77 Sunset Strip
Encyclopedia
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins
and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
, Roger Smith
, and Edd Byrnes.
The show was the subject of an ownership battle between Roy Huggins
and Warner Brothers, which was the proximate cause of Huggins' departure from the studio. The series was based on novels and short stories written by Huggins prior to his arrival at Warners, but, as a matter of legal record, derived from a brief Caribbean theatrical release of its pilot, Girl on the Run
. The show ran from 1958 to 1964.
s: Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
played Stuart ("Stu") Bailey, a character Huggins had originated in his 1946 novel The Double Take (which he later adapted into the 1948 movie I Love Trouble
, starring Franchot Tone
in the role). Roger Smith
played Jeff Spencer, also a former government agent, and a non-practicing attorney
. The duo worked out of a stylish office at 77 Sunset Boulevard (colloquially known as "Sunset Strip"), between La Cienega Boulevard
and Alta Loma Road
on the south side of the Strip next door to Dean Martin
's real-life lounge, Dino's Lodge. Suzanne, the beautiful French switchboard operator played by Jacqueline Beer
, handled the phones.
Comic relief was provided by Roscoe the racetrack tout (played by Louis Quinn
), and Gerald Lloyd "Kookie" Kookson III (played by Edd Byrnes), the rock and roll
-loving, wisecracking, hair-combing, hipster
and aspiring P.I. who worked as the valet parking attendant at Dino's, the club next door to the detectives' office. Byrnes had originally been cast as a serial killer in the series pilot, but proved so popular that he was brought back in a new role for the series.
Despite Huggins' hopes for a hard-edged drama the tone of the series was much lighter and featured a strong element of self-deprecating humor. Many of the episodes were named "capers". The catchy theme song, written by the accomplished team of Mack David
and Jerry Livingston
, typified the show's breezy, jazzed atmosphere. The song became the centerpiece of an [ album] of the show's music in Warren Barker-led orchestrations, which was released in 1959, a top ten hit in the Billboard LP charts (mono and stereo).
The Kookie character became a cultural phenomenon, with his slang expressions such as "ginchy" and "piling up Zs" (sleeping). When Kookie helped the detectives on a case by singing a song, Edd Byrnes began a singing career with the novelty single "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb", based on his frequent combing of his hair; this featured Connie Stevens
on vocals in the chorus and became the first hit single for the recently-established Warner Bros. Records
.
When Byrnes' demands for more money and an expanded role were not met, he left the show, but he came back as a full-fledged partner in the detective firm in May 1960; in 1961, Robert Logan
became the new parking lot attendant, J.R. Hale, who usually spoke in abbreviations. In 1960, Richard Long
moved from the recently canceled detective series Bourbon Street Beat
with his role of Rex Randolph, but he left the program in 1962.
One of the series' more unusual episodes was the 1960 "The Silent Caper;" written by Smith, it presented its story completely without dialogue, hence the title. Another off-beat entry was 1961's "Reserved For Mr. Bailey," which finds Zimbalist alone in a ghost town; he is the only actor on-screen in the entire hour. (This latter episode was never included in the syndication package, and many fans have expressed their frustration at being unable to see it again.)
The show's popularity was such that rising young actors clamored for a guest spot. Up-and-comers who made guest appearances included William Shatner
, Mary Tyler Moore
, Shirley MacLaine
look-alike Gigi Verone, Robert Conrad
, Dyan Cannon
, Janet De Gore
, Jay North
, Connie Stevens
, Adam West
, Tuesday Weld
, Marlo Thomas
, Max Baer, Jr.
