On this day in television history - The Blue Knight (1975 TV series & novel):

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

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.

On this day in television history - Johnny Staccato (1959):

Johnny Staccato

Season 1. Episode 14.
Episode entitled: The Return.
Released December 17, 1959.
Directed by James/Jim Hogan.
Written by James Landis.
Music by Elmer Bernstein.

Cast:

John Cassavetes, Eduardo Ciannelli, Virginia Vincent, Tom Reese, Garry Walberg, Ben Hammer, Perry Ivins, Irene James, Robert Gibbons, Lillian O'Malley, Jack Ramstead, Edwin Rochelle, Dennis Sallas.

Born on this day – Bernard Hill:

Bernard Hill

Actor

December 17, 1944 – 5 May 5, 2024

Credits:

10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2004); 2003 MTV Movie Awards (2003); 2nd House (1974); 30 Greatest Political Comedies (2006); A Dirty Knight's Work (1976); A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999); A Question of Faith (2000); A Very Social Secretary (2005); About Face (1991); Alan Davies' Teenage Revolution (2010); Analogue Love (2011); Ancient Egyptians (2004); Auntie's Bloomers (1991–2001); BBC2 Play of the Week (1977–1978); Beatles Biggest Secrets (2004); Bellman and True (1987); Bernard Hill Remembers... Boys from the Blackstuff (2022); Between the Lines (1993); Big-atures / The Passing of an Age / Home of the Horse Lords (2004); Billy Connolly: An Audience with Billy Connolly (1985); Bombay Railway (2007); Boys from the Blackstuff (1982); Breakfast Time (1986); Brief History of Disbelief (2004); Cameras in Middle-Earth (2004); Canoe Man (2010); Childhood (1974); Christmas University Challenge (2014); CR: Titanic (2011); Crime Story (1992); Crown Court (1976); Cruel Sea: The Penlee Disaster (2006); Dispatches (2009); Double Helix: The DNA Years (2004); Double X: The Name of the Game (1992); Drowning by Numbers (1988); Drug-Taking and the Arts (1993); Du kommst nicht vorbei - Fans im Bann des Ringes (2005); Eisenstein (2000); El corazón de la tierra (2007); Equinox (1997); Europe, a Modern Profile (1992–1993); Everyman (1985 / 1986); Exodus (2007); Fable III (2010); Fairy Tales (2008); Falcón (2012); First Knight (1995); Five Days (2010); Folk America (2009); Forever Young (2023); Fox (1980); Franklyn (2008); From There to Here (2014); Gandhi (1982); Going Off Big Time (2000); Golden Moustache (2016); Golden Years (2016); Gothika (2003); Great Expectations (1999); Have I Got News for You (2005); HBO First Look (1997); Heatwave (2005); Hope and Wire (2014); Horizon (2001–2016); How Britain Worked (2012); I, Claudius (1976); Indian Hill Railways (2010); India's Frontier Railways (2015); Interlude City (2016); It Could Happen to You (1976); Jackanory (1985); John Lennon: A Journey in the Life (1985); Joy Division (2006); Ken Dodd in the Dock (2002); Lego the Lord of the Rings (2012); Lipstick on Your Collar (1993); Love Is Not Enough: The Journey to Adoption (2000–2001); Madagascar Skin (1995); Mania (2007); Match of the Eighties (1997); Midsummer Dream (2005); Milwr Bychan (1987); Mountain Men (1986); Mountains of the Moon (1990); Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (1996); No Go: The Free Derry Story (2006); No Surrender (1985); North v South (2015); Olly's Prison (1993); On the Set of 'Gothika' (2004); On the Set: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002); Once Upon a Time in the North (1994); OutPost 11 (2013); ParaNorman (2012); Pickersgill People (1978); Play for Today (1973–1981); Premiere (1977); Raphael: A Mortal God (2004); Reflections on Titanic (2012); Restless Natives (1985); Reunited Apart (2020); Revealed (2006); Richard III (1983); Ring*Con 2004 (2004); Ringens disipler (2004); Rooms (1977); Runners (1983); Samson and Delilah (1985); Save Angel Hope (2007); Saxon Gold: Finding the Hoard (2010); Say No to Strangers (1981); Scenes by the Sea: Takeshi Kitano (2000); Screen Two (1985–1994); Screenplay (1990); Second City Firsts (1977); Secret Lives (1997); Secrets of the Deep (2006); See You in the Future... (2004); Segunda oportunidad (2018); Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1992); Shepherd on the Rock (2014); Shirley Valentine (1989); Shrinks (1991); Special Collector's Edition (2011); Squaring the Circle (1984); Stages (1994); Still Life (1984); Sunshine (2008); Surviving Disaster (2006); Telford's Change (1979); Telltale (1993); The 60s: The Beatles Decade (2006); The Big Game (1995); The Black Stuff (1980); The Bounty (1984); The Boys & Girl from County Clare (2003); The Breaker (2014); The Chain (1984); The Children's Rebellion (1985); The Criminal (1999); The Crumblegiant (2007); The Deal (2004); The Death Train (1998); The Devil: An Unauthorised Biography (1998); The First Part of Henry the Sixth (1983); The Fremantle Conspiracy (1988); The Gambling Man (1995); The Ghost and the Darkness (1996); The Glamour Girls (1980); The Great White Mountain (1986); The Greatest (2001); The Grid (2004); The Hunt for Jill Dando's Killer (2003); The Kid (2010); The King's Speech: Revealed (2011); The Last Tommy (2005); The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005); The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse: Deleted Scenes (2005); The Long March to Freedom (2011); The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest (2010); The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003); The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (2004); The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002); The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1998); The Making of 'the Bounty' (1984); The Mill on the Floss (1997); The Moor (2023); The Responder (2024); The Sailor's Return (1978); The Scorpion King (2002); The Second Part of Henry the Sixth (1983); The Sorrows (2013); The Theban Plays by Sophocles (1986); The Third Part of Henry the Sixth (1983); The Titanic Chronicles (1999); The Wraith (2011); Timewatch (1999–2002); Titanic (1997); Titanic Explorer (1998); Titanic: Deleted Scenes (2012); Titanic: Secrets Revealed (1998); Titanic: Southampton Remembers (2012); Titanic's Final Mystery (2012); Titus: The Gorilla King (2008); Tory! Tory! Tory! (2006); True Crime (1999); Unforgotten (2015); Unforgotten Takes Us Back to the 70s (2015); Unforgotten: Building the Series (2017); Unforgotten: Domestic Turmoil (2017); Unnatural Acts (1998); Valkyrie (2008); Village Hall (1974); Warship (1977); What Is Unforgotten? (2015); What We Were Watching (2019); Wild China (2008); Wimbledon (2004); Wolf Hall (2015).

