Run, Buddy, Run

infobox television
show_name = Run, Buddy, Run
format = Sitcom
picture_format = Color
runtime = 30 minutes
starring = Jack Sheldon
Bruce Gordon
Jim Connell
country = United States
network = CBS
first_aired = September 12, 1966
last_aired = January 2, 1967
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 16
imdb_id = 0136662infobox person
name=Jack Sheldon
footnotes=(1) Trumpet player Jack Sheldon starred in a 16-segment sitcom in 1966 in which he played a young accountant on the run from comical mobsters.

(2) Sheldon, the musician, is still a specialist in jazz, having released a CD in 2007.

(3) Though "Run, Buddy, Run" was quickly dropped from the CBS schedule, there has been interest in the series over the Internet by aging Baby boomers who recall the year 1966.

"Run, Buddy, Run" is a 16-episode situation comedy starring Jack Sheldon (born 1931), which ran on CBS television from September 12, 1966, until January 2, 1967. Sheldon, also a trumpet player, portrayed Buddy Overstreet, an "ordinary guy", an accountant, on the run from a group of comical gangsters. As the plot unfolds, while he is taking a steam bath, Buddy overhears mobster "Mr. Devere" or "Mr. D", played by Bruce Gordon, plotting the death of a "Chicken Little". [ [http://www.tv.com/run-buddy-run/show/14042/summary.html Run, Buddy, Run - TV.com ] ] Jim Connell played Gordon's bumbling son, "Junior". [http://www.tvparty.com/recrunbuddy.html Run Buddy Run / Jack Sheldon ] ]

In a typical segment, Buddy Overstreet enters a new town trying to establish employment, and Mr. D would arrive and force Buddy into a narrow exit. In the ninth episode, Buddy is working as a welder in a factory when he tells a coworker Devere Enterprises has put a price on his head. The colleague double-crosses Buddy, and phones Mr. D's office long-distance. [ [http://www.tv.com/run-buddy-run/buddy-overstreet-forgive-me/episode/216143/summary.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=episodessh&tag=episodes;title;4 Run, Buddy, Run: Buddy Overstreet, Forgive Me - TV.com ] ]

In the November 14 episode, Buddy works as a waiter in a nightclub and plays his trumpet to the guests. In the November 21 segment, Buddy turns a Mexican hotel into a tourist spot suddenly frequented by Mr. D and the mob. [http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Stage/2950/US/Comedy/RunBuddyRun.htm CTVA Comedy - "Run, Buddy, Run" (Talent Associates/CBS) (fall 1966) starring Jack Sheldon ] ]

"Run, Buddy, Run" was produced by Leonard Stern, who in the production of "Run, Buddy, Run" used many of the same technical persons behind his "Get Smart" series on NBC. The program aired at 8 p.m. Eastern sandwiched between the last season of "Gilligan's Island" starring Bob Denver and "The Lucy Show" with Lucille Ball. It failed to garner sufficient ratings and was dropped at midseason after sixteen episodes were produced. Its competition was "I Dream of Jeannie" on NBC and the second half of "The Iron Horse", an ABC Western about the railroad. [1966-1967 United States network television schedule]

In the last episode, "Buddy Overstreet, Please Come Home", Mr. D is chased by tax auditors and faces potential financial ruin, and the secret of Chicken Little is revealed. This means that Buddy can return home, for he is no longer being pursued by Mr. D. [ [http://www.tv.com/run-buddy-run/buddy-overstreet-please-come-home/episode/216147/summary.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=episodessh&tag=episodes;title;0 Run, Buddy, Run: Buddy Overstreet, Please Come Home - TV.com ] ]

Among guests on the series were Jack Albertson, J. Pat O'Malley, Vaughn Taylor, Sid Melton, Julie Sommars, and Burt Mustin.

References