After unexpectedly storming to the top 10 in the ratings
during its second season and earning star Robert Stack an Emmy for Best Actor
in 1960, The Untouchables came under
fire on a number of fronts in the latter half of its second season. As
mentioned in our post on episodes airing in 1960, the series drew criticism for
its violence, negative depiction of Italian-Americans, and the fictional
content of stories based on the historical figure of Elliot Ness. The FBI had
already complained that the fictional Ness was being credited for bringing down
criminals such as Ma Barker, whom he had no dealings with in real life. But
that paled in comparison to the heat brought by Italian-Americans. A $1 million
lawsuit brought by Al Capone's son failed to stop the show's depiction of
Italian-American criminals, but a boycott of the show's sponsor, Liggett &
Myers, as reported in the March 25th edition of TV Guide, forced the company to drop its sponsorship at the end of
its current contract, though the company claimed its decision was based on
ABC's moving the show to an unfavorable time-slot. Still, the backlash was
strong enough that on St. Patrick's Day 1961 Desi Arnaz, whose Desilu Studios
produced the drama, issued a statement saying that there would be no more
gangsters with Italian names, that Untouchable Enrico Rossi (in the press
release called "Nick Rossi," confusing the character's first name
with that of its actor Nicholas Georgiade) would be featured more prominently,
and that the show would emphasize the positive contributions of
Italian-Americans to American culture.
But despite these promises, Rossi received only a little
more camera time and not very many lines, and the show relied even more heavily
on the character of Frank Nitti, Capone's successor in leading the Chicago
crime syndicate. In a sense, the series had painted itself into a corner from
the start: the two-part pre-pilot that aired on Desilu Playhouse in 1959 had already told in full the tale of
Elliot Ness' greatest achievement in helping to bring Al Capone to justice.
Where could the series go from there? The producers decided to use that event
as a launching pad for a series of other crime waves and power plays said to
have been created by Capone's absence. Into Capone's place steps Frank Nitti,
The Enforcer, whose job it is to keep the Capone enterprise intact and thriving
in the face of myriad attempts to undermine it. Though it did not become The
Frank Nitti Show, Bruce Gordon, who played Nitti, appeared in 13 of the 31
episodes that aired during 1961, with 9 of those coming after Arnaz's St.
Patrick's Day statement. The series began to have its share of Greek, Polish,
and Russian criminals, but the November 2, 1961 episode "The Genna
Brothers" focused solely on the empire built and then lost by 6 siblings
from Sicily, though their criminality is balanced out by other Italian
immigrants who help Ness and the Untouchables bring down the Gennas. In his
autobiography Straight Shooting,
Stack says that the ban against Italian criminals wasn't enforced until the
series' final season. 
Perhaps regretting telling the entire Capone story before
deciding to do an entire series based on Ness, the producers brought Capone
back in another two-part installment "The Big Train" (January 5 &
12, 1961) that depicted an attempt to spring him during a cross-country train
ride from Atlanta to the just-completed facility at Alcatraz. Neville Brand
reprised his role as Capone from the pre-pilot, but the episodes only served to
make another enemy for the show--the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which objected to
the depiction of corrupt prison guards conspiring to help Capone escape.
According to a story in the January 21, 1961 edition of TV Guide, the Bureau threatened to appeal to the FCC to stop the
broadcast of the second installment, and the head of the Bureau, James V.
Bennett, wrote to 10 ABC stations and threatened to oppose their FCC license
renewals if they aired the broadcast. In the end, the episode ran as scheduled,
with a disclaimer at the end noting that the events were fictional and no
attempt was made to impugn upstanding United States prison workers.
But the sticky issue of mingling fact and fiction, particularly
events and persons not that far removed in time, continued to plague the
series, which seemed to want to have it both ways. They were not opposed to
having the series narrated by real newsman Walter Winchell and would splice in
historical footage, such as in "The Antidote" (March 9, 1961), which
takes place against the backdrop of the 1932 presidential election between
Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but they also wanted the freedom
to make up facts and characters to suit their dramatic brand of entertainment.
For example, most of the 1961 episodes take place after Capone was
incarcerated, by which time Ness had dissolved his band of Untouchables, and he
travels far beyond his Chicago beat to New York, New Orleans, and the Canadian
border to track down his adversaries. The blur between fact and fiction was
controversial enough that TV Guide
ran a March 11 cover story written by Ness' widow and third wife Elisabeth in
which she discussed the similarities and differences between her real-life
husband and the character played by Robert Stack (apparently the real Ness
smiled more and often worked from home). Ironically, of course, the cover photo
shows Stack, not Ness, not smiling.
Stack remembers his work on the series fondly and speaks
highly of the quality of material the show produced. He also recounts how
dangerous some of the stunts were to give the realistic effects of shootings
and explosions. One in particular involved New York theater actor Joseph
Wiseman, who was supposed to use an axe to destroy a still, but in his zeal he
then went after a metal pipe that was not meant to break away and wound up
severing his Achilles tendon when the axe bounced off the metal pipe and hit
him in the back of the leg. However, they then cast him as a crippled and
greedy chemist in the aforementioned 1961 episode "The Antidote." When
Ness finally captures him, he tries to justify his crimes by saying he had no
other career options as a disabled person, but Ness slaps down a copy of a
newspaper showing that Franklin Roosevelt was just elected President of the
United States as an example of someone who didn't use his disability as an
excuse. Stack doesn't spend any time in his autobiography explaining why the
series was canceled after 4 seasons. Perhaps interest in the Prohibition era
was a mercurial fad, as the viewing public turned to medical dramas like Dr. Kildare and Ben Casey and comedies such as The
Beverly Hillbillies and The Andy Griffith Show. But perhaps the show had also made too many enemies and
stirred up too much controversy to survive more than a brief moment of
popularity. Like the scores of gangsters gunned down by Ness and his men, the
television series that lives by the gun dies by the same instrument.
All four seasons have been released on DVD, two sets per
season, by CBS/Paramount Home Video. The Actors
For the biographies of Robert Stack, Paul Picerni, Nicholas
Georgiade, Steve London, and Abel Fernandez, see the 1960 post on The Untouchables.
