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Created page with "'''''Meet McGraw''''' is an American dramatic television series starring Frank Lovejoy (1912-1962) in the role of the hard-hitting detective McGraw, a ma..."
'''''Meet McGraw''''' is an [[United States|American]] dramatic [[television]] series starring Frank Lovejoy (1912-1962) in the role of the hard-hitting detective McGraw, a man specifically given no first name in the program.<ref name=ctva>{{cite web|url=http://ctva.biz/US/Crime/MeetMcGraw.htm|title=''Meet McGraw''|publisher=Classic TV Archives|accessdate=December 19, 2019}}</ref> Lovejoy described McGraw as follows: "He's not a superman. He's just a guy who tries to do the best he can, and is interested in saving his own neck quite frequently."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/2057242/lovejoys_description_of_mcgraw/=|author=Dorothy Roe|title=Actor Admits Women Don't Swoon When He Appears|publisher=''The Austin Daily Herald''|date=August 6, 1957|page=5|accessdate = March 24, 2015}}</ref>
Forty-two half-hour episodes aired on [[NBC]] during the 1957-1958 season. Sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The series was produced at Desilu Studios, most of whose productions were broadcast by [[CBS]]. The theme song for the series is "One For My Baby" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer.<ref name=ctva/>
''Meet McGraw'' preceded ''The Bob Cummings Show'' on Tuesday evenings on NBC. It aired at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT opposite John Lupton’s western series, ''[[Broken Arrow]]'' on ABC and Bud Collyer's ''To Tell the Truth'' quiz show on CBS.<ref>Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', 1997, appendix.</ref>
After its cancellation, ''Meet McGraw'' was repeated as ''The Adventures of McGraw'' on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in 1958-1959,<ref name=ctva/> but not in prime time.<ref name=ctva/>
==Early episodes==
The pilot episode, which was broadcast as a segment of CBS's ''Four Star Playhouse'' on February 25, 1954, involves a woman who hires McGraw to protect her from her threatening husband. It features Audrey Totter, Paul Picerni, Ellen Corby, and Peter Whitney. The second pilot episode entitled "The Long Count," which was shown as a segment of CBS's Stage 7 series on March 27, 1955, features Ted de Corsia, Richard Deacon, and Biff Elliot. The plot involves a [[boxing]] promoter who hires McGraw to watch his prize boxer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0581885/|title=''Meet McGraw''|publisher=Internet Movie Data Base|accessdate=December 19, 2019}}</ref>
The first episode produced, called "Keys to the City," did not air until September 24, 1957, more than two months after the start of the show on July 2, 1957. In it, McGraw is involved in a minor accident with a woman [[mayor]] named Loretta Travers (played by Jean Willes), who is in the midst of a reelection campaign.<ref name=ctva/>
In the second episode produced "Lady in Limbo," McGraw helps a young woman (played by Marcia Henderson) who is accused of [[murder]]. In the investigation, the detective finds that identical twins - part of a magician's disappearing act – are involved in the unusual case. In "The Tycoon Story," an aircraft executive (played by Barry Atwate]) hires McGraw to find his runaway wife (portrayed by Angie Dickinson).<ref name=ctva/> The businessman also finds that an ambitious assistant is trying to seize control of his company. Dickinson appears in another ''Meet McGraw'' episode, "McGraw in Reno," as Liza Parish.<ref name=ctva/>
In the episode "Border City," McGraw is hired by a citizen's committee to clean up corruption in a community. The detective then surprisingly runs into problems from a district attorney and his hired gunman. Hugh Beaumont guest stars at the same time that he is also donning the role of Ward Cleaver on the ''Leave It to Beaver'' situation comedy. In "Ballerina," Hans Conreid, subsequently an occasional recurring guest star on ''The Danny Thomas Show,'' hires McGraw to protect his prima ballerina, who has a mortal enemy. In "The Elderly Doctor," McGraw searches for a [[physician]] who disappears after he is given some valuable [[microfilm]].<ref name=ctva/>
==Other episodes==
In "Mojave", McGraw's car breaks down in the desert; stranded in a small town in the Mojave Desert, he is accused of murdering a waitress; character actor Claude Akins guest stars.<ref name=ctva/> In "The Joshua Tree," McGraw is again in the desert, where he finds the corpse of an artist who apparently died while at work. McGraw disputes the police, who list the death as one of natural causes.<ref name=ctva/> Peter Paul Fix (1901-1983), later the reliable Sheriff Micah Torrance on [[ABC]]’s ''The Rifleman," guest stars.<ref name=ctva/>
