The Outsider
(Reviews taken from or adapted from TV Guide.)
11/21/1967 – The Outsider telefilm/pilot: Hollywood private eye
David Ross is hired to find out if a young woman is embezzling company funds. He finds more trouble than evidence; he’s almost strangled by the girl’s boy
friend and when she is murdered, Ross – who served six years on a murder rap
– becomes the chief suspect. Written by Roy Huggins, creator of “Run For
Your Life.” And “The Fugitive.” (2 hours)
Collin Kenniston III Sean Garrison
Peggy Leydon Shirley Knight
Marvin Bishop Edmond O’Brien
Mrs. Kozzek Ann Southern
Lt. Wagner Ossie Davis
Honora Dundas Nancy Malone
Mrs. Bishop Audrey Totter
Ernest Grimes Joseph Wiseman
Sgt. Delgado Mario Alcalde
Early Notices: “It appears that the private eye guy is with us in a
complete reversal from the usual smooth, well-dressed Rolls Royce runabout of
former seasons. This time, Darren McGavin as The Outsider, will go
to the opposite end of the spectrum as a character living in a run-down
apartment with a beat-up car and who’s scrounging for change. McGavin
says, “My David Ross is a loser, but so is most of the world today.”
Our only question is: Will audiences identify?”
“A new NBC series, The Outsider, also stems from a ’67 telefilm (of the same name). It has Darren McGavin who, in his younger days, was TV’s Mike Hammer, as a Los Angeles private eye. Of present, 1-hour TV series, The Outsider seems to me to be the best-scripted. It’s non-violent, deals less
with detective matters than with human relationships, and has examined, unsensationally, such subjects as charitable trusts and Red Chinese in the US.
It is producer and sometimes directed by Gene Levitt. Other good directors: Alex Singer and Charles S. Dubin. Outsider’s one fault is its subcredits crawl, which is a steal from the movie Harper.”
“David Ross was not a stereotypical glamorous private detective. He did
not make much money, lived in a run-down Los Angeles apartment building, drove a beat-up 10-year-old car, and often got beat up himself while on cases. Ross was a loner who had never finished high school and had been orphaned as a small child. As an adult, he had served six years in prison on a trumped-up murder charge, before being pardoned. In short, Ross had found the world a very
unfriendly place – he was an “outsider.” Nevertheless, he turned
private eye to tackle other people’s problems, and proved an extremely
thorough and productive investigator.”
*************
“Losing Can Be Fun and Profitable
By Lawrence Laurent
The News American Weekly Magazine, Feb. 23, 1969
The Outsider is a loser and Darren McGavin, who
plays the title role, is glad that he is.
McGavin has had his share of “winners” on television with such programs as Crime Photographer, Mike Hammer and Riverboat. The difference, to him, is that “the public identifies with a loser.”
He explains further: “President Nixon only got 43 percent of all the votes in the November elections. That makes losers out of 57 percent of the voters. (Final totals by the Associated Press give Mr. Nixon 43.40 percent of the 73,177,821 votes.)
“Besides, the country has been built by losers; guys who failed and kept on going; guys who were losers in the east and decided to move West, and, before that, guys who were losers in their native countries and decided to come to America.”
The Outsider portrayed by McGavin is a private investigator named David Ross. In each episode, he is likely to be intimidated by a racketeer, embarrassed by a crooked sheriff, shot at by a hoodlum, chased by gangsters or beaten by one or more musclemen. Often, he is outwitted by some cool corporate executive, and sometimes, beautiful women take advantage of David Ross.
“He’s just like most people,” argues McGavin.
“He’s just trying to make a living. He picks up a buck here and there, enough to pay the rent and to keep gasoline in the 1957 Plymouth that he drives.” (The car is sorely in need of fender repairs but losers, apparently, can’t afford such a luxury.)
Like most actors, McGavin claims to have worked – always briefly – at every job. Darren insists that he once worked for a private detective agency. It wasn’t the least bit glamorous.
“I learned the hard way,” he says, “that life isn’t all moonlight and roses for a private detective. I remember nights when I’d stand outside a building while the temperature dropped to freezing, waiting for a man to come out of a warm apartment or a good restaurant.”