Bruce Gordon
Hailing from Fitchburg, MA, Gordon made his Broadway debut
at age 21 in The Fireman's Flame. His
theatrical career continued through the 1940s and into the 1950s, supporting
Boris Karloff in Arsenic and Old Lace,
Charlton Heston in Antony and Cleopatra,
and Julie Harris in The Lark. He made
his feature film debut in an uncredited part in 1948's The Naked City and got his first credited role in the Marx
Brothers' last film Love Happy, which
also featured Marilyn Monroe. Though his television credits far outnumbered his
film roles, he also appeared with Yul Brunner in The Buccaneer and Vincent Price in The Tower of London. Much later in his career he appeared in such
exploitation fare as Piranha and Ernest Goes to Splash Mountain. But it
was his career on television that made him a celebrity. Before appearing 28
times as Frank Nitti on The Untouchables,
he had supporting roles on a number of television series and drama anthologies,
with his first recurring role as host and character Commander Matson on the
Cold War docu-drama Behind Closed Doors,
which ran during the 1958-59 season.
His success as Nitti on The
Untouchables led to him being typecast as a heavy in many TV guest spots,
but he landed a recurring role as Lee Grant's vengeful alcoholic father Gus
Chernak on Peyton Place in 1965-66.
He immediately followed that with another gangster role as Mr. Devere, out to
get Jack Sheldon in the 16-episode sit-com Run
Buddy Run in 1966. His final TV role came as one of multiple John
Dillingers in a 1984 episode of Simon
& Simon. But Gordon chose to embrace his Nitti persona rather than
fight it: after retiring to Santa Fe he opened a dinner theatre called Frank
Nitti's Place, in which he would greet patrons in costume and character, and he
opened an identically named pizza parlor in Kansas City. He also appeared in a
Bell Telephone TV commercial with Louise Lasser playing a similar mobster type
who demonstrates how easy it is to dial long distance. Gordon passed away in
Santa Fe on January 20, 2011 at the age of 94.
Oscar Beregi, Jr.
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Beregi, Jr.'s father was a star
actor in their home country, which they both fled in 1939. However, while
Beregi, Sr. was able to relocate to the United States, Jr. was forced to settle
in Chile, where he ran a restaurant before finally being able to resettle in
the U.S. thanks to the efforts of Texas Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. Upon his
arrival, Beregi Jr. initially worked as a salesman for several years to learn
English before re-entering the acting profession. His first acting credit in
the States was in the Fred MacMurray feature The Oregon Trail in 1959. He also then began appearing frequently
on TV programs, often as European-sounding criminals, including 8 appearances
as crime syndicate leader Joe Kulak on The
Untouchables, his only recurring role. Perhaps his finest dramatic performance
was in the 1961 Twilight Zone episode
"Deaths-Head Revisited" in which he plays a Nazi concentration camp
commander haunted by the ghost of one of his victims. He played Nazi-related
roles in feature films Operation Eichmann
and Judgment at Nuremburg and in TV
shows 12 O'Clock High, Garrison's Gorillas, and Hogan's Heroes. He played Eva Gabor's
father in a 1970 episode of Green Acres
and a sadistic jailer in the Mel Brooks feature Young Frankenstein. In all Beregi, Jr. amassed some 95 credits, the
last being a 1976 episode of Kojak,
the same year he died from a heart attack on November 1 at the age of 58.
Frank Wilcox
Frank Reppy Wilcox was born in DeSoto, Missouri but grew up
in Atchison, Kansas and briefly attended the University of Kansas before
transferring to Benedictine College, from which he graduated and much later
served as a trustee. After he moved to Pomona, California to live with his
grandparents, he worked in lemon groves, operated a tire repair shop, and
helped found a community theater before taking his talents to the Pasadena
Community Theater where he met fellow actor George Reeves of TV Superman fame,
later serving as Reeves' best man at his wedding. His first feature film
appearance came playing the Postmaster General in the crime drama Postal Inspector starring Bela Lugosi.
In 1939 he signed with Warner Brothers, playing historical characters such as
Henry Clay and Abraham Lincoln in several shorts before moving on to bit parts
in feature such as The Sea Hawk, Sergeant York, and They Died With Their Boots On. In all Wilcox appeared in over 200
feature films in a career that stretched to 1971, including small parts in
classics such as Gentlemen's Agreement,
All the King's Men, The Greatest Show on Earth, and Annie Get Your Gun. In 1951 he began
also appearing on television in both comic and dramatic roles. In 1954 he had a
recurring role as Henry Van Buren on Waterfront,
and he appeared in 16 episodes of The
George Burns and Gracie Allen Show between 1953 and 1957. He played Luis
Rico in 4 episodes of Zorro in 1958
before being cast as Federal District Attorney Beecher Asbury in the two-part pre-pilot
of The Untouchables the following
year. Though he is perhaps best remembered as oil executive John Brewster on The Beverly Hillbillies, Wilcox actually
had more appearances on The Untouchables
playing Asbury. He also appeared 8 times on Perry Mason as the courtroom judge, and appeared in the same role when Raymond
Burr guest starred as Mason on the 1961 episode "Jack on Trial for
Murder" of The Jack Benny Program.
Coincidentally his last TV credit was playing a judge on a 1973 episode of Kung Fu.
Besides his acting work, Wilcox received five battle stars
serving in the military during World War II; he was made honorary mayor of his
hometown Granada Hills, CA; was honorary fire chief of Los Angeles; and served
on the Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild. He died from a heart
attack March 3, 1974 at the age of 66.
