Follow the Sun (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Follow the Sun is an American
drama series
which ran for thirty episodes on the ABC
television
network from September 17, 1961, through April 8, 1962.
and Barry Coe
in the roles of Honolulu-based free-lance magazine
writers Paul Templin and Ben Gregory, respectively. Gary Lockwood
played their 20-year-old researcher Eric Jason, who was, according to the story line, born on December 7, 1941 (Pearl Harbor Day). In reality, Lockwood was born on February 21, 1937, and was hence nearly five years older than the character he played. Gigi Perreau
played Katherine Ann "Kathy" Richards, the pretty secretary, and Jay Lanin was Lieutenant Frank Roper, the writers' friend on the police
force.
Lockwood's success on Follow the Sun propelled him thereafter to the role of William T. "Bill" Rice in The Lieutenant
, a program about the peacetime United States Marine Corps
at Camp Pendleton, which aired on NBC
during the 1963-1964
season.
Follow the Sun is somewhat similar in theme and tone to Rod Taylor's Hong Kong
(1960
-1961) and Robert Conrad
's Hawaiian Eye
(1959
-1963). Taylor's role as Glenn Evans, a foreign correspondent, could have fit in with the writers on Follow the Sun who also got involved in detective work—just like the Hawaiian Eye cast.
Follow the Sun faced stiff competition at 7:30 Eastern time on Sunday evenings from CBS
's Dennis the Menace with Jay North
and the first half of The Ed Sullivan Show
, as well as NBC
's Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. Though the program ran for only one shortened season, there were comic books which featured Halsey, Coe, and Lockwood.
, Julie London
, Joanna Moore
, Tuesday Weld
, Joanna Barnes
, Stella Stevens
, Yvonne DeCarlo, Anne Helm
, Yvonne Craig
, Dyan Cannon
, Pippa Scott
, and Diane Baker
. Male guest stars included Keith Andes
, Dennis O'Keefe
, Keenan Wynn
, Robert Vaughn
(who later appeared with Lockwood in The Lieutenant), William Bendix
, and Brian Keith
.
Brian Keith and Jayne Mansfield
starred in the episode "The Dumbest Blonde" that reworked the Born Yesterday
plot, with Barry Coe as reporter Ben Gregory serving as a stand-in for the William Holden
character. Mansfield played the beautiful "Scottie" who has low self-esteem and is uncomfortable in high society. Scottie's wealthy boyfriend, played by Keith, mostly ignores her needs. In the story line, Ben Gregory introduces Scottie to books and some of his friends so that she gradually moves forward on her own.
Academy Award-winning actor James Dunn
appeared in an episode entitled "Run, Clown, Run." In the episode he sang On the Good Ship Lollipop
, a song made famous by Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes, which co-starred Dunn.
In one episode, "A Choice Of Weapons" featured David Janssen
, a year before he became Dr. Richard Kimble in ABC's The Fugitive
, as a retired 30-something prize fighter who enters the University of Hawaii
as a freshman. Another episode, "The Woman Who Never Was", had Bethel Leslie
as a beautiful, devious woman. Inger Stevens
portrayed a refugee
from the former East Germany in "The Girl from the Brandenberg Gate" episode.
, the head of production at 20th Century Fox
, created Follow the Sun as well as Maverick
, 77 Sunset Strip
, and Bus Stop
on ABC and The Rockford Files
on NBC
. Anthony Lawrence, the producer
of Follow the Sun went on to write the Elvis Presley
film Paradise, Hawaiian Style
. Huggins' Banacek
, starring George Peppard
, came a decade
later.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drama series
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...
which ran for thirty episodes on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
network from September 17, 1961, through April 8, 1962.