, Elizabeth Montgomery
, Karen Steele
, Randy Stuart
, DeForest Kelley
, Susan Oliver
, Suzanne Storrs
, Peter Breck
, Roger Moore
, Donna Douglas
, Troy Donahue
, Ellen Burstyn
, Chad Everett
, Gena Rowlands
, Cloris Leachman
, Eve McVeagh
, and Diane Ladd
. Even established film and TV actors plus older stars guested as well, including Fay Wray
, Francis X. Bushman
, Liliane Montevecchi
, Keenan Wynn
, Ida Lupino
, Rolfe Sedan
, Jim Backus
, Billie Burke
, Buddy Ebsen
, George Jessel
, Peter Lorre
, Burgess Meredith
, Nick Adams, and Roy Roberts
, amongst others. The show was so "cool" that even sports stars such as Sandy Koufax
had guest roles in individual episodes.
In 1963, as the show's popularity waned, the entire cast except for Zimbalist was let go. Jack Webb
was brought in as executive producer
and William Conrad
as director
. The character of Stuart Bailey became a solo private investigator, and the series took on a less light-hearted, more noir-ish tone. A new musical theme was written by Bob Thompson
. Viewers did not appreciate such a wholesale alteration, and it was canceled halfway through its sixth season in February 1964, although reruns from earlier years were shown the following summer.
studio which created Strip — Bourbon Street Beat
in New Orleans
, Hawaiian Eye
in Hawaii, and Surfside 6
in Miami
. The casts and scripts of these various shows sometimes crossed-over, which was logistically easy since they were all shot in Hollywood on the Warner Bros. lot.
sidewalk (address number 8524) between La Cienega
and Alta Loma Road
commemorating 77 Sunset Strip, and the area is slated for re-development as part of "The Sunset Millennium" Project. In a twist of fate, the opposition to the redevelopment of the area is known as "Save Our Strip" or "SOS" and is spear-headed by former 77 Sunset Strip semi-regular Gigi Verone. There is no number 77 on the Strip, as all Sunset Boulevard addresses in the area have four digits.
The show was referenced in an episode of Jay Ward's Fractured Flickers, showing a satirical depiction of Ward himself looking at a lineup of fictional shows; one of them being "77 Gaza Strip."
Episodes of the television series can be seen in reruns, through syndication packages offered by Warner Bros. Studios. At one time 43 episodes had been removed from syndication for various legal reasons, but 13 of these can now be seen in reruns.
Thirty-one years after the series left the air, Warner Bros. proposed a modern revival of 77 Sunset Strip, that was to be the first hour-long drama series to air on the new WB Television Network. One of the lead roles in the new version went to an up-and-coming Vince Vaughn
. A 25-minute pilot presentation was shot for upfronts in the spring of 1995; but, despite a few attempts to get it tweaked and finalized for air in 1995-96, the project never made it past the testing stages. Early mention of the show was made in the network's fall affiliate presentation promos, via the logo for 77 Sunset Strip being seen in the movie back lot motif.
Roy Huggins
Roy Huggins was an American novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven television series, including Maverick, The Fugitive, and The Rockford Files....
and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series 77 Sunset Strip and The F.B.I. He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the series Maverick and as the voice behind the character Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series...
, Roger Smith
Roger Smith (actor)
Roger LaVerne Smith is an American television and film actor and screenwriter. He starred in the television detective series 77 Sunset Strip. He is married to the actress Ann-Margret.-Early life:...
, and Edd Byrnes.
The show was the subject of an ownership battle between Roy Huggins
Roy Huggins
Roy Huggins was an American novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven television series, including Maverick, The Fugitive, and The Rockford Files....
and Warner Brothers, which was the proximate cause of Huggins' departure from the studio. The series was based on novels and short stories written by Huggins prior to his arrival at Warners, but, as a matter of legal record, derived from a brief Caribbean theatrical release of its pilot, Girl on the Run
Girl on the Run
For the Victoria Silvstedt album, see Girl on the Run .Girl on the Run is a 1958 private detective film starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Erin O'Brien and Edd Byrnes. The film is in truth, although not legal fact, based on characters and situations created by writer Roy Huggins in a series of 1940s...