Notable Guest Stars
Season 2, Episode 12, "The Big Train, Part 1": Neville
Brand (shown on the left, starred in D.O.A., The Mob, Stalag 17, Riot in Cell Block
11, and The Three Outlaws and
played Reese Bennett on Laredo) plays
world famous gangster Al Capone. Robert F. Simon (Dave Tabak on Saints and Sinners, General Alfred Terry
on Custer, Frank Stephens on Bewitched, General Maynard M. Mitchell
on M*A*S*H, and J. Jonah Jameson on The Amazing Spider-Man) plays District
Attorney Cummings. Gavin MacLeod (starred in Operation Petticoat, The Sand
Pebbles, and Kelly's Heroes and
played Joseph Haines on McHale's Navy,
Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore
Show and Rhoda, and Capt. Merrill
Stubing on The Love Boat) plays
Capone hitman Jack White. Lewis Charles (Lou on The Feather and Father Gang) plays Capone hitman Joe Giambatista. Bartlett
Robinson (Frank Caldwell on Mona
McCluskey) plays Federal Judge James H. Wilkerson. Ted Knight (Ted Baxter
on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Roger
Dennis on The Ted Knight Show, and
Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort)
plays Congressman Oliver. Richard Carlyle (Casey on Crime Photographer) plays corrupt prison guard Everett Lafferty.
Frank London (Shad on Johnny Staccato
and Charlie on Peyton Place) plays
embezzler Benny Marcus. George N. Neise (Capitan Felipe Arrellanos on Zorro, Dr. Nat Wyndham on Wichita Town, and Colonel Thornton on McKeever & the Colonel) plays Capone
lawyer Archie Devlin. Russ Conway (Fenton Hardy on The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure, Gen. Devon
on Men Into Space, and Lt. Pete Kile
on Richard Diamond, Private Detective)
plays Atlanta prison warden Hubbard. Russell Thorson (Det. Lt. Otto Lindstrom
on The Detectives and William Kennerly
on Peyton Place) plays federal agent
Ferguson. Richard Bakalyan (starred in The
Delicate Delinquent, The Cool and the
Crazy, Juvenile Jungle, Hot Car Girl, Paratroop Command, and The
Computer Wore Tennis Shoes) plays a prison inmate who stabs Capone.
Season 2, Episode 13, "The Big Train, Part 2": Brand,
MacLeod, Charles, and Carlyle reprise their roles from Part 1. William
Schallert (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis) plays federal agent Edward Garth. James
Westerfield (appeared in The Shaggy Dog,
The Absent-Minded Professor, and The Love God? and played John Murrel on The Travels of Jamie McPheeters) plays Western
Gang leader Eric Hovig. Ron Hagerthy (Clipper King on Sky King) plays his partner Handsome Johnny Rollins. John Dennis (Dutch
Schultz on The Lawless Years) plays a
Western Gang gunman. Robert Foulk (Ed Davis on Father Knows Best, Sheriff Miller on Lassie, Joe Kingston on Wichita
Town, Phillip Toomey on The Rifleman,
and Mr. Wheeler on Green Acres) plays
the Cloverville, CA sheriff. Woody Chambliss (Captain Tom on Yancy Derringer and Lathrop on Gunsmoke) plays telegrapher Burt.
Charles Lane (Mr. Fosdick on Dear Phoebe,
Homer Bedloe on Petticoat Junction,
Foster Phinney on The Beverly Hillbillies,
Dale Busch on Karen, and Judge
Anthony Petrillo on Soap) plays an
Alcatraz prison clerk.
Season 2, Episode 14, "The Masterpiece": Robert
Middleton (Barney Wales on The Monroes)
plays speakeasy boss Mayer Wartel. Rip Torn (shown on the right, starred in King of Kings, Sweet Bird of
Youth, Tropic of Cancer, and The Cincinnati Kid and played Arthur on The Larry Sanders Show and Don Geiss on 30 Rock) plays hitman Harry Strauss. George
Voskovec (appeared in The Iron Mistress,
12 Angry Men, BUtterfirld 8, and The Boston
Strangler and played Petar Skagska on Skag
and Fritz Brenner on Nero Wolfe)
plays gunsmith Herman Kihn. Addison Richards (starred in Boys Town, They Made Her a Spy,
Flying Tigers, and The Deerslayer and played Doc Calhoun on
Trackdown and Doc Landy on The Deputy) plays newspaper editor
Adcock. Alexander Lockwood (Judge Baker on Sam
Benedict) plays ballistics expert Dr. Hinds.
Season 2, Episode 15, "The Organization": Richard
Conte (appeared in A Walk in the Sun,
13 Rue Madeleine, Call Northside 777, Ocean's 11, and Lady in
Cement and played Jeff Ryder on The
Four Just Men) plays Capone lieutenant Arnie Seeger. Milton Selzer (Parker
on Get Smart, Jake Winkelman on The Harvey Korman Show, Abe Werkfinder
on The Famous Teddy Z, and Manny
Henry on Valley of the Dolls) plays
ex-con Maxie Schram. Susan Oliver (Ann Howard on Peyton Place) plays Seeger's girlfriend Roxie Plummer. Cyril
Delevanti (Lucious Coin on Jefferson Drum)
plays a flophouse manager. John Harmon (Eddie Halstead on The Rifleman) plays mobster Arno Schwager.
Season 2, Episode 16, "The Jamaica Ginger Story": Michael
Ansara (appeared in Julius Caesar, The Robe, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Harum Scarum, played Cochise on Broken
Arrow and Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart on The Rifleman and the Law of
the Plainsman, and voiced General Warhawk on Rambo) plays ginger alcohol kingpin Rafael Torrez. Alfred Ryder (appeared
in T-Men, Hamlet(1964), Hotel, and True Grit) plays rival mobster Kerry
LaCava. Brian Keith (shown on the left, starred in The
Parent Trap, The Pleasure Seekers,
With Six You Get Eggroll, and The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming
and played Matt Anders on The Crusader,
Dave Blassingame on The Westerner,
Uncle Bill Davis on Family Affair,
Steven Halliday on The Zoo Gang, Lew
Archer on Archer, Milton C.
