Bourbon Street Beat

Infobox Television
show_name = Bourbon Street Beat


caption = Andrew Duggan, Arlene Howell, Van Williams and Richard Long in "Bourbon Street Beat"
format = Private detective series
runtime = 60 minutes
creator = Charles Hoffman
executive_producer=William T. Orr
starring = Andrew Duggan
Richard Long
Van Williams
Arlene Howell
country = USA
network = ABC
first_aired = October 5, 1959
last_aired =
July 4, 1960
num_episodes = 39
num_seasons=1
list_episodes=List of Bourbon Street Beat episodes
followed_by="Surfside 6"
related="77 Sunset Strip"
"Hawaiian Eye"
location=flagicon|California California
imdb_id= 0052453
tv_com_id=2283
language=English
picture_format=1.33 : 1 monochrome
audio_format=monaural
editor=James C. Moore
"supervising editor"
composer=Jack Halloran, "arranger"
Michael Heindorf
Howard Jackson
Frank Perkins
Paul Sawtell
Bert Shefter
producer=Harry Tatelman
producer=Charles Hoffman
theme_music_composer=Mack David and
Jerry Livingston

"Bourbon Street Beat" is a private detective series which ran on the ABC network from 1959 through 1960 and featured Andrew Duggan as Cal Calhoun, Richard Long as Rex Randolph, Van Williams as Kenny Madison, and Arlene Howell as Melody Lee Mercer (the secretary at the New Orleans detective agency in which they all worked).

Characters

The series was one of several Warner Bros. detective shows which aired on ABC during this era, but "Bourbon Street Beat" was not as successful as the others (except as a title which sticks in everyone's mind). When the series ended, the character of Rex Randolph moved to "77 Sunset Strip", and the character of Kenny Madison moved to the spin-off "Surfside 6", which aired in the "Bourbon Street Beat" time slot the following season. Only Andrew Duggan's character, Cal Calhoun, immediately disappeared from the screen upon the show's cancellation, although viewers probably barely noticed, since the then-ubiquitous Duggan was constantly appearing on so many different TV series in other roles.

Legacy

Arlene Howell had appeared several times on 1957's western series "Maverick" and was a former Miss USA; she appears to have retired from the screen after a last appearance as an understandably astonished Sergeant Carter's blind date on "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.". Richard Long went on to play the lead in the western series "The Big Valley" (1965-69) and the sitcom "Nanny and the Professor" (1970-71). Van Williams eventually played "The Green Hornet" (1966-67) opposite Bruce Lee. Andrew Duggan continued to portray an amazing number of character roles in films and television, including two other stints as series lead, taking over Cary Grant's movie role in the short-lived television version of "Room for One More" (1962), and as the sullen patriarch in "Lancer" (1968-70), a western in the vein of "Bonanza", albeit darker and more complex.

Cast

Andrew Duggan ... Cal Calhoun
Richard Long ... Rex Randolph
Van Williams ... Kenny Madison
Arlene Howell ... Melody Lee Mercer

Episode list

See List of Bourbon Street Beat episodes

External links

* [http://www.thrillingdetective.com/bourbon.html "Bourbon Street Beat"] at Thrilling Detectives website
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052453/ "Bourbon Street Beat"] at the Internet Movie Database
* [http://www.tv.com/bourbon-street-beat/show/2283/summary.html Bourbon Street Beat] at TV.com