McGavin took the role of David Ross for the simplest of reasons: “If you’re not working, you’re not an actor.”
Even so, the character underwent several changes from the time it was conceived
by Roy Huggins and when it arrived on TV last September.
First, the .38-cal. revolver Ross carried had to be removed. Then, in the changing conception, Ross stopped having a torrid love affair in each episode. “That,” declares McGavin, “was cheap and chintzy.” And he had to quit being a physical
superman who won every physical or mental encounter with badmen.
Darren’s so successful that he can now deny,
comfortably, his own early press agentry. “I wasn’t really a tailback at College of the Pacific,” he said. “Actually, I was a left end on the scrub team and I wasn’t on the team very long.”
************************
The Outsider series
1) 09/18/68 “For Members Only”
Ross is hired to ferret out an exclusive cardshark who’s fleecing members of an
exclusive social club. Ross infiltrates the club by posing as a gambler
and prospective member. The
subterfuge enables Ross to check out Richard Chase and his girlfriend, Ellie. But a chance meeting with Anne proved the stakes are higher than Ross thought.
Anne DuBois Kathie Browne
Richard Chase Warren Stevens
Karl Stanton Frank Marth
Kenneth Conrad G.D. Spradlin
Ellie Francine York
Max Timothy Carey
John Mason Arthur Space
John (Waiter) Francis DeSales
Charles Beggs John Zaremba
Reviews/Interviews
“The debut of NBC’s hour-long television show, The Outsider, which screened last night was marked by excellent acting throughout. Darren McGavin, the star of the show, breezed through the sixty minutes in a most convincing and delightful fashion. The story, reminiscent of the recent Friar’’ Club gambling scandal in Beverly Hills, was timely and well-paced. From where we sit, it looks as though The Outsider will be around for a while.
Mrs. Darren McGavin (Kathie Browne) said, “The first time I met Darren was in bed! I was working in the very first scene of a film called “The Outsider,” which called for me to be waiting – gun in hand – in a darkened bedroom waiting for someone to enter.
“I wasn’t expecting Darren and he came in expecting someone other than myself.
“In the dark, not knowing whether I was male or female, he grabbed me, threw me on the bed, where we began to struggle and wrestle around.
“We did the scene a number of times and finally it was a take, after which the director asked, ‘Say, have you two been introduced, yet?’ So he did.”
2) 09/25/68 “What Flowers Daises Are”
A routine missing persons case gets Ross embroiled in a million-dollar con game
and murder. Detective David Ross is hired to investigate the strange disappearance of an attractive model and uncovers evidence of murder. One of the model’s boy friends, Kurt Anderson, an executive with a local research foundation, is a prime suspect. Tracing Anderson to the rural site of a research group, Ross enlists the help of Daisy, a guide for the organization. Daisy takes Ross on a tour, which proves not only enlightening, but nearly fatal.
Curtis Anderson Farley Granger
Daisy Melodie Johnson
Roger Edgeway Steve Franken
Fred Allen Joseph
Benjamin Seaton Booth Coleman
Edith Yvonne White
Detective Robert Millar
Sgt. Miller Clay Tanner
Insurance Man Paul Hahn
3) 10/02/68 “Along Came A Spider”
Plain-looking Helen Brunner hires Ross to retrieve $6,000. She foolishly lent it to a younger man who promised to marry her – and then got himself murdered. The search involves Ross with a lonely-hearts club, a tough detective, an assortment of gangsters – and the killer.
Det. Keller Claude Akins
Dorothy Kingsland Marsha Hunt
Mrs. Sanduski Lily Shalet
Danny Moreno Than Wyenn
Buddy Vasta Leonard Stone
Dr. Kingsland Whit Bissell
Ralph Floyd Mutrux
4) 10/10/68 “A Wide Place in the Road” 
Ross’ search for Billy Joe Corey, a car thief who jumped bail, leads to the boy’s home town, where folks – zncluding the local sheriff – don’t take kindly to the investigator’s presence. Residents there still consider the boy something of a hero.