Hardcastle on Hardcastle and McCormick,
Professor Roland G. Duncan on Pursuit of
Happiness, B.L. McCutcheon on Heartland,
and Walter Collins on Walter & Emily)
plays hitman Jim Martinson. James Coburn (starred in The Magnificent Seven, Charade,
Our Man Flint, and In Like Flint and played Jeff Durain on Klondike and Gregg Miles on Acapulco) plays hitman Dennis Garrity. Clegg
Hoyt (Mac on Dr. Kildare) plays
Torrez's assistant Harry. Jean Inness (see the biography section for the 1961
post on Dr. Kildare) plays
boardinghouse proprietor Judith Foster. Hank Patterson (Fred Ziffel on Green Acres and Petticoat Junction and Hank on Gunsmoke)
plays flophouse desk clerk Wilkinson. Snub Pollard (prolific silent-movie comic
actor who appeared in Keystone Cops comedies, dozens of Harold Lloyd shorts,
Laurel and Hardy and Andy Clyde shorts, a series of his own shorts, and as Tex
Ritter's sidekick Pee Wee in several 1930s westerns) plays wino Willie Marsden.
Byron Morrow (Capt. Keith Gregory on The
New Breed and Pearce Newberry on Executive
Suite) plays Detroit Police Capt. Williamson.
Season 2, Episode 17, "Augie 'The Banker' Ciamino":
Keenan Wynn (starred in Annie Get Your
Gun, Royal Wedding, Angels in the Outfield, The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, Dr. Strangelove, The Great
Race, and Point Blank and played
Kodiak on Troubleshooters, Williard
"Digger" Barnes on Dallas,
Carl Sarnac on Call to Glory, and
Butch on The Last Precinct) plays whiskey
mogul Augie Ciamino. Harry Dean Stanton (appeared in Kelly's Heroes, Dillinger,
Cool Hand Luke, Repo Man, Pretty in Pink,
Alien, Paris, Texas and played Jake Walters on Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) plays his hitman Picolo. Bernard Fein
(Pvt Gomez on The Phil Silvers Show)
plays hitman Richie. Will Kuluva (Charlie Kingman on Primus) plays baker Enzo Rainieri. Lee Philips (starred in Peyton Place and The Hunters, and played Ellery Queen on The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen; also directed 60 episodes
of The Andy Griffith Show and
multiple episodes of Peyton Place, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Doris Day Show, and The Waltons) plays his son Paul. Sam
Jaffe (starred in Lost Horizon, Gunga Din, The Asphalt Jungle, and Ben-Hur
and played Dr. David Zorba on Ben Casey)
plays grocer Luigi Valcone. Bernard Kates (Lalley on The Asphalt Jungle) plays English teacher Mr. Lee. Roscoe Ates
(appeared in Freaks, Cimarron, The Champ, and Alice in
Wonderland, played Soapy Jones in 15 westerns, and played Ike Jenkins on Lawman) plays a drunk.
Season 2, Episode 18, "The Underground Court": Richard
Devon (Jody Barker on Yancy Derringer)
plays syndicate member Valentine Ferrar. Vic Perrin (the narrator on Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, was the
control voice on The Outer Limits,
and did voicework on Jonny Quest, Star Trek, Scooby Doo, Where Are You?, and Mission:
Impossible!) plays his partner Inky Beggs. Joan Blondell (shown on the right, starred in The Public Enemy, Blonde Crazy, Topper Returns,
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Desk Set, and The Cincinnati Kid and played Lottie Hatfield on Here Come the Brides and Peggy Revere on
Banyon) plays eccentric widow Hannah
"Lucy" Wagnall. William Fawcett (Clayton on Duffy's Tavern, Marshal George Higgins on The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and Pete Wilkey on Fury) plays cabin lodge manager Cooley. Frank
De Kova (Chief Wild Eagle on F Troop
and Louis Campagna on earlier episodes of The
Untouchables) plays underground court justice Judge Foley.
Season 2, Episode 19, "The Nick Moses Story": Harry
Guardino (starred in Houseboat, Pork Chop Hill, The Five Pennies, Hell Is for
Heroes, Madigan, Dirty Harry, and The Enforcer and played Danny Taylor on The Reporter, Monty Nash on Monty
Nash, and Hamilton Burger on The New
Perry Mason) plays Nitti lieutenant Nick Moses. Jack Reitzen (Chopstick Joe
on Terry and the Pirates and Flores
on Not for Hire) plays rival
lieutenant Vinnie Orcell. Michael Constantine (appeared in The Last Mile, The Hustler,
The Reivers, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding and played Jack Ellenhorn on Hey, Landlord, Principal Seymour Kaufman
on Room 222, Judge Matthew Sirota on Sirota's Court, and Gus on My Big Fat Greek Life) plays cab driver
Gino. Dan Seymour (Ferrari on Casablanca)
plays nightclub owner Jake Kurowski. Richard Bakalyan (see "The Big Train,
Part 1" above) plays Moses henchman Monk. Peter Mamakos (Jean Lafitte on The Adventures of Jim Bowie) plays Moses
henchman Sully.
Season 2, Episode 20, "The Antidote": Telly
Savalas (starred in Cape Fear, The Birdman of Alcatraz, The Dirty Dozen, and Kelly's Heroes and played Mr. Carver on Acapulco and Lt. Theo Kojak on Kojak) plays Nitti alcohol supplier
Wally Baltzer. Gale Robbins (shown on the left, singer who appeared in The Barkleys of Broadway, Three
Little Words, and Calamity Jane )
plays his girlfriend Lorna. Joseph Wiseman (starred in Detective Story, Viva Zapata!,
Les Miserables (1952), Dr. No, and The Valachi Papers and played Manny Weisbord on Crime Story) plays chemist Jacques
Villon. Jeff Corey (appeared in My Friend
Flicka, The Cincinnati Kid, In Cold Blood, True Grit, Butch Cassidy and
the Sundance Kid, and Little Big Man
and played Lawyer Sam on Hell Town
and Bill McGregor on Morningstar/Eveningstar)
plays chemist Max Frimmel. John Mitchum (see the biography section for the 1960
post on Riverboat) plays henchman
Freddie.