. The show ran from 1958 to 1964.
Description
The series revolves around two Los Angeles private detectives, both former government secret agentSecret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
s: Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series 77 Sunset Strip and The F.B.I. He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the series Maverick and as the voice behind the character Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series...
played Stuart ("Stu") Bailey, a character Huggins had originated in his 1946 novel The Double Take (which he later adapted into the 1948 movie I Love Trouble
I Love Trouble (1948 film)
I Love Trouble is a film noir written by Roy Huggins from his first novel The Double Take, directed by S. Sylvan Simon, and starring Franchot Tone as Stuart Bailey. The character of Stuart Baily was later portrayed by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr...
, starring Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone
Franchot Tone was an American stage, film, and television actor, star of Mutiny on the Bounty and many other films through the 1960s...
in the role). Roger Smith
Roger Smith (actor)
Roger LaVerne Smith is an American television and film actor and screenwriter. He starred in the television detective series 77 Sunset Strip. He is married to the actress Ann-Margret.-Early life:...
played Jeff Spencer, also a former government agent, and a non-practicing attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. The duo worked out of a stylish office at 77 Sunset Boulevard (colloquially known as "Sunset Strip"), between La Cienega Boulevard
La Cienega Boulevard
La Cienega Boulevard is a major, well-known north–south arterial road that runs between El Segundo Boulevard in El Segundo, California on the south and the Sunset Strip/Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood....
and Alta Loma Road
Alta Loma Road
Alta Loma Road is the celebrity-filled cul-de-sac that runs a mere one block. It is off the Sunset Strip in the city of West Hollywood. It is one block west of La Cienega Blvd...
on the south side of the Strip next door to Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
's real-life lounge, Dino's Lodge. Suzanne, the beautiful French switchboard operator played by Jacqueline Beer
Jacqueline Beer
Jacqueline Vangramberg is a former Hollywood film and television actress who was also named Miss France in the 1954 Miss Universe Pageant...
, handled the phones.
Comic relief was provided by Roscoe the racetrack tout (played by Louis Quinn
Louis Quinn
Louis Quinn was an American television and movie actor.Quinn began his career as a radio personality, hosting variety shows and writing comedy for shows such as Don McNeill's Breakfast Club. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his role as Roscoe in the television series 77 Sunset Strip...
), and Gerald Lloyd "Kookie" Kookson III (played by Edd Byrnes), the rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
-loving, wisecracking, hair-combing, hipster
Hipster (1940s subculture)
Hipster, as used in the 1940s, referred to aficionados of jazz, in particular bebop, which became popular in the early 1940s. The hipster adopted the lifestyle of the jazz musician, including some or all of the following: dress, slang, use of cannabis and other drugs, relaxed attitude, sarcastic...
and aspiring P.I. who worked as the valet parking attendant at Dino's, the club next door to the detectives' office. Byrnes had originally been cast as a serial killer in the series pilot, but proved so popular that he was brought back in a new role for the series.
Despite Huggins' hopes for a hard-edged drama the tone of the series was much lighter and featured a strong element of self-deprecating humor. Many of the episodes were named "capers". The catchy theme song, written by the accomplished team of Mack David
Mack David
Mack David was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning from the early 1940s through the early 1970s. Mack was credited with writing lyrics and/or music for over one thousand songs...
and Jerry Livingston
Jerry Livingston
Jerry Livingston was an American songwriter, and dance orchestra pianist.-Biography:...
, typified the show's breezy, jazzed atmosphere. The song became the centerpiece of an [ album] of the show's music in Warren Barker-led orchestrations, which was released in 1959, a top ten hit in the Billboard LP charts (mono and stereo).
The Kookie character became a cultural phenomenon, with his slang expressions such as "ginchy" and "piling up Zs" (sleeping). When Kookie helped the detectives on a case by singing a song, Edd Byrnes began a singing career with the novelty single "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb", based on his frequent combing of his hair; this featured Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
on vocals in the chorus and became the first hit single for the recently-established Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
.
