Wade Griffin
Created by Larry Cohen

"The Voice of Doom" as a P.I.?

Canada's own Lorne Greene (why do you think they call it a "Greene card"?) played WADE "GRIFF" GRIFFIN, a veteran LAPD captain who resigned from the force after thirty years of service, over a matter of principle, storms right back into the game after witnessing his son's murder and his grandson's kidnapping. At least, that's how the pilot for this short-lived TV series played.

The action in the series itself took place after the killing and kidnapping had occured, and featured Griffin running his newly-opened Wade Griffin Investigations, aided by his young partner, Mike Murdoch, and their faithful secretary Gracie. Wade made his home in the "swinging, youth-oriented Westwood section of Los Angeles."

Yeah, when you think of swinging youth, the first name you think of is... Lorne Greene.

Curiously, the pilot never aired until a year and a half after the series had sputtered and died.

FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY

• "It's nice to know something (Dellaventura) finally came along to knock off Lorne Greene's Griff (1973) as the worst TV eye of all time, but it took more than twenty years!"
  (Ted Fitzgerald)

TELEVISION

• MAN ON THE OUTSIDE
  (1975, ABC)
  Pilot for already-cancelled series
  First aired June 29, 1975)
  Teleplay by Larry Cohen
  Directed by Boris Sagal
  Produced by George Eckstein
  Executive Producer: David Victor, for Universal
  Starring Lorne Greene as WADE GRIFFIN
  Also starring James Olson, Lee H. Montgomery, Lorraine Gary, Brooke Bundy, Ken Swofford, Scatman Crothers
  .
• GRIFF
  (1973-74, ABC)
  12 60-minute episodes
  Premiere: September 29, 1973
  Created by Larry Cohen
  Directed by Boris Sagal
  Produced by David Victor, for Universal
  Starring Lorne Greene as WADE GRIFFIN
  with Ben Murphy as Mike Murdoch
  Patricia Stich as Gracie Newcombe
  and Vic Tayback as Captain Barney Marcus
  Also starring James Olson, Lee H. Montgomery, Lorraine Gary, Brooke Bundy, Ken Swofford, Scatman Crothers
  Guest stars: Sharon Dennis, Barbara Feldon, Jared Martin, Mark Miller, Pat Crowley, Robert Sampson, Scatman Crothers, Sal Mineo.

• "Premiere episode" (September 29, 1973)
• "Death by Prescription" (October 6, 1973)
• "All the Lonely People" (October 13, 1973)
• "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" (October 20, 1973)
• "Marked for Murder" October 27, 1973)
• "The Last Ballad" Episode (November 10, 1973)
• "Elephant in a Cage" (November 24, 1973)
• "Isolate and Destroy" (December 22, 1973)
• "Fugitive from Fear" (January 5, 1974)
• "Man on the Outside" (June 29, 1975)

NOVELIZATION

• Griff (1973, by Robert Weverka).

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.