Season 2, Episode 21, " The Lily Dallas Story": Norma
Crane (shown on the right, appeared in Tea and Sympathy, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs!, and Fiddler on the Roof and played Rayola
Dean on Mister Peepers) plays ex-con
mastermind Lily Dallas. Larry Parks (husband of Betty Garrett, starred in The Deerslayer, The Al Jolson Story, Down to
Earth, and Love Is Better Than Ever)
plays her husband George "Blackie" Dallas. Judy Strangis (Helen
Loomis on Room 222 and the voice of
Dyna Girl on Electra Woman and Dyna Girl)
plays her daughter Arlene. Ed Nelson (Michael Rossi on Peyton Place and Ward Fuller on The
Silent Force) plays bank robber Marty Stoke. James Chandler (Lt. Girard on Bourbon Street Beat) plays a handwriting
expert.
Season 2, Episode 22, "Murder Under Glass": Dennis
Patrick (Paul Stoddard on Dark Shadows
and Vaughn Leland on Dallas) plays New
Orleans gangster Gil Haller. Richard Reeves (Mr. Murphy on Date With the Angels) plays his partner Hugger Davis. Evelyn Scott
(Ada Jacks on Peyton Place and Return to Peyton Place) plays Davis'
wife. Paul Birch (Erle Stanley Gardner on The
Court of Last Resort, Mike Malone on Cannonball,
and Capt. Carpenter on The Fugitive)
plays New Orleans Police Lt. Willard. Joseph V. Perry (Nemo on Everybody
Loves Raymond) plays a heroin addict. Norman Leavitt (Ralph on Trackdown) plays a customs clerk. George
Selk (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Gunsmoke) plays an elevator operator.
Season 2, Episode 23, "Testimony of Evil": David
Brian (starred in Flamingo Road, Intruder in the Dust, This Woman Is Dangerous, Springfield Rifle, and Pocketful of Miracles and played D.A.
Paul Garrett on Mr. District Attorney)
plays political boss Brian O'Malley. John Marley (starred in Cat Ballou, Love Story, and The Godfather)
plays his top assistant Hennie Weiser. Ross Elliott (Freddie the director on The Jack Benny Program and Sheriff
Abbott on The Virginian) plays opposition
candidate David Mantley. Robert Cornthwaite (Professor Windish on Get Smart and Howard Buss on Picket Fences) plays Mantley's campaign
manager Mr. Wendell. Johnny Seven (Lt. Carl Reese on Ironside) plays witness against O'Malley George Davas. Jack Elam (Deputy
J.D. Smith on The Dakotas, George
Taggart on Temple Houston, Zack
Wheeler on The Texas Wheelers, and
Uncle Alvin Stevenson on Easy Street)
plays fellow witness Stan Wilinski. Fay Spain (shown on the left, starred in Dragstrip Girl, Al Capone,
and The Gentle Rain) plays Davas'
girlfriend Julie Duvall. Paul Genge (Lt. Burns on 87th Precinct) plays Deputy Police Chief Artie Bryson. Robert
Brubaker (Deputy Ed Blake on U.S. Marshal
and Floyd on Gunsmoke) plays crooked
police Det. Thomas Drexel. John Zaremba (Special Agent Jerry Dressler on I Led 3 Lives, Dr. Harold Jensen on Ben Casey, Admiral Hardesy on McHale's Navy, Dr. Raymond Swain on The Time Tunnel, and Dr, Harlem Danvers
on Dallas) plays an unnamed federal
agent. Tom Fadden (Duffield on Broken
Arrow, Silas Perry on Cimarron City,
and Ben Miller on Green Acres and Petticoat Junction) plays a sweet shop
owner. Michael Parks (starred in Bus
Riley's Back in Town, The Bible: In
the Beginning, The Return of Josey
Wales, From Dusk Till Dawn, Kill Bill, and Argo, and played Jim Bronson on Then
Came Bronson, Phillip Colby on The
Colbys, and Jean Renault on Twin
Peaks) plays Tommy the elevator operator.
Season 2, Episode 24, "Ring of Terror": Harold J.
Stone (John Kennedy on The Grand Jury,
Hamilton Greeley on My World and Welcome
to It, and Sam Steinberg on Bridget
Loves Bernie) plays boxing manager Barney Jarreau. Viveca Lindfors (shown on the right, starred
in Adventures of Don Juan, Dark City, King of Kings, The Way We
Were, and Stargate and played
Hannah von Frankenstein in Frankenstein's
Aunt) plays his wife. John Crawford (appeared in Zombies of the Stratosphere, John
Paul Jones, Exodus, and The Americanization of Emily and played
Chief Parks on Police Woman and
Sheriff Ep Bridges on The Waltons)
plays mobster Johnny Acropolis. Sheldon Allman (Norm Miller on Harris Against the World) plays fellow
mobster Hymie Krugman. Walter Burke (starred in All the King's Men, Jack the
Giant Killer, and Support Your Local
Sheriff! and played Tim Potter on Black
Saddle) plays boxing trainer Herbie Snow. Vaughn Taylor (starred in Jailhouse Rock, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Psycho,
and In Cold Blood and played Ernest
P. Duckweather on Johnny Jupiter)
plays coroner Dr. William Voyt. Russell Collins (starred in Niagra, Miss Sadie Thompson, Bad Day
at Black Rock, and Fail-Safe) plays
coroner's office examiner Peabody. Olan Soule (Aristotle "Tut" Jones
on Captain Midnight, Ray Pinker on Dragnet (1952-59), and Fred Springer on Arnie) plays police gun analyst Smitty.
S. John Launer (Marshall Houts on The
Court of Last Resort and the judge 33 times on Perry Mason) plays the boxing commissioner. Howard Caine (Schaab on
The Californians and Maj. Wolfgang
Hochstetter on Hogan's Heroes) plays
boxing manager Blinky Rodriguez.
Season 2, Episode 25, "Mr. Moon": Victor Buono (shown on the left, appeared
in Robin and the 7 Hoods, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and The Silencers and played King Tut on Batman and Dr. Schubert on Man From Atlantis) plays curio shop
owner Melanthos Moon. Karl Swenson (Lars Hanson on Little House on the Prairie) plays engraver Hans Dreiser. Carleton
Young (starred in Dick Tracy (1937), The Brigand, Thunderhead - Son of Flicka, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and played Harry Steeger on The Court of Last Resort) plays opera
house manager Mr. Levell. Bill Baldwin (the narrator on Harbor Command and Bat Masterson and the announcer on The
Bob Cummings Show) plays a ticket agent. Byron Morrow (see "The
Jamaica Ginger Story" above) plays the head of the Secret Service. Russ
Conway (see "The Big Train, Part 1" above) plays law enforcement
official Brookson.
