''Slattery's People'' is a 1964–65

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

about local politics starring

Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American film, television and radio actor. Crenna starred in such motion pictures as '' The Sand Pebbles'', ''Wait Until Dark'', ''Un Flic'', '' Body Heat'', the first three ...

as title character James Slattery, a state legislator, co-starring

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...

and

Tol Avery Taliaferro Ware "Tol" Avery (August 28, 1915 – August 27, 1973) was an American film and television character actor with more than a hundred screen appearances between 1950 and 1974. Biography Early in his career, Avery appeared as "Dennison ...

, and featuring

Carroll O'Connor John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) was an American actor, producer, and director whose television career spanned over four decades. He became a lifelong member of the Actors Studio in 1971. O'Connor found widespread fame a ...

and

Warren Oates Warren Mercer Oates (July 5, 1928 – April 3, 1982) was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah, including ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969) and ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' (1974). A ...

in a couple of episodes each. James E. Moser was executive producer. The program, telecast 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 Entertainm ...

, was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

. ''Slattery's People'' is mainly notable for having been one of the few American television series spotlighting the travails of local politicians, a topic that other programs of the period mainly avoided. Episodes opened with the following admonition: "

Democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...

is a very bad form of government. But I ask you never to forget: All the others are so much worse." Many television critics highly praised the series. Many politicians also approved of the program. U.S. Representative

James C. Corman James Charles Corman (October 20, 1920 – December 30, 2000) was an American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1957 to 1961 and as a member of the United States House of Representatives between 1961 and 1981. ...

said in a ''

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...

'' statement on September 30, 1964, “I am pleased that they have taken the high road to show a legislator’s life, and have not pandered to sensationalism or unreality to stimulate an audience following.” This series was a major career change for Crenna. Following more than a decade as a lead actor in two popular network comedies, ''

Our Miss Brooks ''Our Miss Brooks'' is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high-school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television (1952–56), it became one of the medi ...

'' and ''

The Real McCoys ''The Real McCoys'' is an American situation comedy starring Walter Brennan, Richard Crenna, and Kathleen Nolan. Co-produced by Danny Thomas's Marterto Productions in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's Westgate Compan ...

'', his role as Jim Slattery opened doors for later guest appearances in several dramatic programs and feature films. Moser's script for the pilot ("Question: What is truth?") was printed as an appendix in ''Teleplay; an introduction to television writing'' by

Coles Trapnell Valentine Coles Trapnell (August 2, 1910 – January 29, 1999) was an American television producer, writer, and director most famous for a stint following Roy Huggins as the producer of the Warner Bros. Western series ''Maverick'' starring James ...

. Television composer

Nathan Scott Nathan Royal Scott is a fictional character from the CW television series '' One Tree Hill'' created by Mark Schwahn and portrayed by James Lafferty. Following Lucas Scott's departure, Nathan became the main character and central figure of th ...

wrote the

theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for ''Slattery's People''.

Guest stars

* Philip Abbott in "Question: What is Honor? What is Death?" * Joan Blackman as Pat Allison in "Question: Remember the Dark Sins of Youth?" *

Russ Conway Russ Conway, DSM (born Trevor Herbert Stanford; 2 September 1925 – 16 November 2000) was an English popular music pianist and composer. Conway had 20 piano instrumentals in the UK Singles Chart between 1957 and 1963, including two numbe ...

in "Question: Bill Bailey, Why Did You Come Home?" *

Don Keefer Donald Hood Keefer (August 18, 1916 – September 7, 2014) was an American actor known for his versatility in performing comedic, as well as highly dramatic, roles. In an acting career that spanned more than 50 years, he appeared in hundreds of ...

as George Farnum in "Question: What Did You Do All Day, Mr. Slattery?" *

Joyce Meadows Joyce Meadows, born Joyce Johanna Burger (born April 13, 1933) is a Canadian-American film and television actress. Life and career Meadows was born in Arrowwood, Alberta, moving with her family to Montana and then California. She worked as a ...

as Gert in the episode "Question: Is Laura the Name of the Game?" * John M. Pickard as Vance Durant in "Question: How Long Is the Shadow of a Man?" *

Judson Pratt Judson Pratt (December 6, 1916 – February 9, 2002) was an American film, television and theatre actor. He was known for playing Billy Kinkaid in the American western television series ''Union Pacific''. Early life Pratt was born in Hingh ...

as Harry Daniels in "Question: How Impregnable Is a Magic Tower?" *

Robert F. Simon Robert Frank Simon (December 2, 1908 – November 29, 1992) was an American character actor. Earlier years Simon began acting with Mansfield's Community Players organization when he worked as a clerk in a meat market. Following that experience ...

in "Question: What Did You Do All Day, Mr. Slattery?" *

Joan Tompkins Joan Swenson (July 9, 1915 – January 29, 2005), previously known as Joan Tompkins, was an American actress of television, film, radio, and stage. Career Tompkins performed with stock theater companies in Mount Kisco, New York and White Plains ...

as Dorothy Ralston in "Question: What Time Is the Next Bandwagon?" * Arthur Hill as Dr. George Allison and Michael Constantine as Paul Hungerford in "Question: Remember the Dark Sins of Youth?" *

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...

as Ezra Tallicott on "What Ever Happened to Ezra?" * Tommy Sands in "Question: Why the Lonely, Why the Misbegotten?" *

Ricardo Montalban Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...

as Rodriguez in "Question: What Became of the White Tortilla?" *

Claude Akins Claude Aubrey Akins (May 25, 1926 – January 27, 1994) was an American character actor with a long career on stage, screen, and television. He was best known as Sheriff Lobo on the 1979–1981 television series '' B.J. and the Bear'', and ...

as Dr. Roy Kirk and

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...

as Lucrezia Kirk in "Question: When Do We Hang the Good Samaritan?" *

Forrest Tucker Forrest Meredith Tucker (February 12, 1919 – October 25, 1986) was an American actor in both movies and television who appeared in nearly a hundred films. Tucker worked as a vaudeville straight man at the age of fifteen. A mentor provided fund ...

as Bill Bailey in "Question: Bill Bailey, Why Did You Come Home?"

Episode list

Season 1 (1964–65)

Season 2 (1965)

References

External links