Love On A Rooftop Pilot Episode (1:01)
Love on a Rooftop is the hidden gem in Pete Duel’s career. Rarely seen outside of copies circulated within fandom and on You Tube this comedy series from Bernard Slade is worthy of a revival and DVD release. Here is the pilot episode (in two parts) first broadcast September 6, 1966. Courtesy of the “Dailymotion” website. There is a fresh, animated quality to Pete Duel’s work on this show.
Matt Bomer in Traveler (2007)
Matthew Bomer as Jay Burchell, Logan-Marshall Green as Tyler, Aaron Stanford as Will Traveler
Before Matt Bomer’s current successful stint on White Collar he appeared (as Matthew Bomer) in the intriguing ABC show Traveler. Sadly the show was canceled after eight episodes. Here’s a YouTube clip of the pilot for those not familiar with the show or wanting to watch it again.
In the pilot episode three college friends take part in a museum prank that ends in a bombing and the disappearance of one of the pranksters, Will Traveler.
White Collar Episodes On USA Network Online
White Collar fans with a high speed connection will be glad to know you can watch entire episodes on the USA Network website. Just click and go.
Matt Bomer, Neal Caffrey and Butch Cassidy
In this USA Today video interview, White Collar star Matt Bomer acknowledges his character of Neal Caffrey is partly influenced by Butch Cassidy. I wonder if Matt Bomer has ever seen an episode of Alias Smith and Jones?
TV Confidential : Roy Huggins Transcripts
The January 25 TV Confidential radio program featuring myself (Paul Green) includes comments from executive producer Roy Huggins that were originally made in 1996 during an interview with series host Ed Robertson regarding Alias Smith and Jones. A transcript of Mr. Huggins’ remarks appears below and has been posted with Mr. Robertson’s permission; no further dissemination of the transcript, however, is allowed. To hear the program in its entirety, either visit www.tvconfidential.net or the Archives page at http://tvconfidential.net/archives.htm The conversation about Alias Smith and Jones begins about 15 minutes into the second hour of the January 25 show.
Transcript for Audio Track 6
Roy Huggins on Pete Duel’s last day on the set of Alias Smith and Jones
I guess it was the day before he shot himself. I went in to see the dailies on that day. Peter was so much better than he had ever been before — and he was always good. But on this day, there was nothing he could do that wasn’t funny. He had an energy that was incredible, and yet all of it worked. In other words, it didn’t seem to be out of character, or over the top. And then he shot himself.
I saved those dailies. I still have them, because this was a performance — a day’s work — that was extraordinary. And I came to the conclusion that Peter might have been what used to be called a “manic depressive.” We have another word for it now (that’s more politically correct). And I think he was at the very peak of his manic cycle on that day before he died. He was producing art in this flimsy medium of television. And then he came down off that peak, and blew his brains out.
Transcript for Audio Track 7
Roy Huggins on replacing Pete Duel with Roger Davis
I was required to replace him. I had no choice, really. I closed down production. Within 12 hours, I got the word from ABC to replace him and go back into production “right now” — which I thought was rather cold and unfeeling. But they’re a corporation, and corporations don’t have souls. And so I grabbed a guy that I thought was kind of charming, and light. But he was not the right choice. He certainly was not a good choice to replace a dark, intense actor like Peter Duel. But I went out and I grabbed Roger.
[Text copyright Ed Robertson. Not to be reprinted without permission.]
Happy New Year
A Happy New Year to all Pete Duel fans.
White Collar starring Matt Bomer
The main character in USA Network’s latest hit show White Collar has a passing resemblance to Hannibal Heyes. A guy on the wrong side of the law who has cut a deal with the F.B.I. to keep out of jail. True to say it owes more of a debt to Robert Wagner’s character Alexander Mundy in It Takes A Thief – but as former Universal TV President Frank Price stated in my Pete Duel biography Alias Smith and Jones owed a debt to It Takes A Thief in its concept of the “reformed” outlaw/thief having to stay out of trouble with the law.
The USA website states the following:
“After escaping from prison – and getting caught by the man who put him there in the first place, Agent Peter Burke – Neal strikes a bargain: In exchange for his freedom, Neal will help the FBI catch the most elusive criminals in the country.
Now, Neal is using his unique skills to help the government, and trying his hardest to stay on the right side of the law … for once.”
Matt Bomer plays the character of Neal Caffrey with a polished charm as he becomes involved in various con schemes. The producers refer to recent movie influences such as Catch Me If You Can rather than acknowledge the television history of slick con men beloved by producer and writer Roy Huggins. But the influence of Huggins is evident.
Photograph: ©2009 NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Rare TV Pilot featuring Pete Duel on DVD
Timeless Media Group recently released Season 6 of Tales of Wells Fargo starring Dale Robertson. On Disc 6 they have included the following bonus feature :
“Diamond Jim Skullduggery in Samantha Dale Robertson TV Pilot”
Diamond Jim Skullduggery in Samantha was released in 1965 and features a young Peter E. Deuel as “Wild Youth” in a failed pilot for a Western TV series starring Dale Robertson as adventurer Jim Diamond.
Unfortunately the 6 disc boxed set from Timeless costs approx. $70.00.
I listed this scarce TV pilot in my slightly revised Large Print edition of my book. I’m pleased to see it surface on this DVD. For those interested (and who can afford it) this is your chance to own a copy of this rare film on DVD.
McFarland Books by Paul Green
For those interested – a list of my books currently for sale through Amazon and all major online bookstores or direct from my publisher McFarland.
A History of Television’s The Virginian 1962-1971 [3 editions: Hardcover; Softcover; Kindle]
Pete Duel: A Biography [3 editions: Softcover; Large Print; Kindle]
Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns [Published October 2009]
The Virginian : The Good-Hearted Badman (1968)
Pete Duel’s [Peter Deuel] first TV Western series role was a charming outlaw with a dark side and an alias. Glimpses of the future Hannibal Heyes. Sara Lane (Elizabeth Grainger) viewed a tape of the episode as I interviewed her for my Pete Duel biography. It was the first time she had seen the episode since the 1960s. It was a surreal experience for me as she talked about working with Pete Duel on The Virginian set.
Part Two of this episode is continued on my Virginian Blog.
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