Synopsis
Follow the Sun starred Brett HalseyBrett Halsey
Brett Halsey , is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Montgomery Ford. He is best known as the original John Abbott on the soap opera The Young and the Restless, a role he held from May 1980 to March 1981, before being replaced by Jerry Douglas.-Career:Interested in acting since he was a...
and Barry Coe
Barry Coe
Barry S. Coe is an American actor who appeared in film and on television from 1956-1978. Many of his motion pictures parts were minor, but he co-starred in one series, Follow the Sun, which aired on ABC during the 1961-1962 season, and also played the recognizable "Mr...
in the roles of Honolulu-based free-lance magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
writers Paul Templin and Ben Gregory, respectively. Gary Lockwood
Gary Lockwood
Gary Lockwood is an American actor probably best known for his iconic 1968 role as the astronaut Dr. Frank Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey.-Early life:...
played their 20-year-old researcher Eric Jason, who was, according to the story line, born on December 7, 1941 (Pearl Harbor Day). In reality, Lockwood was born on February 21, 1937, and was hence nearly five years older than the character he played. Gigi Perreau
Gigi Perreau
Gigi Perreau, , is an American actress.-Biography:She achieved success as a child actress in a number of films. She played the daughter of Claude Rains and Bette Davis's characters in the 1944 film Mr. Skeffington. In Shadow on the Wall , she starred as the sole witness to a murder...
played Katherine Ann "Kathy" Richards, the pretty secretary, and Jay Lanin was Lieutenant Frank Roper, the writers' friend on the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
force.
Lockwood's success on Follow the Sun propelled him thereafter to the role of William T. "Bill" Rice in The Lieutenant
The Lieutenant
The Lieutenant is an American television series, the first created by Gene Roddenberry. It aired on NBC on Saturday evenings in the 1963-1964 television schedule. It was produced by Arena Productions, one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's most successful in-house production companies of the 1960s. Situated...
, a program about the peacetime United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
at Camp Pendleton, which aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
during the 1963-1964
1963-64 United States network television schedule
This was the television schedule on all three networks for the fall season beginning in September 1963.ABC began its new fall schedule a week early, beating CBS and NBC out of the starting gate. New series debuting this week included sci-fi anthology The Outer Limits, police/lawyer series Arrest...
season.
Follow the Sun is somewhat similar in theme and tone to Rod Taylor's Hong Kong
Hong Kong (TV series)
Hong Kong is a 26-episode adventure/drama series which aired on ABC television during the 1960–1961 season and helped to catapult Australian actor Rod Taylor into a major film star, primarily in the 1960s, beginning with his role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds...
(1960
1960 in television
The year 1960 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1960.For the American TV schedule, please see: 1960-61 American network television schedule.-Events:...
-1961) and 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...
's 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:...
(1959
1959 in television
The year 1959 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1959:For the American TV schedule, see: 1959-60 American network television schedule.-Events:...
-1963). Taylor's role as Glenn Evans, a foreign correspondent, could have fit in with the writers on Follow the Sun who also got involved in detective work—just like the Hawaiian Eye cast.
Follow the Sun faced stiff competition at 7:30 Eastern time on Sunday evenings from CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
's Dennis the Menace with 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...
and the first half of The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
, as well as NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. Though the program ran for only one shortened season, there were comic books which featured Halsey, Coe, and Lockwood.
Guest stars
Popular female stars made appearances on Follow the Sun: Rhonda FlemingRhonda Fleming
Rhonda Fleming , is an American film and television actress.She acted in more than 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, and became renowned as one of the most beautiful and glamorous actresses of her day...
, Julie London
Julie London
Julie London was an American singer and actress. She was best known for her smoky, sensual voice. London was at her singing career's peak in the 1950s. Her acting career lasted more than 35 years...
, Joanna Moore
Joanna Cook Moore
Joanna Moore was an American film and television actress best known for her guest roles on the popular television shows of the 1960s, most notably as Sheriff Andy Taylor's love interest, Peggy "Peg" McMillan in four episodes of The Andy Griffith Show...
, 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...
, Joanna Barnes
Joanna Barnes
Joanna Barnes is an American actress and writer.Barnes was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but moved to Los Angeles, California soon after finishing her education, and took up a contract with Columbia Pictures...
, Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens
Stella Stevens Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born October 1, 1938 is an American film, television and stage actress, who began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as The Nutty Professor, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue and The...
, Yvonne DeCarlo, Anne Helm
Anne Helm
Anne Helm is a retired actress, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and currently resides in Pasadena, CA.Living in New York City, she began pursuing a career as an actress which eventually led to Hollywood. Beginning in the 1950s, she made guest appearances on different television series and made...
, Yvonne Craig
Yvonne Craig
Yvonne Joyce Craig is an American actress best known for her role as Batgirl from the 1960s TV series Batman, and as the Orion Marta in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Whom Gods Destroy”.-Early life and career:...
, Dyan Cannon
Dyan Cannon
Dyan Cannon is an American film and television actress, director, screenwriter, editor, and producer.-Early life:...
, Pippa Scott
Pippa Scott
Pippa Scott is an American actress who has appeared in movies and television since the 1950s. She was also married to a founding partner of Lorimar Productions, Lee Rich...
, and Diane Baker
Diane Baker
Diane Carol Baker is an American actress who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959.-Early life:...
. Male guest stars included Keith Andes
Keith Andes
Keith Andes was an American film, radio, musical theatre, stage and television actor.-Early life:John Charles Andes was born in Ocean City, New Jersey on July 12, 1920. By the age of 12, he was featured on the radio....
, Dennis O'Keefe
Dennis O'Keefe
Dennis O'Keefe was an American actor. Born as Edward Vance Flanagan he was the son of Irish vaudevillians working in the United States...
, 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....
, Robert Vaughn
Robert Vaughn
Robert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...
(who later appeared with Lockwood in The Lieutenant), William Bendix
William Bendix
William Bendix was an American film, radio, and television actor, best remembered in movies for the title role in the movie The Babe Ruth Story and for portraying clumsily earnest aircraft plant worker Chester A. Riley in radio and television's The Life of Riley...
, and Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
.
Brian Keith and Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre...
starred in the episode "The Dumbest Blonde" that reworked the Born Yesterday
Born Yesterday
Born Yesterday is a play written by Garson Kanin which premiered on Broadway in 1946, starring Judy Holliday as Billie Dawn. The play was adapted intoa successful 1950 film of the same name.- Plot :...
plot, with Barry Coe as reporter Ben Gregory serving as a stand-in for the William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
character. Mansfield played the beautiful "Scottie" who has low self-esteem and is uncomfortable in high society. Scottie's wealthy boyfriend, played by Keith, mostly ignores her needs. In the story line, Ben Gregory introduces Scottie to books and some of his friends so that she gradually moves forward on her own.
Academy Award-winning actor James Dunn
James Dunn (actor)
James Howard Dunn was an American film actor.-Biography:Born in New York City of Irish descent, Dunn was the son of a Wall Street stockbroker who, according to Dunn, "either had a million or nothing." He joined his father in his business for three years...
appeared in an episode entitled "Run, Clown, Run." In the episode he sang On the Good Ship Lollipop
On the Good Ship Lollipop
"On the Good Ship Lollipop" was the trademark song of child actress Shirley Temple. Temple first sang it in the 1934 movie Bright Eyes. The "ship" in the song is an aircraft; the scene in Bright Eyes where the song appears takes place on an American Airlines Douglas DC-2 which is taxiing. In the...
, a song made famous by Shirley Temple in Bright Eyes, which co-starred Dunn.
In one episode, "A Choice Of Weapons" featured David Janssen
David Janssen
David Janssen was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive , the starring role in the 1950s hit detective series Richard Diamond, Private Detective , and as Harry Orwell on Harry O.In 1996 TV Guide...
