Farewell to a TV Legend

 

Fame is indeed a fickle thing, and I've been reminded of that by the death of Gerald Harper on the 2nd July this year...I didn't even find out that he had died until I saw a small report in a magazine a couple of months later.

 

There was a time when the actor was everywhere - during the sixties and into the seventies he was all over the tube; was in the same league as other big TV actors of the time such as Roger Moore, though where the latter went onto conquer cinema by stepping into the 007 shoes, Harper simply seemed to vanish from screens.

 He was the swashbuckling time traveler in the BBC series Adam Adamant Lives in 1967, and then went onto even bigger stardom playing a millionaire newspaper owner in 1968's The Gazette. This newspaper set drama was such a hit that it spawned a spin-off series called, Hadleigh which centered on Harper's character and ran for four seasons.   

 

17 MILLION VIEWERS WEEKLY, FOLKS!

 

 AND THEN HE SEEMED TO VANISH. 

Only, he didn't - he went back to theater as well as hosting radio shows, but for us 1970's TV kids that was pretty much the same thing as vanishing without a trace. We didn't listen to radio, other than Sunday afternoons Charts rundown.

 

Gerald Harper died on 2nd July at the age of 96. 

 

Filmography as listed on Wikipedia:

• The Dam Busters (1955) – Mocking RAF Officer (uncredited)
• Tiger in the Smoke (1956) – Duds Morrison
• Stars in Your Eyes (1956) – Dicky
• The Extra Day (1956) – Police Constable
• The Admirable Crichton (1957) – Ernest
• A Night to Remember (1958) – 3rd Officer, SS Carpathia
• The League of Gentlemen (1960) – Captain Saunders
• Tunes of Glory (1960) – Major Hugo Macmillan
• The Young Ones (1961) – Watts
• The Punch and Judy Man (1963) – 1st Drunk
• Wonderful Life (1964) – Sheik / Scotsman / Harold
• Strangler's Web (Edgar Wallace Mysteries) (1965) – Inspector Murray
• Up Jumped a Swagman (1965) – Publicity Man
• The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) – Brian
• The Lady Vanishes (1979) – Todhunter

 

OLD TV HEAVEN - MURDER SHE WROTE

 Last night, lounging in front of the TV, aimlessly pushing buttons on the remote control I stumbled upon an episode of Murder She Wrote - this is not my usual type of show, though I have seen some episodes. Is there anyone who hasn't?  - but I watched it anyway. Drinking a smooth Penderyn malt, I just let the show run it's course. It's cozy style may be out of fashion - these days crime drama tend to be gritty, moody and introspective but there's a lot to be said for old school crime/mystery shows where the murder victims never bleed from gun or knife wounds, and fall to the ground without leaving an untidy mess.

12 seasons, 268 episodes and scores of murders - Cobot Cove, the fictional setting for the show, has a murder rate of 1,490 to the million which basically means that you are safer in a war zone than in the leafy New England town. The show was actually filmed in Mendocino, California and still today hordes of fans visit the area to walk the streets where Jessica Fletcher solved baffling crime after baffling crime. The show ended in 1996 but it remains a favorite of TV schedulers across the globe.

It may come as a shock to many to learn that the brilliant  Angela Lansbury was not the first choice to play Jessica Fletcher - originally the show runners approached Jean Stapleton, best known as Archie Bunker's long suffering wife, for the role. In fact the role had been created for the actress but she turned the producers down as she was going through a lot in her personal life having recently lost her husband. Looking for a replacement Angela Lansbury entered the scene - she had recently played Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the movie, The Mirror Crack'd and this made her a natural choice since the role of Jessica Fletcher is basically a transatlantic Jane Marple in any case.

'When I read the first script, I was immediately taken by Jessica Fletcher,' Lansbury told People Magazine back in 1984. ' I felt the script could have been written for me.'

As twee as the show is it must be remembered that when it first aired in 1984 it was a bit left field - at that time most TV cop shows were filled with car chases, colourful shirts and gun fights but this show featured a star in her 60's who favoured intellect over brawn. Yeah, it's the TV version of easy listening, like a celluloid version of  James Last and his orchestra performing Iron Maiden but it's all good fun and there are some curious episodes out there - like the Magnum PI/Murder she Wrote crossover in which Jessica is on vacation in Hawaii and trying to prove Magnum (Tom Selleck) was framed for two murders he's a been accused of. Now, that's a fun evening for anyone who loves old 80's trashy television.

The show had always been a big hit for CBS but when its 12th season was moved from its traditional Sunday evening slot and broadcast on Thursdays, putting it in competition with NBC's Friends, the ratings took a nose dive and it was decided to pull the plug before a 13th season.

Four TV movies followed and the show has never really gone away  -  there are the re-runs but there are also a series of books, credited to J B Fletcher but written by a series of ghost writers, that are still going strong today.