Season 2, Episode 26, "Death for Sale": James
MacArthur (starred in The Young Stranger,
Kidnapped, Swiss Family Robinson, Battle
of the Bulge, and Hang 'Em High
and played Danny Williams on Hawaii
Five-O) plays aspiring drug dealer Johnny Lubin. Ned Glass (MSgt. Andy
Pendleton on The Phil Silvers Show,
Sol Cooper on Julia, and Uncle Moe
Plotnick on Bridget Loves Bernie)plays
opium dealer Art Rele. Mario Gallo (Tomaso Delvecchio on Delvecchio) plays Lubin's bartender Chester. Carole Eastman (wrote
the screenplays for The Shooting, Five Easy Pieces, and The Fortune) plays Lubin's new
girlfriend Sondra Wiley. Jon Lormer (Harry Tate on Lawman, various autopsy surgeons and medical examiners in 12
episodes of Perry Mason, and Judge
Irwin A. Chester on Peyton Place)
plays paper supplier Clary. Michael Fox (Coroner George McLeod on Burke's Law, Amos Fedders on Falcon Crest, Saul Feinberg on The Bold and the Beautiful, and appeared
25 times as autopsy surgeons and various other medical witnesses on Perry Mason) plays Bradley, the
government's accountant.
Season 2, Episode 27, "Stranglehold": Ricardo
Montalban (shown on the right, starred in The Kissing Bandit,
On an Island With You, The Singing Nun, and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and played
David Valerio on Executive Suite, Mr.
Roarke on Fantasy Island, and Zach
Powers on The Colbys) plays New York
mobster Frank Makouris. Kevin Hagen (John Colton on Yancy Derringer, Inspector Dobbs Kobick on Land of the Giants, and Dr. Hiram Baker on Little House on the Prairie) plays his hitman Kelso. Trevor
Bardette (see the biography section for the 1960 post on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays fisherman Joe McGonigle. Adrienne
Marden (Mary Breckenridge on The Waltons)
plays his wife. Frank Puglia (starred in My
Favorite Brunette, Road to Rio,
and 20 Million Miles to Earth and
played Bibo on To Rome With Love)
plays his friend Carlo Feruzzi. Robert J. Wilke (appeared in Best of the Badmen, High Noon, The Far Country, and Night
Passage and played Capt. Mendoza on Zorro)
plays mobster Dutch Schultz.
Season 2, Episode 28, "The Nero Rankin Story": Will
Kuluva (see "Augie 'The Banker' Ciamino" above) plays newly elected
Chicago syndicate boss Nero Rankin. Jean Carson (Rosemary on The Betty Hutton Show) plays his
girlfriend Sylvia Orkins. John Dehner (Duke Williams on The Roaring '20's, Commodore Cecil Wyntoon on The Baileys of Balboa, Morgan Starr on The Virginian, Cyril Bennett on The
Doris Day Show, Dr. Charles Cleveland Claver on The New Temperatures Rising Show, Barrett Fears on Big Hawaii, Marshal Edge Troy on Young Maverick, Lt. Joseph Broggi on Enos, Hadden Marshall on Bare Essence, and Billy Joe Erskine on The Colbys) plays rival Huey Barker. Joanna
Moore (mother of Tatum and Griffin O'Neal, appeared in Touch of Evil, Son of Flubber,
and Never a Dull Moment and played
Peggy McMillan on The Andy Griffith Show)
plays Rankin's new girlfriend Althea. Barry Kelley (starred in The Asphalt Jungle, The Manchurian Candidate, and The
Love Bug and played Mr. Slocum on Pete
and Gladys and Mr. Hergesheimer on Mister Ed) plays syndicate member Pat Polofski. Murvyn Vye (Lionel on The Bob Cummings Show) plays syndicate
member Lou Hyndorf. Dan Seymour (see "The Nick Moses Story" above)
plays syndicate member Cy Brenner. Guy Raymond (appeared in Gypsy, The Reluctant Astronaut, Bandolero!,
and It Happened at the World's Fair
and played Cliff Murdock on Tom, Dick,
and Mary, Karen, and Harris Against the World and Mr. Peevey
on The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) plays a
drive-by shooting victim. Byron Morrow (see "The Jamaica Ginger
Story" above) plays U.S. District Attorney official Hartley Lester.
Season 2, Episode 29, "The Seventh Vote": Nehemiah
Persoff (shown on the left, starred in The Wrong Man, Al Capone and Some Like It Hot) plays Nitti accountant Jake Guzik. Richard Reeves
(see "Murder Under Glass" above)plays his right-hand man Levinsky. George
N. Neise (see "The Big Train, Part 1" above) returns as Capone lawyer
Archie Devlin. Howard Caine (see "Ring of Terror" above) plays Canadian
rail station agent Edwin Ballin. Robert Cornthwaite (see "Testimony of
Evil" above) plays Canadian border crossing Inspector Jim Goodrich. Charles
Seel (the bartender on Tombstone Territory, Mr. Krinkie on Dennis the Menace, and Tom Pride on The Road
West) plays a train baggage clerk.