, a year before he became Dr. Richard Kimble in ABC's The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
, as a retired 30-something prize fighter who enters the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
as a freshman. Another episode, "The Woman Who Never Was", had Bethel Leslie
Bethel Leslie
Bethel Leslie was an American theatre, film, and television actress and a screenwriter.Born in New York City, Leslie was discovered by George Abbott, who cast her in the play Snafu in 1944...
as a beautiful, devious woman. Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens
Inger Stevens was a Swedish-American movie and TV actress.- Early life :Inger Stevens was born Inger Stensland in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an insecure child and was often ill. When she was nine, her parents divorced and she moved with her father to New York City...
portrayed a refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
from the former East Germany in "The Girl from the Brandenberg Gate" episode.
Production notes
Roy HugginsRoy 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....
, the head of production at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, created Follow the Sun as well as Maverick
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
, 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
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....
, and Bus Stop
Bus Stop (TV series)
Bus Stop is a 26-episode drama which aired on ABC from October 1, 1961, until March 25, 1962, starring Marilyn Maxwell as Grace Sherwood, the owner of a bus station and diner in the fictitious town of Sunrise in the Colorado Rockies...
on ABC and The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. Anthony Lawrence, the producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
of Follow the Sun went on to write the Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
film Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Paradise, Hawaiian Style
Paradise, Hawaiian Style is a 1966 musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley. It was the third and final motion picture that Presley filmed in Hawaii. The film reached #40 on the Variety weekly box office chart, earning $2.5 million in theaters....
. Huggins' Banacek
Banacek
Banacek is a short-lived, light-hearted detective TV series starring George Peppard on NBC from 1972 to 1974. It alternated in its timeslot with several other shows but was the only one to last beyond its first season...
, starring George Peppard
George Peppard
George Peppard, Jr. was an American film and television actor.Peppard secured a major role when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's , portrayed a character based on Howard Hughes in The Carpetbaggers , and played the title role of the millionaire sleuth Thomas Banacek in...
, came a decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....
later.
Episode list
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | "A Rage For Justice" (pilot) | September 17, 1961 |
| 1-2 | "Cry Fraud" | September 24, 1961 |
| 1-3 | "The Highest Wall" | October 1, 1961 |
| 1-4 | "Journey Into Darkness" | October 8, 1961 |
| 1-5 | "The Woman Who Never Was" | October 15, 1961 |
| 1-6 | "Busman's Holiday" | October 22, 1961 |
| 1-7 | "Another Part of the Triangle" | October 29, 1961 |
| 1-8 | "The Longest Crap Game In History" | November 5, 1961 |
| 1-9 | "The Hunters" | November 12, 1961 |
| 1-10 | "Little Girl Lost" | November 19, 1961 |
| 1-11 | "Night Song" | November 26, 1961 |
| 1-12 | "The Primitive Clay" | December 3, 1961 |
| 1-13 | "Conspiracy In Silence" | December 10, 1961 |
| 1-14 | "The Far End Of Nowhere" | December 17, 1961 |
| 1-15 | "Mele Kalikimaka To You" (Christmas episode) | December 24, 1961 |
| 1-16 | "The Girl From the Brandenburg Gate" | December 31, 1961 |
| 1-17 | "Chicago Style" | January 7, 1962 |
| 1-18 | "The Last of the Big Spenders" | January 14, 1962 |
| 1-19 | "Ghost Story" | January 21, 1962 |
| 1-20 | "Sergeant Kolchak Fades Away" | January 28, 1962 |
| 1-21 | "The Dumbest Blonde" | February 4, 1962 |
| 1-22 | "Annie Beeler's Place" | February 11, 1962 |
| 1-23 | "The Irresistible Miss Bullfinch" | February 18, 1962 |
| 1-24 | "A Choice Of Weapons" | February 25, 1962 |
| 1-25 | "Marine of the Month" | March 4, 1962 |
| 1-26 | "The Inhuman Equation" | March 11, 1962 |
| 1-27 | "A Ghost In Her Gazebo" | March 18, 1962 |
| 1-28 | "Not Aunt Charlotte!" | March 25, 1962 |
| 1-29 | "Run, Clown, Run" | April 1, 1962 |
| 1-30 | "Chalk One Up for Johnny" (pilot for unsold series) | April 8, 1962 |