Sheriff Breckenridge Peter Whitney
Frances Dustin Louise Latham
Billy Joe Corey Joe Don Baker
Betty Dustin Anne Whitfield
Pearl Rapp Sarah Marshall
Leo Glass Lou Krugman
Mrs. Buchanan Lillian Bronson
George McBryde Forrest Lewis
Fred Decker Chet Stratton
George McBryde Jr. Michael Cartel
5) 10/16/68 “Cold as Ashes”
Oriental mystery – and murder – enshroud the investigator. Hired to deliver a dead man’s ashes to San Francisco, Ross soon finds himself being tracked by killers for reasons he can’t fathom. He is stunned to learn the urn containing the ashes is priceless.
Matthew Garson Don Knight
Won Ah-kam Keye Luke
Lita Dowell Kate Woodville
Lt. Kerning Noah Keen
Det. Allan Vince Howard
Cizak Gerald York
Man Lawrence Duran
6) 10/30/68 “A Time to Run”
Hired to locate a missing witness in a murder trial, Ross does just that , but regrets it. Working for a defense attorney, Ross tracks down a fleeing witness, Murphy, and by so doing, unwittingly the man’s murder by Starns, a thug posing as a friend of Ross’ client. Ross is desperate to get his new evidence to the courtroom where the trial is underway, but first must elude two men who are out to silence him. Wounded in the chase, Ross solicits the aid of two runaway “hippies.”
Stan Don Stroud
Della Brenda Scott
Ed Jack Hogan
Jerry Bryon Mabe
Starnes Ross Elliott
Frank Ebb Lawrence Haddon
Murphy James Dobson
Dr. Welles Tom Palmer
John Drake Jimmy Joyce
7) 11/06/68 “Love is Under ‘L'”
Ross undertakes a job for self-made millionaire Lyman Barr. Haired to find Barr’s missing girl friend, Ross finds the young lady hiding out. Not only does she not want to be found, Ross finds himself constantly under attack.
Lyman Barr Simon Oakland
Connie Jeanne Cooper
Mindy Taylor Willi Koopman
Thorpe Brad Weston
Albert Kopke Robert H. Harris
Cyclist Ron Russell
Toshi Pat Morita
Clifford Jack Grinnage
Ernie Louis Guss
Girl at Bar Karen Martin
8) 11/13/68 “The Twenty-Thousand Dollar Carrot”
While investigating the death of a pretty girl’s boy friend, Ross detects a monumental insurance fraud and goes after bigger game. Ross returns from Mexico the break the news to his client that alleged accident victim Tod Elkins is alive and apparently staged a $200,000 insurance coup. Seeing a chance to make some big money himself, Ross offers insurance company executive Daniel W. Border to return the culprit and the money in exchange for a percentage of the total amount. No studio sets were used on this on-location episode. Director Michael Ritchie also did the series pilot.
Borden Pat Harrington
Gloria Gronowski Bonnie Beecher
Joanne Jackson Sandra Smith
Warren Vail Conlan Carter
Fred Oliver Dana Elcar
Sheriff Wade Robert Donner
Helene Elkins Julie McCarthy
Tod Elkins John Ragin
John Morrison Delton Cook
Airline Clerk Bonnie Hughes
Floyd Stuart Nesbet
9) 11/20/68 “One Long-Stemmed American Beauty”
The death of one-time dancing star Leroy Rollins from an overdoes of alcohol and tranquilizers prompts a suspicious casting department to employ David Ross for an investigation. The strange behavior of Rollin’s landlady, the cold indifference of his former girl friend and attempted bribery by a producer have Ross wondering whether or not Rollins was murdered. But by whom? There are plenty of suspects – and all of them females.
Dorothy Johnson Judy McConnell
Landlady Betty Field
Laura Carlvic Julie Adams
Leslie Jamison Marie Windsor
Stuntman Richard Van Vleet
Florist Peggy Pope
Vincent Carlvic Walter Mathews
Karate Instructor Lloyd King
Agent Ben Wright
10) 11/27/68 “I Can’t Hear You Scream”
Private Investigator David Ross involves himself in a final-hour bid to save a hoodlum from the gas chamber. Despite the objections of a police lieutenant and a strong case against the convicted man, Ross decided to move on new evidence which hints of a frame-up. The trail leads to a known gambler and a former associate of the condemned man.
