- Ensign O'Toole and Me
Ensign O'Toole and Me is the title of a semi-autobiographical novel by
William Lederer . The book was loosely adapted totelevision in the1962 —1963 NBCFour Star Television series "Ensign O'Toole ", starring Dean Jones in the title role and featuringJack Mullaney ,Jay C. Flippen ,Harvey Lembeck ,Beau Bridges , andJack Albertson .Early chapters are light-hearted and amusing. One early chapter describes how O'Toole, the hero, gives a clever explanation to his peers at Annapolis, why he chose, as his first assignment, the post of
Executive Officer aboard an AmericanRiver Gunboat inChina .Several light-hearted chapters follow, all set in
South-East Asia , prior toWorld War II , where O'Toole learns oriental languages from beautiful, exotic oriental women, which enable him to bail his Captain out of jail after a drunken rampage.Our hero and our narrator lose touch during World War II. When they reconnect our narrator has retired from the USN and become a
journalist . O'Toole is inMilitary Intelligence . Our hero keeps running into O'Toole in improbable locations, returning from dangerous missions, behind enemy lines, where he pleads with our hero to make the US public pay more attention to the dangers ofCommunism .The author, William Lederer, did serve briefly as the XO of a Chinese River Gunboat.
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