Carol Lynley (born Carole Ann Jones; February 13, 1942 – September 3, 2019) was an American actress known for her roles in the films ''Blue Denim'' (1959) and '' The Poseidon Adventure'' (1972). Lynley was born in Manhattan to an Irish ...

Macdonald Carey Edward Macdonald Carey (March 15, 1913 – March 21, 1994) was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. For almost three decades, he was the show's central cast member. ...

Vivian Nathan Vivian Nathan (born Vivian Firko, October 26, 1916 – April 3, 2015) was an American actress and founding member of the Actors Studio, which opened in 1947. She served on the Actors Studio's board of directors until 1999. She appeared in the ori ...

, and Robert Harris. Some of the actors who were cast in the episodes included: Robert Alda,

Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New Y ...

Lew Ayres Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film ''All Quiet on the Western Fro ...

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and direc ...

, Joan Caulfield,

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 ...

, and Whitney Blake.

References

External links

*
at CVTA with list of episodes
1958 American television series debuts 1959 American television series endings 1950s American anthology television series 1950s American crime drama television series Black-and-white American television shows CBS original programming American live television series English-language television shows {{US-tv-prog-stub