When Byrnes' demands for more money and an expanded role were not met, he left the show, but he came back as a full-fledged partner in the detective firm in May 1960; in 1961, Robert Logan
Robert Logan
Robert F. Logan, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television programs, the most notable of which were a very successful series of family adventure movies in the 1970s....
became the new parking lot attendant, J.R. Hale, who usually spoke in abbreviations. In 1960, Richard Long
Richard Long (actor)
Richard Long was an American actor better known for his leading roles in several ABC television series, including The Big Valley, Nanny and the Professor and Bourbon Street Beat.-Early life:...
moved from the recently canceled detective series Bourbon Street Beat
Bourbon Street Beat
Bourbon Street Beat is a private detective series which aired on the ABC network from 1959-1960 and featured Andrew Duggan as Cal Calhoun, Richard Long as Rex Randolph, Van Williams as Kenny Madison, and Arlene Howell as Melody Lee Mercer, the secretary at the New Orleans detective agency in which...
with his role of Rex Randolph, but he left the program in 1962.
One of the series' more unusual episodes was the 1960 "The Silent Caper;" written by Smith, it presented its story completely without dialogue, hence the title. Another off-beat entry was 1961's "Reserved For Mr. Bailey," which finds Zimbalist alone in a ghost town; he is the only actor on-screen in the entire hour. (This latter episode was never included in the syndication package, and many fans have expressed their frustration at being unable to see it again.)
The show's popularity was such that rising young actors clamored for a guest spot. Up-and-comers who made guest appearances included William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
, Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
, Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
look-alike Gigi Verone, Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad
Robert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep...
, Dyan Cannon
Dyan Cannon
Dyan Cannon is an American film and television actress, director, screenwriter, editor, and producer.-Early life:...
, Janet De Gore
Janet De Gore
Janet De Gore is a former actress best known for her supporting roles on two television series, The Law and Mr. Jones on ABC and The Real McCoys, renamed The McCoys in its last season on CBS . In The Law and Mr...
, Jay North
Jay North
Jay North is an American actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor at the age of six, North became a household name during the early 1960s for his role as the well-meaning, but mischievous, Dennis Mitchell on the CBS situation comedy Dennis the Menace, based on the comic strip created...
, Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens
Connie Stevens is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.-Early life:...
, Adam West
Adam West
William West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...
, Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld
Tuesday Weld is an American actress.Weld began her acting career as a child, and progressed to more mature roles during the late 1950s. She won a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Female Newcomer in 1960...
, Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas
Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
, Max Baer, Jr.
Max Baer, Jr.
Max Baer Jr is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for playing Jethro Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies.-Early life:...
, Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery was an American film and television actress whose career spanned five decades. She is perhaps best remembered for her roles as Samantha Stephens in Bewitched, as Ellen Harrod in A Case of Rape and as Lizzie Borden in The Legend of Lizzie Borden.-Early life:Born in Los...
, Karen Steele
Karen Steele
Karen Steele was an American actress and model with over 60 roles in film and television. Her most famous roles include starring as Virginia in Marty, as Mrs Lane in Ride Lonesome and as Eve McHuron in the Star Trek episode "Mudd's Women".-Early life:Karen Steele was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to...
, Randy Stuart
Randy Stuart
Randy Stuart, born as Elizabeth Shaubell , was an American actress whose longest running role was as Louise Baker, the wife of the Cold War spy in the 26-episode adventure television series, Biff Baker, U.S.A., which aired on CBS, with Alan Hale, Jr., as the title character...
, DeForest Kelley
DeForest Kelley
Jackson DeForest Kelley was an American actor known for his iconic roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise in the television and film series Star Trek.-Early life:...