Season 2, Episode 30, "The King of Champagne": Michael
Constantine (see "The Nick Moses Story" above) plays bottle shop
owner Edmund Wald. Barry Morse (starred in When
We Are Married, Mrs. Fitzherbert,
Daughter of Darkness, No Trace, and The Shape of Things to Come and played Lt. Philip Gerard on The Fugitive, Mr. Parminter on The Adventurer, Alec Marlowe on The Zoo Gang, and Prof. Victor Bergman
on Space: 1999) plays champagne
salesman Michel Viton. George Kennedy (shown on the right, starred in Charade, The Sons of Katie
Elder, The Dirty Dozen, Cool Hand Luke, and The Naked Gun and played MP Sgt. Kennedy on The Phil Silvers Show, Father Samuel Cavanuagh on Sarge, Bumper Morgan on The Blue Knight, and Carter McKay on Dallas) plays Wald's strongman Birdie. Robert
Middleton (see "The Masterpiece" above) plays Wald's uncle Barry
Loomis. Robert Anderson (Park Street, Jr. on The Court of Last Resort and Aeneas MacLinahan on Wichita Town, and John Cliff) plays a
warehouse worker. Cyril Delevanti (see "The Organization" above)
plays a museum night watchman. Jason Wingreen (Dr. Aaron Clark on The Long, Hot Summer, Harry Snowden on All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place, and Judge Arthur
Beaumont on Matlock) plays Police
Capt. Dorset.
Season 2, Episode 31, "The Nick Acropolis Story": Lee
Marvin (shown on the left, starred in The Big Heat, Bad Day at Black Rock, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Cat Ballou, The Dirty Dozen, and Paint
Your Wagon and played Det. Lt. Frank Ballinger on M Squad) plays bookmaker Nick Acropolis. Constance Ford (starred in
A Summer Place, Home From the Hill, All Fall
Down, and The Caretakers and played
Ada Lucas Davis Downs McGowan Hobson on Another
World) plays his wife Stella. Leonard Stone (appeared in The Mugger, The Big Mouth, Willy Wonka
& the Chocolate Factory, and Soylent
Green and played Doc Joslyn on Camp
Runamuck, Packy Moore on General
Hospital, and Judge Paul Hansen on L.A.
Law) plays her brother Louis Manzak. Johnny Seven (see "Testimony of
Evil" above) plays Acropolis torpedo Frankie Fershman. C. Lindsay Workman
(Dr. Jim Higgins on The Donna Reed Show
and Rev. Adams on Here Come the Brides)
plays Acropolis accountant Harry Krafton. Francis de Sales (Lt. Bill Weigand on
Mr. & Mrs. North, Ralph Dobson on
The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet,
Sheriff Maddox on Two Faces West, and
Rusty Lincoln on Days of Our Lives)
plays a federal accountant.
Season 2, Episode 32, "90-Proof Dame": Steve
Cochran (starred in The Best Years of Our
Lives, White Heat, and Private Hell 36) plays burlesque owner
Nate Kester. Harry Dean Stanton (see "Augie 'The Banker' Ciamino"
above)plays his torpedo Moxie. Warren Stevens (starred in The Frogmen, The Barefoot
Contessa, Deadline U.S.A., and Forbidden Planet, played Lt. William
Storm on Tales of the 77th Bengal Lancers,
and was the voice of John Bracken on Bracken's
World) plays his torpedo Alex Brosak. Steven Geray (appeared in Phantom of the Opera (1943), Spellbound, Gilda, All About Eve, and
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and played
Dr. Herman ver Hagen on The Danny Thomas
Show) plays French brandy-maker Etienne de Bouverais. Joanna Barnes (appeared
in Auntie Mame, Tarzan, the Ape Man, Spartacus,
The Parent Trap, and The War Wagon and played Lola on 21 Beacon Street and Katie O'Brien on The Trials of O'Brien) plays his
American-born wife Marcie. Norman Burton (Joe Atkinson on Wonder Woman and Burt Dennis on The
Ted Knight Show) plays elevator operator Wally Dagan.
Season 3, Episode 1, "The Troubleshooter": Vincent
Gardenia (appeared in Murder Inc., Bang the Drum Slowly, Death Wish, Heaven Can Wait, and Moonstruck
and played Frank Lorenzo on All in the
Family, Ray Stoller on Breaking Away,
and Murray Melman on L.A. Law) plays syndicate
leader Jake Petrie. Ned Glass (see "Death for Sale" above) plays syndicate
member Max Riegel. Peter Falk (shown on the right, starred in Robin
and the 7 Hoods, Murder by Death,
and The Cheap Detective and played
Daniel O'Brien on The Trials of O'Brien
and Columbo on Columbo) plays Riegel's
troubleshooter Nate Selko. Murray Hamilton (appeared in No Time for Sergeants, Anatomy
of a Murder, and The Hustler and played
Steve Baker on Love and Marriage and Capt. Rutherford T. Grant on B.J. and the Bear) plays newspaper
columnist Harry Danigan.
Season 3, Episode 2, "Power Play": Wendell Corey (starred
in Any Number Can Play, Rear Window, The Bold and the Brave, and The
Astro-Zombies and played Capt. Ralph Baxter on Harbor Command, Steve Peck on Peck's
Bad Girl, Dan McGovern on Westinghouse
Playhouse, and Dr. Theodore Bassett on The
Eleventh Hour) plays special prosecutor Willard Thornton. Carroll O'Connor
(shown on the left, starred in A Fever in the Blood, Cleopatra, Point Blank, Kelly's Heroes,
and Return to Me and played Archie
Bunker on All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place, Sheriff William
Gillespie on In the Heat of the Night,
Jacob Gordon on Party of Five, and
Gus Stemple on Mad About You)plays bail
bondsman Barney Lubin. Albert Salmi (Yadkin on Daniel Boone and Pete Ritter on Petrocelli)
plays enforcer Steve "Country" Parrish. Paul Genge (see
"Testimony of Evil" above) plays cartel member Wally Jater. Mary
Fickett (Ruth Martin on All My Children)
plays Five Points diner owner Emmy Sarver. Bing Russell (father of Kurt
Russell, played Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza)
plays Five Points policeman Pete Garrett. Richard Reeves (see "Murder
Under Glass" above) plays a trucker.
