The Dick Powell Show

Television Anthology Series
(1961-63, NBC)

Hosted by crooner-turned-amiable-tough-guy Dick Powell, the aptly titled THE DICK POWELL SHOW (aka “The Dick Powell Theatre,” “The Dick Powell Reynolds Aluminum Show”) was the actor/host/producer’s his last anthology show, but it was a good one, a quality production garnering Emmy nominations for Outstanding Dramatic Achievement for both seasons it was on the air, as well as several other nominations, mostly for acting.

Like his previous stabs at anthology series (Four Star Theatre, Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theatre), it featured a star-studded mix of dramas and comedies, and many of them—particularly in the earlier episodes, starred Powell himself. In fact, one episode, “The Court-Martial of Captain Wycliff” (December 11, 1962), was his last filmed performance.

It’s probably no surprise many of the episodes were crime or detective dramas, some of which as pilots  for possible series. Although Blake Edwards’ private eye drama, “The Boston Terrier,” never caught on, “Who Killed Julie Greer?,” which starred Powell as police captain Amos Burke, went on to become Burke’s Law, which ran for a couple of seasons (and later begat Honey West). What was more surprising was the number of episodes featuring men somehow reuniting with their estranged sons.

After his death from lung cancer on January 2, 1963,  the show ploughed on to finish the season, calling on an assortment of guest hosts that ranged from Ronald Reagan and John Wayne to Gregory Peck and Powell’s widow, June Allyson.

The show’s primary sponsor was the Reynolds Metals Company, and in England it aired as The Dick Powell Reynolds Aluminum Show.

• THE DICK POWELL SHOW
  (aka “The Dick Powell Theatre,” “The Dick Powell Reynolds Aluminum Show”)
  (1961-63, NBC)
  60 60-minute episodes
  Black & white
  Created by Richard Alan Simmons
  Host: Dick Powell
  Other hosts included: Milton Berle, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Pat Boone, Jackie Cooper, June Allyson
  Writers: Blake Edwards, Ralph Nelson, Richard Carr, Robert L. Jacks, Richard Alan Simmons, Helen Nielsen, Tom Waldman, Lester Pine, Steve Fisher, Sam Peckinpah, Bruce Geller, Aaron Spelling
  Directors: Blake Edwards, Sam Peckinpah, Ralph Nelson, William Friedkin, Bruce Geller, Aaron Spelling, Arthur Hiller, Robert Ellis Miller, Lewis Allen, Ray Milland, Buzz Kulik, Don Medford
  Starring Dick Powell, Peter Falk, Milton Berle, Charles Boyer, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Rock Hudson, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Steve McQueen, Robert Mitchum, David Niven, Ralph Bellamy, Edgar Bergen, Lloyd Bridges, Jack Carson, Ronald Reagan, Mickey Rooney, Gregory Peck, Frank Sinatra, Robert Taylor, Danny Thomas, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, John Wayne, Theodore Bikel, Carroll O’Connor, Lee Marvin
  Theme: “More Than Love”
  Music: Herschel Burke Gilbert
  “Nervous” by Richard Shores, used during the highlight sequence that began every episode
  Sponsor: The Reynolds Metals Company
  Powell served as host and occasional star in this anthology show..

• • “John J. Diggs” (October 17, 1961)
    Written by Albert Beich and William H. Wright
    Directed by Ralph Nelson
    Starring Dick Powell as JOHN J. DIGGS
    Also starring Rhonda Fleming, Jack Kruschen, True Ellison, Laurie Mitchell, Michael Parks, Anthony D. Call, Wilton Graff, Alejandro Rey, Roberto Contreras, Jose Gonzales-Gonzales, Joe Higgins, Richard Boyer, Harold Fong, Henry Darrow
    John J. Diggs appears to be a derelict, scrounging from tourists in a Mexican town. But Margo Haley thinks there’s more to him than that.
  • “The Boston Terrier” (April 10, 1962) | Watch it now!
    60 minutes
    Based on characters created by Blake Edwards and Tom Waldman
    Story by Blake Edwards and Tom Waldman
    Teleplay by Lester Pine
    Directed by Blake Edwards
    Music by Ernest Gold
    Starring Robert Vaughn as A. DUNSTER LOWELL
    with Robert J. Wilke as Lt. Duffy Cardoza
    Also starring John McGiver , Bennye Gatteys, John Marley, Russell Collins, Douglas M. Dick, Richard Deacon, Ian Wolfe, Charles Seel, Charles Horvath, Dick Crockett, Hal K. Dawson, Diana Millay
  • “No Strings Atteched” (April 24, 1962)
    Written by Ben Starr and Bob O’Brien
    Directed by Hy Averback
    Starring Dick Powell as MIKE SCOTT
    Also starring Angie Dickinson, Mamie Van Doren, Barbara Nichols, John Litel, Robert Strauss, Leo Gorcey
    An idealistic  lawyer (Powell) risks his job with a snooty conservative law firm–and his fiancée—when he agrees to defend a stripper in court.
  • “Special Assignment” (September 25, 1962)
    Written by Bob O’Brien and Ben Starr
    Directed by Don Taylor
    Starring Dick Powell as PAUL MARTIN
    Also starring June Allyson, Edgar Bergen, Frances Bergen, Jackie Cooper, Lloyd Nolan, Mickey Rooney, Barbara Stanwyck
    An aging millionaire hires attorney Paul Martin to investigate potential beneficiaries.
  • “Last of the Private Eyes” (April 30, 1963)
    Written by Richard Carr and Robert L. Jacks
    Directed by Marc Daniels
    Hosted by Ronald Reagan
    Starring Bob Cummings as J.F. KELLY
    Perhaps appropriately, given that playing a private eye changed Dick Powell’s life, this light-hearted spoof of the genre was the last episode of the show. Powell himself had passed away several months earlier.

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.