, Susan Oliver
Susan Oliver
Susan Oliver was an American actress, television director and aviator.-Early life and family:Susan Oliver was born Charlotte Gercke, the daughter of journalist George Gercke and astrology practitioner Ruth Hale Oliver, in New York City in 1932. Her parents divorced when she was still a child...
, Suzanne Storrs
Suzanne Storrs
Suzanne Storrs was a former Miss Utah and an American television actress who appeared in sixteen different television series between 1954 and 1961, usually as the beautiful leading lady, including Maverick with James Garner , Wanted Dead or Alive with Steve McQueen , Sugarfoot Suzanne Storrs...
, Peter Breck
Peter Breck
Joseph Peter Breck is an American prolific character actor of stage, who has played roles on television and in film...
, Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
, Donna Douglas
Donna Douglas
Donna Douglas is an American actress best known for her role as Elly May Clampett, in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies.-Early life:...
, Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue was an American actor, who was active between the late 1950s and late 1990s.-Life and career:...
, Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn is a leading American actress of film, stage, and television. Burstyn's career began in theatre during the late 1950s, and over the next ten years she appeared in several films and television series before joining the Actors Studio in 1967...
, Chad Everett
Chad Everett
Chad Everett is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and television series but is probably best known for his role as Dr. Joe Gannon in the 1970s television drama Medical Center.-Early life:...
, Gena Rowlands
Gena Rowlands
Gena Rowlands is an American actress of film, stage and television. The four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner is best known for her collaborations with her actor-director husband John Cassavetes in ten films, in two of which, Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence, she gave Academy...
, Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
, Eve McVeagh
Eve McVeagh
Eve McVeagh, born Eva Elizabeth McVeagh, was an American actress of film, television, stage, and radio. Born in Ohio, McVeagh moved to Los Angeles in 1923, where she started acting in theater in her teens. Her career spanned 52 years from her first stage role through her last stage appearance...
, and Diane Ladd
Diane Ladd
Diane Ladd is an American actress, film director, producer and published author. She has appeared in over 120 roles, on television, and in miniseries and feature films, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , Wild at Heart , Rambling Rose , Ghosts of Mississippi, Primary Colors, 28 Days , and...
. Even established film and TV actors plus older stars guested as well, including Fay Wray
Fay Wray
Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
, Francis X. Bushman
Francis X. Bushman
Francis Xavier Bushman was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. His matinee idol career started in 1911 in the silent film His Friend's Wife, but it did not survive the silent screen era....
, Liliane Montevecchi
Liliane Montevecchi
Liliane Montevecchi is a French actress, dancer, and singer.Montevecchi began her career as a prima ballerina in Roland Petit's dance company...
, Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
, Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
, Rolfe Sedan
Rolfe Sedan
Rolfe Sedan was an American character actor.Born Edward Sedan in New York City, his mother was a Broadway theatre fashion designer and his father a symphony conductor....
, Jim Backus
Jim Backus
James Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
, Billie Burke
Billie Burke
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live...
, Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen was an American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he had starring roles as Jed Clampett in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones, and played Barnaby Jones in the movie...
, George Jessel
George Jessel (actor)
George Albert Jessel was an American illustrated song "model," actor, singer, songwriter, and Academy Award-winning movie producer. He was famous in his lifetime as a multitalented comedic entertainer, achieving a level of recognition that transcended his limited roles in movies...
, Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
, Burgess Meredith
Burgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
, Nick Adams, and Roy Roberts
Roy Roberts
Roy Roberts was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen.-Biography:...
, amongst others. The show was so "cool" that even sports stars such as Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
had guest roles in individual episodes.
In 1963, as the show's popularity waned, the entire cast except for Zimbalist was let go. Jack Webb
Jack Webb
John Randolph "Jack" Webb , also known by the pseudonym John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series Dragnet...
was brought in as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
and William Conrad
William Conrad
William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
as director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
. The character of Stuart Bailey became a solo private investigator, and the series took on a less light-hearted, more noir-ish tone. A new musical theme was written by Bob Thompson
Bob Thompson (musician)
Bob Thompson born Robert Lamar Thompson in San Jose was a composer, arranger, and orchestra leader from the 1950s through the 1980s...