Season 3, Episode 3, "Tunnel of Horrors": Martin
Balsam (starred in 12 Angry Men, Psycho, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Catch-22
and played Dr. Milton Orliff on Dr. Kildare and Murray Klein on Archie
Bunker's Place) plays Nitti payoff man Arnold Justin. Don Gordon (appeared
in Bullitt!, Papillon, and The Towering
Inferno and played Lt. Hank Bertelli on The Blue Angels and Richard Jensen on Peyton
Place) plays amusement ride operator Johnny Selkirk. Barbara Pepper (Doris
Ziffel on Green Acres and Petticoat Junction) plays Selkirk's
landlady. James Nusser (Louie Pheeters on Gunsmoke)
plays a noisy drunk.
Season 3, Episode 4, "The Genna Brothers": Marc
Lawrence (appeared in The Ox-Bow Incident,
Tampico, Key Largo, The Asphalt Jungle,
and The Man With the Golden Gun and
directed 16 episodes of Lawman) plays
family leader Mike Genna. Antony Carbone (appeared in A Bucket of Blood, Last Woman
on Earth, The Pit and the Pendulum,
and Creature From the Haunted Sea)
plays his younger brother Angelo. Frank Pulgia (see "Stranglehold"
above) plays store owner Carlo Giovanni. Arlene Martel (shown on the right, played Tiger on Hogan's Heroes and Spock's Vulcan bride
on Star Trek) plays his daughter
Stella. A.G. Vitanza (Ramon on The Flying
Nun) plays an Italian immigrant whiskey cooker. William Tannen (Deputy Hal
Norton on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) plays a harbor policeman.
Season 3, Episode 5, "The Matt Bass Scheme": Telly
Savalas (shown on the left, see "The Antidote" above) plays Nitti's former mentor Matt
Bass. Milton Selzer (see "The Organization" above) plays his engineer
and partner Jason Fiedler. Michael Constantine (see "The Nick Moses
Story" above) plays speakeasy owner Seth Otis. John Harmon (see "The
Organization" above) plays his partner Phil Grier.
Season 3, Episode 6, "Loophole": Jack Klugman (shown on the right, starred
in 12 Angry Men, Days of Wine and Roses, and I
Could Go on Singing and played Alan Harris on Harris Against the World, Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple, Dr. Quincy, M.E. on Quincy, M.E., and Henry Willows on You Again?) plays lawyer to the mob Morton Halas. George Tobias (starred
in Sergeant York, This Is the Army, and Yankee Doodle Dandy and played Pierre
Falcon on Hudson's Bay, Trader
Penrose on Adventures in Paradise,
and Abner Kravitz on Bewitched) plays
speakeasy owner Mikhail Probich. Lorna Thayer (starred in The Beast With a Million Eyes and played the waitress in Five Easy Pieces) plays Probich's wife
Connie LaVerne. Martin Landau (starred in North
by Northwest, Cleopatra, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Fall of the House of Usher, and Ed Wood and played Rollin Hand on Mission: Impossible!, Commander John
Koenig on Space: 1999, Dr. Sol Gold
on The Evidence, Bob Ryan on Entourage, and Frank Malone on Without a Trace) plays rising mob boss
Larry Coombs. Gavin MacLeod (see "The Big Train, Part 1" above) plays
Coombs henchman Whitey Metz. Vaughn Taylor (see "Ring of Terror"
above) plays District Attorney Harker Wade. Alexander Lockwood (see "The
Masterpiece" above) plays clinic physician Dr. Burley.
Season 3, Episode 7, "Jigsaw": James Gregory (see
the biography section for the 1960 post on The Lawless Years) plays former Capone troubleshooter Walter Trager. Cloris
Leachman (shown on the left, starred in The Last Picture Show,
Charley and the Angel, Dillinger, and Young Frankenstein and played Ruth Martin on Lassie Rhoda Kirsh on Dr. Kildare,
and Phyllis Lindstrom on The Mary Tyler
Moore Show, Rhoda, and Phyllis) plays his sister Billie. Alan
Baxter (appeared in Saboteur, Close-Up, and Paint Your Wagon) plays her husband Harry Mailer. Bernard Fein (see
"Augie 'The Banker' Ciamino" above) plays informant Marty Wilger.
Joseph V. Perry (see "Murder Under Glass" above) plays gunman Cully
Grice. Harry Swoger (Harry the bartender on The
Big Valley) plays Nitti doorman Battler. Paul Dubov (Michel on The Ann Sothern Show) plays Nitti
councilman Charlie Banion. Ralph Moody (see the biography section for the 1961
post on The Rifleman) plays Billie's
landlord.
Season 3, Episode 8, "Man Killer": Ruth Roman (starred
in Jungle Queen, Always Leave Them Laughing, Strangers
on a Train, The Far Country, and Maru
Maru and played Minnie Littlejohn on The
Long, Hot Summer and Sylvia Lean on Knots
Landing) plays cab company business manager Georgianna Drake. Mario Gallo (see
"Death for Sale" above) plays Nitti defector Manny Kravitz. Anne Helm
(Molly Pierce on Run for Your Life)
plays nightclub singer Marian Keyes. Mario Alcalde (Yellow Hawk on The Texan and Chuck Atwell on Peyton Place) plays hitman Marty Gladwin.
Joe Scott (see the biography section for the 1960 post on Mr. Lucky) plays Nitti hood Pinky Malone.
Season 3, Episode 9, "City Without a Name": Mike
Kellin (appeared in At War With the Army,
The Wackiest Ship in the Army, The Boston Strangler, and Midnight Express and played C.P.O.
Willie Miller on The Wackiest Ship in the
Army) plays small-town crime lord Lou Mungo. Theodore Marcuse (starred in Hitler, The Cincinnati Kid, and Harum
Scarum and played Von Bloheim on Batman)
plays his lawyer Oscar Symes. Vic Perrin (see "The Underground Court"
above) plays garage mechanic Arnie Falken. Paul Richards (appeared in Playgirl and Beneath the Planet of the Apes and played Louy Kassoff on The Lawless Years) plays gambler
Sebastian. Harvey Stephens (starred in Maid
of Salem, Swing High, Swing Low,
and Abe Lincoln in Illinois) plays small-town
City Commissioner F. Scott Bodeen. William Boyett (Sgt. Ken Williams on Highway Patrol and Sgt. MacDonald on Adam-12) plays federal agent Gilbert
Burke.
