This article is about the US television series. For the sporting term, see straight (racing)

Straight (racing)

In many forms of racing, the straight is that part of the race track in which the competitors travel in a straight line, as opposed to a bend. The term is used in horse racing, motor racing and track and field athletics....

.

Straightaway is a 26-week half-hour drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 series which ran on 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...

 during the 1961–1962 season –the story of two young men who operate a garage

Automobile repair shop

An automobile repair shop is a place where automobiles are repaired by auto mechanics and electricians.- Types :The automotive garage can be divided in so many category....

 and engage in auto racing. John Ashley

John Ashley (actor)

John Ashley was an actor who appeared in many films, most notably the American International Pictures' "Beach Party" films...

 and Brian Kelly

Brian Kelly (actor)

Brian Kelly was an American actor best known for his role as Porter Ricks, the widowed father of two sons on the NBC television series Flipper, and as Scott Ross in the ABC advernture series Straightaway, with co-star John Ashley.-Early years:Born in Detroit, Michigan, Kelly was the son of former...

 played race car designers Clipper Hamilton and Scott Ross, respectively. Scott designed the vehicles, and Clipper was the mechanic

Mechanic

A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...

. Many of the episodes centered on the clients who brought a race car to the Straightaway Garage.
The series was originally planned to be named “The Racers”, but the title had to be altered because of sponsor problems.

Straightaway ran at 7:30 Eastern on Fridays opposite 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 Rawhide

Rawhide (TV series)

Rawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to September 3, 1965, before moving to Tuesday nights from September 14, 1965 until January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...

with Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood

Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...

 and Eric Fleming

Eric Fleming

Eric Fleming was an American actor, known primarily for his role as Gil Favor in the long running CBS television series Rawhide.-Early life:...

. Straightaway was moved to Wednesdays effective January 10, 1962, for the remainder of its run.

Selected episodes

The premiere episode, “The Leather Dollar”, aired on October 6, 1961; in the story line, Scott and Clipper agree to sponsor a young boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

, but the manager is betting against his client. New episodes ended on April 4, but ABC re-ran the program until July 4.

Other segments included:

“The Tin Caesar” on October 13 - Clipper picks ups a hitchhiker and drops him off at a gasoline

Gasoline

Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...

 station. The next day the sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 arrests Clipper for the murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 of the station owner who described Clipper’s car with his dying words.

“Die Laughing” on November 3 - Night-club comedian

Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

 Buddy Conway (Jack Klugman

Jack Klugman

Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman is an American stage, film and television actor known for his roles in sitcoms, movies, and television and on Broadway...

) is accused by son Les (Scott Marlowe

Scott Marlowe

Scott Gregory Marlowe was a versatile American actor of film, television, and stage, who was born and died in Los Angeles, California.-Early film career:...

) of being responsible for the death of Les’ mother.

“The Stranger” on November 17 – Scott’s friend Jeane receives threatening telephone

Telephone

The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...

 calls.

“A Moment in the Sun” on January 17, 1962 – Scott and Clipper introduce a girl named Jennifer to a wealthy and charming young man, Paul, who claims to be of an aristocratic background. But doubts persist.

“The Drag Strip” on January 24 – Scott and Clipper are caught in the middle of a feud when they help a rich young man build a racing car.

“Crossroad” on January 31—Scott and Clipper hire a young man with a criminal record and are unaware that his friend plans for a bank robbery

Robbery

Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....

.

“The Longest Night” on March 7 – The garage harbors an escaped killer.

“The Craziest Race in Town” on March 21 – Scott and Clipper build a special engine for an important race, but their competition thinks it quaint and humorous.

“The Hoax”, the last episode—Scott tries to free a young heiress

Beneficiary

A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example: The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured...

 who has fallen under the influence of a charlatan

Charlatan

A charlatan is a person practicing quackery or some similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, fame or other advantages via some form of pretense or deception....

.