. Viewers did not appreciate such a wholesale alteration, and it was canceled halfway through its sixth season in February 1964, although reruns from earlier years were shown the following summer.
Related shows
The success of 77 Sunset Strip led to the creation of several other detective shows in exotic locales, all produced by the Warner BrothersWarner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
studio which created Strip — Bourbon Street Beat
Bourbon Street Beat
Bourbon Street Beat is a private detective series which aired on the ABC network from 1959-1960 and featured Andrew Duggan as Cal Calhoun, Richard Long as Rex Randolph, Van Williams as Kenny Madison, and Arlene Howell as Melody Lee Mercer, the secretary at the New Orleans detective agency in which...
in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Hawaiian Eye
Hawaiian Eye
Hawaiian Eye is an American television series that ran from October 1959 to September 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company television network.-Premise:...
in Hawaii, and Surfside 6
Surfside 6
Surfside 6 was an ABC television series which aired from 1960 to 1962. The show centered around a Miami Beach detective agency set on a houseboat and featured Troy Donahue as Sandy Winfield, II; Van Williams as Kenny Madison ; and Lee Patterson as Dave Thorne...
in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. The casts and scripts of these various shows sometimes crossed-over, which was logistically easy since they were all shot in Hollywood on the Warner Bros. lot.
Legacy
Currently, there is only an engraving in the Sunset BoulevardSunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
sidewalk (address number 8524) between La Cienega
La Cienega Boulevard
La Cienega Boulevard is a major, well-known north–south arterial road that runs between El Segundo Boulevard in El Segundo, California on the south and the Sunset Strip/Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood....
and Alta Loma Road
Alta Loma Road
Alta Loma Road is the celebrity-filled cul-de-sac that runs a mere one block. It is off the Sunset Strip in the city of West Hollywood. It is one block west of La Cienega Blvd...
commemorating 77 Sunset Strip, and the area is slated for re-development as part of "The Sunset Millennium" Project. In a twist of fate, the opposition to the redevelopment of the area is known as "Save Our Strip" or "SOS" and is spear-headed by former 77 Sunset Strip semi-regular Gigi Verone. There is no number 77 on the Strip, as all Sunset Boulevard addresses in the area have four digits.
The show was referenced in an episode of Jay Ward's Fractured Flickers, showing a satirical depiction of Ward himself looking at a lineup of fictional shows; one of them being "77 Gaza Strip."
Episodes of the television series can be seen in reruns, through syndication packages offered by Warner Bros. Studios. At one time 43 episodes had been removed from syndication for various legal reasons, but 13 of these can now be seen in reruns.
Thirty-one years after the series left the air, Warner Bros. proposed a modern revival of 77 Sunset Strip, that was to be the first hour-long drama series to air on the new WB Television Network. One of the lead roles in the new version went to an up-and-coming Vince Vaughn
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...
. A 25-minute pilot presentation was shot for upfronts in the spring of 1995; but, despite a few attempts to get it tweaked and finalized for air in 1995-96, the project never made it past the testing stages. Early mention of the show was made in the network's fall affiliate presentation promos, via the logo for 77 Sunset Strip being seen in the movie back lot motif.
External links
- 77 Sunset Strip at Thrilling Detective
- 77 Sunset Strip at TVparty.com
- 77 Sunset Strip at AmericanLife TV NetworkAmericanLife TV NetworkYoutoo TV, formerly known as American Life TV Network , GoodLife TV Network, and Nostalgia Television, is an American cable-television channel launched on May 1, 1985. It now claims over 15 million subscribers throughout the U.S...
website - Roy Huggins' Archive of American Television Interview
- 1997 interview with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr http://www.squareone.org/WB/77ez.html