On this day in television history - The Blue Knight (1975 - 1976):

The Blue Knight

created by Albert Ruben and E. Jack Neuman,

based on the novel by Joseph Wambaugh,

was released in the United States on December 17, 1975, and ran for two seasons until October 20, 1976.

The pilot episode was shown on May 9, 1975.
Theme music by Henry Mancini.

Partial cast:

George Kennedy, John Steadman, Barbara Rhoades, Lee Weaver, Lucy Saroyan, Robert Hays, Phillip Pine, Al Hansen, Jess Nadelman, Don Maxwell, Bruce Glover, Gerald McRaney, Tom Bower, Anthony Geary, James A. Watson Jr., Jason Bernard, Ben Frank, Kelly Thordsen, Marc Alaimo, Hoke Howell, Don Hanmer, Byron Mabe, Phillip Simms, Jonathan Goldsmith, Jan Peters, Harry Lauter, Ross Elliott, Alex Rocco, Vic Tayback, Joanna Moore, Mitchell Ryan, John Ireland, Verna Bloom, Steve Sandor, Suzanne Charny, Carmen Zapata, Jacqueline Scott, T.J. Castronovo, Mel Novak, Juno Dawson, Christina Hart, Claire Brennen, Edward James Olmos, Judson Pratt, Lewis Charles, Claudia Bryar, Thomas Carter, Joseph Wambaugh, Kitty Carl, Paul Fierro, Peter Brandon, Booth Colman, Roy West, Lisa Moore, Dorothy Dells, William C. Coleman, Hilary Beane, Sharon Compton, Lieux Dressler, Jason Sommers, Curtis Henderson, Dorothy Meyer, Rita Gomez, Brooks Almy, Michael O'Keefe, Aneta Corsaut, Anjanette Comer, Judith McConnell, Janet MacLachlan, Charles Aidman, Davis Roberts, Kathryn Reynolds, Michael Swan, Helen Craig, Lucy Marlow, Jeff Goldblum, Sherry Jackson, P. J. Soles, Katherine Helmond, Gary Lockwood, Joanne Linville, Elisha Cook Jr., Jim Davis, James Whitmore Jr., Salome Jens, Norman Fell, Guy Stockwell, John Quade, John Lone, Woodrow Parfrey, Hampton Fancher, Jillian Kesner, Kathleen Hughes, Rudy Ramos.

Recommended reading - The Blue Knight (1972):

The Blue Knight

By Joseph Wambaugh.

First published 1972.

Published by Grand Central Publishing.

Mass Market Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0446509191

ISBN-13: 978-0446509190

Description:

Ex-cop turned #1 New York Times bestselling writer Joseph Wambaugh forged a new kind of literature with his great early police procedurals. Gritty, luminous, and ultimately stunning, this novel is Wambaugh at his best – a tale of a street cop on the hardest beat of his life.

The Blue Knight.

Twenty and two. Those are the numbers turning in the mind of William "Bumper" Morgan: twenty years on the job, two days before he "pulls the pin" and walks away from it forever. But on the gritty streets of L.A., people look at Bumper like some kind of knight in armor – they've plied him with come-ons, hot tips, and the hard respect a man can't earn anywhere else. Now, with a new job and a good woman waiting for him, a kinky thief terrorizing L.A.'s choice hotels, and a tragedy looming, Bumper Morgan is about to face the only thing that can scare him: the demons that he's been hiding behind his bright and shiny badge...

“Marvelous … realistic, frightening, touching in its humanity. – Detroit Free Press.

“An extraordinary piece of craftsmanship.” – Los Angeles Times.