Harry O

Harry O, sometimes spelled Harry-O, is an American private detective series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen, and Jerry Thorpe was executive producer. Harry O followed the broadcast of two pilot films: firstly Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On (which aired on March 11, 1973) and secondly (with noticeable retooling) Smile Jenny, You're Dead (which aired on February 3, 1974), both starring Janssen. Synopsis David Janssen starred as the title character Harry Orwell, a San Diego cop forced into retirement when he is shot in the back. To support himself, he sets up a private investigation practice out of his beach house on Coronado Island, in San Diego. Henry Darrow, (formerly of the 1967-71 NBC hit Western series, The High Chaparral), originally starred as Lt. Manny Quinlan, his friend and police contact. For the second half of the first season, the series was retooled, with the location of the series shifted to Los Angeles, California, due to the high production costs of filming in and around San Diego. The retooling consisted of more than just a location change; a revised theme song and incidental music were composed and new supporting characters were added, notably the irascible Lt. Trench of the Santa Monica Police Department, who became Orwell's new foil/contact. (Henry Darrow's character, Lt. Quinlan, was killed off in a crossover episode.) Most noticeably, a lighter tone for the scripts and acting was adopted. Harry still lived in a beach cottage−this time somewhere along the Pacific Coast Highway between Malibu and Santa Monica. In "Reflections", episode five of season two, he gave the address as "1101 Coast Road" (this beach location was the same location used for the second pilot movie). The second season had a further reworking of the opening credits and theme song, and recurring characters were added. Anthony Zerbe, who played Lt. Trench, won a Primetime Emmy Award for his role on the series.