Run for Your Life is a
television dramaDramatic programming is television content that is scripted and fictional. This excludes, for example, sports, news, reality and game shows, stand-up comedy and variety shows...
series starring
Ben GazzaraBiagio Anthony “Ben” Gazzara is an American actor in television and motion pictures.-Early life:Gazzara was born in New York City, the son of Italian immigrants Angelina and Antonio Gazzara, who was a laborer. Gazzara grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side. He actually lived on E...
as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
from
1965The year 1965 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1965.For the American TV schedule, see: 1965-66 American network television schedule.-Events:...
to
1968The year 1968 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1968.For the American TV schedule, see: 1968-69 American network television schedule.-Events:...
. The series was created by
Roy HugginsRoy Huggins was a novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven US television series, including Maverick, The Fugitive, and The Rockford Files....
, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with
The FugitiveThe Fugitive is an American television series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen starred as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the...
.
Synopsis
Gazzara plays lawyer Paul Bryan. When his doctor tells him he will die in a year or two, he decides to do all the things he had never had time for. Much like
Route 66Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod...
, each episode features the main character on the move, encountering new people in new situations. Gazzara first originated the character of Paul Bryan on
Kraft Suspense TheatreKraft Suspense Theatre is a television anthology series that ran from 1963 to 1965 on NBC, which was sponsored by Kraft Foods, alternating with Perry Como's monthly Kraft Music Hall specials. Como's production company, "Roncom Films", also produced Kraft Suspense Theatre...
, in the episode "Rapture at Two-Forty", which aired on April 15, 1965. Near the beginning of that episode, the audience sees the conversation between Bryan and his doctor, which are only heard in voice over in
Run For Your Life.
Notable guest stars
Several guest stars had recurring roles on the series, including
Fernando LamasFernando Álvaro Lamas was an Argentina-born American actor and director, and the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas. His full birth name was Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos-Early years and career:Lamas was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. By 1942, he was an established movie star in Argentina...
as professional
gigoloMale prostitution is the sale of sexual services by a male . The gender of the customer and the sexual act or sexual behavior that the prostitute engages in with that person may not correspond to the prostitute's own sexual orientation...
Ramon da Vega,
Jeremy SlateJeremy Slate was an American film and television actor.-Career:From 1979-1987, Slate portrayed Chuck Wilson on the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live. Slate costarred with Ron Ely in the 1960-1961 Ivan Tors series The Aquanauts, which was renamed Malibu Run half-way during its brief run on CBS...
as race car driver Pete Gaffney,
Ina BalinIna Balin was an American actress on Broadway and in film.Born Ina Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City, Balin first appeared on television in the 1950s' Perry Como Show...
as Lisa Sorrow,
Martin MilnerMartin Sam Milner is an American actor best known for his performances in two popular television series, Adam-12 and Route 66....
as Mike Greene, and
Stephen McNallyStephen McNally was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many westerns and action films. He was an attorney in the late 1930s before pursuing a career in acting.-Career:...
as Mike Allen. Other notable guest stars include:
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- Ernest Borgnine
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- Joseph Campanella
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- Macdonald Carey
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- Dabney Coleman
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- Kelly Corcoran
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- Kim Darby
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- Bruce Dern
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- Michael Dunn
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- Anthony Eisley
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- Bert Freed
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- Peter Graves
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- Harry Guardino
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- Jack Kelly
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- Carol Lawrence
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- Peter Lawford
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- Roddy McDowall
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- Edward Mulhare
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- Leslie Nielsen
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- Louise Sorel
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