Born on this day – Richard Long:

Richard Long

Actor

Director

December 17, 1927 – December 21, 1974

Credits:

77 Sunset Strip (1958–1963); A Star Is Born World Premiere (1954); Air Cadet (1951); Alcoa Theatre (1958); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1962); All American (1953); All I Desire (1953); Allen Ludden's Gallery (1969); Back at the Front (1952); Bourbon Street Beat (1959–1960); Bridge of Spies (2015); Celebrity Bowling (1971–1972); Climax! (1955); Compression (2024); Copycat (1963); Criss Cross (1949); Cult of the Cobra (1955); Death Cruise (1974); Don Lee Television Workshop (1949); Dream Girl of '67 (1967); Follow the Boys (1963); Fury at Gunsight Pass (1956); Going My Way (1963); Goodyear Theatre (1957); Have Gun - Will Travel (1958); Hawaiian Eye (1960); He Laughed Last (1956); Here's Hollywood (1962); Hey, Jeannie! (1956); House on Haunted Hill (1959); I'll Bet (1965); It Takes Two (1969); Kansas Raiders (1950); Kraft Suspense Theatre (1965); Kraft Theatre / The United States Steel Hour (1954–1956); Lawman (1959); Love, American Style / Segment: Love and the Minister (1970); Lux Video Theatre (1954); Ma and Pa Kettle (1949); Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm (1951); Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950); Make Like a Thief (1964); Match Game (1974); Matinee Theatre (1956–1958); Maverick (1958–1959); Movies Are Adventure (1948); Nanny and the Professor (1970–1971); Outlaws (1962); P.D.Q. (1967); Password (1972–1974); Playgirl (1954); Saskatchewan (1954); Schlitz Playhouse (1957); Screen Directors Playhouse (1955); Stump the Stars (1962–1964); Sugarfoot (1959); Suspicion (1957); Tales of Wells Fargo (1962); Tap Roots (1948); Target: The Corruptors (1961); The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie (1972–1973); The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1963); The Big Valley (1965–1969); The Dark Mirror (1946); The Ed Sullivan Show (1955); The Egg and I (1947); The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen (1959); The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped (1974); The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1967); The Life of Riley (1949); The Magical World of Disney (1964); The Merv Griffin Show (1967); The Millionaire (1958); The Stranger (1946); The Twilight Zone (1962–1964); Thicker Than Water (1973); Thriller (1962); Tokyo After Dark (1959); Tomorrow Is Forever (1946); Trailers from Hell (2013); TV Reader's Digest (1955–1956); Wagon Train (1958); What's This Song? (1965); Win with the Stars (1968–1969); You Don't Say (1963–1969); Your First Impression (1963).

Born on this day – Patrice Wymore:

Patrice Wymore

Actress

December 17, 1926 – March 22, 2014

Credits:

77 Sunset Strip (1961); About Faces (1961); Chamber of Horrors (1966); Cheyenne (1961); Death Valley Days (1959); Die VII. Internationalen Filmfestspiele (1957); Errol Flynn: Portrait of a Swashbuckler (1983); F Troop (1965–1967); Hollywood and the Stars (1964); Hollywood Christmas Lane Parade of the Stars (1960); I'll See You in My Dreams (1951); In the Wake of the Zaca (2005); Jefferson Drum (1958); Juke Box Jury (1965); King's Rhapsody (1955); Lux Video Theatre (1953); Mister Roberts (1966); Never Too Young (1965–1966); Ocean's Eleven (1960); Perry Mason (1963–1965); Rocky Mountain (1950); She's Back on Broadway (1953); She's Working Her Way Through College (1952); Starlift (1951); Stump the Stars (1959–1964); Tales of Wells Fargo (191); Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn (2007); Tea for Two (1950); That Regis Philbin Show (1964); The 18th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1961); The Adventures of Errol Flynn (2005); The Big Trees (1952); The Deputy (1960); The Ed Sullivan Show (1949–1952); The Errol Flynn Theatre (1956–1957); The Lamb's Gambol (1949); The Littlest Hobo (1964); The Man Behind the Gun (1953); The Mike Douglas Show (1964); The Monkees (1967); The Roaring 20's (1960); The Sad Horse (1959); The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1963).

Born on this day – Elsie Albiin:

Elsie Albiin

Actress

December 17, 1921 – April 3, 2009

Born on this day – Joan Woodbury:

Joan Woodbury

Actress

December 17, 1915 – February 22, 1989