Lt. Wagner James Edward
EleanorSpringer Ena Hartman
Frank Murphy Myron Healey
Solly Thayer Marc Cavell
Besse Bobo Lewis
Mona Gentry Gwendolyn Ormes
Mary Jodean Russo
Eddie Howard Dayton
Thin Man James Nusser
George Joe Haworth
Tom Mullins John J. Fox
Jed Mills David Bond
11) 12/04/68 “Tell It Like It Was… And You’re Dead”
The news that a former burlesque queen intends to “tell all” in her
memoirs has a lot of highly placed people on edge. Ross must find out
which one might be nervous enough to kill her.
Winnie Blake Marilyn Maxwell
Judy Elliott Whitney Blake
Rusty Jackie Coogan
Nick Ames Ted Knight
Lacey Read Morgan
Lt. Wagner James Edwards
Mrs. Forrester Eve McVeagh
Beefy Man Fabian Dean
Sergeant Dallas Mitchell
Patrick Forrester Ben Murphy
Carl Gordon Jump
12) 12/18/68 “The Land of the
Fox”
Ross makes with the sane-and-sun set as he tries to locate a witness to a hit-and-run killing, then finds he’s falling for a girl who holds the key to the case.
Susan Oliver portrays Diane, one of the “beautiful people,” populating California beaches, who finds herself involved in a hush-up, but her evidence proves worthless when thugs move in.
Diane Clay Susan Oliver
Tom Campbell Ben Hammer
George Lund Russell Thorson
Peter McKee Philip Chapin
Bill Elison Kent McCord
Boy Surfer Charles Brewer
Ben Adams Roy Roberts
Bartender Al Checco
13) 12/25/68 “There Was A Little Girl”
Twelve years ago, industrialist George Harrington paid a $250,000 ransom for his kidnapped daughter, who was never seen again. Now, Sadie Burch claims the
girl she raised as her own is the millionaire’s missing daughter.
Sadie Burch Joan Blondell
Margaret Harrington Dorothy Green
George Harrington Simon Scott
Lt. Kering Noan Keen
Marcie Mary Jo Kennedy
Brad Elston George Neise
Larry Rogers Paul Lambert
Mary Potter Jean Carson
Charley Ralph Manza
Policeman Dave Diamond
Neighbor Harry Harvey, Sr.
14) 01/08/69 “The Girl From Missouri”
Mary Smith, plain-spoken and naive, enlists Ross’ help to track down her missing brother. The detective soon learns that Smith is involved with some very unsavory types, who don’t take kindly to people asking questions.
Mary Smith Mariette Hartley
Matt Smith Rick Jason
Ginny Paye P. Morgan
Coppolino Phillip Pine
Rudy Jacobs Mickey Manners
Police Sgt. Robert Millar
LArry Frank Schuller
Bo Peep Stanley Adams
Bartender Lennie Bremen
Jackie Will J. White
Policeman Victor Bozeman
15) 01/15/69 “The Secret of Mareno Bay”
Ross hits a wall of resentment and hostility as he searches for Marion Bay’s least-loved citizen. Novelist John Bedford disappeared shortly after returning to the area, and the residents are unanimous in whishing him dead.
Virginia Kirk Pippa Scott
Colonel Grey Walter Brooke
Claire Grace Lee Whitney
Mrs. Perry Estelle Winwood
Floyd Hendricks Lawrence Linville
Sheriff Damon Henry Beckman
Richard Charles Lampkin
16) 01/22/69 “The Old School Tie”
David Ross is in prison on The Outsider, and it’s as realistic a prison show as you’ll see in a long time. Actually, this is a series of flashbacks showing him when he was in prison and how his life was saved during a savage fight, by another convict, played by Aldo Ray. When his prison-buddy is released, he contacts Ross, to tell him of a big, money-making plot he has devised, which is actually extortion. Ross declines, but his buddy insists.
Eddie Wolfe Aldo Ray
Gloria Johnson Gail Kobe
Vern Fletcher George Murdock
Vincent Anthony Russell
Max Davenport Len Lesser
Mrs. Vaughn Elvia Allman
John Arnold James McEachin
17) 01/29/69 “A Bowl of Cherries”
David Ross offers to help the son of an old friend, only to become enmeshed
in a homicide. When Ross learns that young Joe Andrade has been beaten up
and is out to get the man responsible, he intervenes. The embittered
Andrad’s target, however, is found murdered.
Jason Cambor John Marley
Joe Andrade Scott Marlowe
Arnie Cambor Tom Skerritt
Pete Alan Oppenheimer
Kerry Palmer Lynne Marta
Mrs. Andrade Penny Santon
Police Lt. Warren Kemmerling
Joe Brock Phillip Kenneally
Sergeant Frank Farmer
Swamper Michael Masters
Man Robert Karnes
18) 02/05/69 “Behind God’s Back”
In Acapulco, Mexico, Ross mixes in with the jet set as he tries to convince a millionaire’s runaway daughter that her new-found playmates are up to no good. Ross finally locates the girl in the company of a self-styled archaeologist Fred Rhodes. When Ross begins to check Rhodes out, he’s arrested by Mexican police as the suspect in a jewelry theft.
Tracy Stratton Anna Capri
Miguel Thomas Gomez
Jean Daniels Ortega Virginia Mayo
Fred Rhodes Ben Cooper
Desk Clerk Paul Micate
Harry Stratton Stacy Harris
Mike Larry Chance
Eddie Victor Rogers
Juanita Martinez Stella Garcia
Dr. Rigley Richard Jury
19) 02/12/69 “Take the Key and Lock Him Up”
While investigating the shooting of a convict in a backwater town, Ross is arrested on the charge of selling marijuana.
Briggs Roger Perry
Elkins Bert Freed
Sheriff Watson Donald Barry
Harve Quinn Redeker
Laura Sharron Farnon
Miron Joseph Mell
Padre Don Hanmer
Roberts Kurt Grayson
Reeves Paul Newlan
Ella Anne Bellamy
Barrows Rene Roker
20) 02/26/69 “The Flip Side”
Newcomer Carrie Snodgrass plays a difficult double role. The psychological drama involves Ross with a plain sister who hires him to find her missing sister, a glamorous model involved in an underworld ring dealing in narcotics, and gets involved in an extortion racket.
Janet/Diane Carrie Snodgrass
Dr. Sam Gaynor Michael Strong
Telephone Operator Alice Backes
Randall Fred Williamson
Pablo Renoir Judd Laurence
Billboard Man Al Dunlap
Croupier Joseph LaCavan
21) 03/05/69 “Handle With Care”
Posing as a drifter with the alias Leo Martin, Ross joins a gang of hijacking truckers, whose operation is hurting an insurance company.
Julius Ainsworth Paul Stewart
Josie Joan Huntington
Smiley Berkeley Harris
Hollis Herbert Voland
Faber Victor Tayback
Phil Campos Edmund Hashim
Frank Guerra Pepe Callahan
Sparkey Bruce Glover
Colleen Judy Brown
Montana John Wheeler
Marty Michael Masters
Truck Driver Duke Cigrang
Dispatcher Anthony Redondo
22) 03/12/69 “All the Social Graces”
Good support is offered to Darren McGavin on The Outsider by the acting talents of Lloyd Bochner and Geraldine Brooks. McGavin is hired by a diamond-in-the-rough millionaire who is slain before the detective has any idea why he was hired. His investigation leads him to an elegant tennis club, which considered the millionaire too “low crust” for membership. (Tennis scenes were filmed at the Encino Racquet Club.)
Emily Kester Geraldine Brooks
George Jenkins Lloyd Bochner
Masters Warren Kemmerling
Stambler Regis Cordic
Joe Kester Ken Tobey
Giles Michael Evans
Diane Fuller Helen Baron
Mary Jenkins Ellen Clark
Carlin Charles Shull
Millie Lorraine Davies
Tod Gene Tyburn
Tom Del Russell
(from the episode “One Long-Stemmed American Beauty”)
23) 03/26/69 “A Lot of Muscle”
Ross takes up the cudgels for a tough, unbending cop who’s facing indictment
on a bribery charge. Probing a possible frame, Ross begins to sort out the
man’s many enemies – ranging from a bartender to a high city official.
Michael Cameron James Gregory
Patricia Cameron Susan O’Connell
Ted Baxter Greg Mullavey
Richard Twining Kenneth O’Brien
Thatcher Frank Maxwell
James Reardon Lawrence Hauben
Matthews Len Wayland
Eddie Clark Joseph Perry
Landlady Patricia Walker
Houseboy Lloyd Kino
Librarian Vivian Rhodes
24) 04/02/69 “Periwinkle Blue”
Ross is alternately beguiled and bedeviled by April Endby, a winsome widow who has buried two husbands. Ross can’t help wondering, did she do them in? Her current husband wonders the same thing and hires Ross to investigate. Director Richard Benedict appears as a photographer.
April Endby Lois Nettleton
Arthur Endby Douglas Dick
Lt. Kanter Bill Quinn
Aunt Myrtle Ellen Corby
Wainwright Pat Harrington
Model Shelby Livingston
25) 04/09/69 “Through A Stained Glass Window”
Ross is hired to tail a paroled convict, who supposedly is the only person who knows the hiding place of a stolen fortune of $250,000. Kooks and heavies crowd Ross as he searches a crumbling section of Los Angeles. Jayne Meadows makes a cameo as Lil.
L. J. Fox Walter Burke
Bob Arch Johnson
Chauncy James Mickey Shaughnessy
Alice Donner Ruth McDevitt
Nancy Davis Marilyn Lovell
Frank Stobles Harry Swoger
Eddie Johnson Eldon Quick
Billie Carol Booth
Police Lt. Bill Quinn
Mike E. J. Andre
Engineer Charles Seel
26) 04/16/69 “Service For
One”
Ross is hired to serve a subpoena on a well-guarded millionaire who has never been photographed. As he dogs his quarry, Ross uncovers a curious love affair – and a murder plot. William Windom will soon be starring in his own series, My World And Welcome To It. He guest-stars here as a wealthy businessman whose expansions are threatening other businesses.
When one of the latter gets a court order against him, Ross is hired to serve the papers, which proves to be a touchy task, since the man lives like a recluse.
Amy Godwin Kathie Browne
Bernard Christie William Windom
Stan Potolski John Douchette
Decker Henry Jones
Edward Potolski Shelly Novak
Kel Johnny Silver
Businessman John Archer
Sally Sandy Balsan
Chef Jack Spratt
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Interview from “Scarlet Street,” 1994 by Richard Valley
SS: “In (The Night Stalker, Kolchak didn’t seem to have any social life.
Darren McGavin: There’s a very interesting rule about television’s running characters. I did a series called The Outsider. They said, “We wanna give you a place to live.” And I said, “Why, He has an office; I don’t think he needs anything else. He doesn’t live where he lives; he
lives in the office.” But they had a set, already built, so I thought, “Well, what’ll we do with the damned thing?” We were trying to figure out the opening, the under-the-title sequence, and I finally said, “Listen, put him a Murphy bed. He awakens to a phone ringing, and he doesn’t know where the damned phone is, so he follows the telephone cord and finds it in the refrigerator. He opens the
refrigerator and remembers that it’s breakfast, so he picks up a bottle of milk, and it’s sour.” And they said, “Gee, that’s terrific!
Okay, we’ll shoot that.” So we shot it and I got into a coat and we went out the door – and we never went back to the apartment again!”
SS: That’s great!
DM: That’s the way we did it with The Outsider, which was a wonderful shot. Unfortunately, it occurred during all the assassinations. NBC was just scared to death. Every script they said, “No, you can’t! Do you have to see the gun?”
SS: There’s a lot of talk now about trimming violence from TV.
DM: I think they should! I really do! I’m going through a script now, that we’re preparing for a Movie of the Week. We’re trimming all the violence, not because of protests, but because it’s gratuitous.
You don’t have to see the actual insertion of a knife into somebody’s ribs, or stomach! That’s silly! It really is, and it’s not needful.”
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Outsider Publicity Shoot
The following series of photographs were taken as “stock,” representative pictures for distribution to magazines and newspapers.
Numerous locations, action settings and poses were shot, usually in a single
day.