In "Friend of the Court", 12-year-old Tommy Cassady (portrayed by Billy Chapin) runs away from boarding school toward [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]], [[Nevada]], in an effort to prevent his parents, (Dennis McCarthy and Catherine McLeod) from obtaining a [[divorce]].<ref name=ctva/> In the penultimate episode on April 8, 1958, two brothers in the [[diamond]] business steal a large gem and try to blame the theft on McGraw. Ross Elliott guest stars.<ref name=ctva/>
Other ''Meet McGraw'' guests included [[Chris Alcaide]], Carl Esmond, Jay Novello, Sebastian Cabot, Mary Castle, Sally Brophy, Ann McCrea, and Kathleen Nolan. The final episode is entitled "Rare Perfume".<ref name=ctva/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meet McGraw}}
[[Category:Television]]
[[Category:Television Shows]]
[[Category:1950s]]
Forty-two half-hour episodes aired on [[NBC]] during the 1957-1958 season. Sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The series was produced at Desilu Studios, most of whose productions were broadcast by [[CBS]]. The theme song for the series is "One For My Baby" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer.<ref name=ctva/>
''Meet McGraw'' preceded ''The Bob Cummings Show'' on Tuesday evenings on NBC. It aired at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT opposite John Lupton’s western series, ''[[Broken Arrow]]'' on ABC and Bud Collyer's ''To Tell the Truth'' quiz show on CBS.<ref>Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', 1997, appendix.</ref>
After its cancellation, ''Meet McGraw'' was repeated as ''The Adventures of McGraw'' on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in 1958-1959,<ref name=ctva/> but not in prime time.<ref name=ctva/>
==Early episodes==
The pilot episode, which was broadcast as a segment of CBS's ''Four Star Playhouse'' on February 25, 1954, involves a woman who hires McGraw to protect her from her threatening husband. It features Audrey Totter, Paul Picerni, Ellen Corby, and Peter Whitney. The second pilot episode entitled "The Long Count," which was shown as a segment of CBS's Stage 7 series on March 27, 1955, features Ted de Corsia, Richard Deacon, and Biff Elliot. The plot involves a [[boxing]] promoter who hires McGraw to watch his prize boxer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0581885/|title=''Meet McGraw''|publisher=Internet Movie Data Base|accessdate=December 19, 2019}}</ref>
The first episode produced, called "Keys to the City," did not air until September 24, 1957, more than two months after the start of the show on July 2, 1957. In it, McGraw is involved in a minor accident with a woman [[mayor]] named Loretta Travers (played by Jean Willes), who is in the midst of a reelection campaign.<ref name=ctva/>
In the second episode produced "Lady in Limbo," McGraw helps a young woman (played by Marcia Henderson) who is accused of [[murder]]. In the investigation, the detective finds that identical twins - part of a magician's disappearing act – are involved in the unusual case. In "The Tycoon Story," an aircraft executive (played by Barry Atwate]) hires McGraw to find his runaway wife (portrayed by Angie Dickinson).<ref name=ctva/> The businessman also finds that an ambitious assistant is trying to seize control of his company. Dickinson appears in another ''Meet McGraw'' episode, "McGraw in Reno," as Liza Parish.<ref name=ctva/>
In the episode "Border City," McGraw is hired by a citizen's committee to clean up corruption in a community. The detective then surprisingly runs into problems from a district attorney and his hired gunman. Hugh Beaumont guest stars at the same time that he is also donning the role of Ward Cleaver on the ''Leave It to Beaver'' situation comedy. In "Ballerina," Hans Conreid, subsequently an occasional recurring guest star on ''The Danny Thomas Show,'' hires McGraw to protect his prima ballerina, who has a mortal enemy. In "The Elderly Doctor," McGraw searches for a [[physician]] who disappears after he is given some valuable [[microfilm]].<ref name=ctva/>
==Other episodes==
In "Mojave", McGraw's car breaks down in the desert; stranded in a small town in the Mojave Desert, he is accused of murdering a waitress; character actor Claude Akins guest stars.<ref name=ctva/> In "The Joshua Tree," McGraw is again in the desert, where he finds the corpse of an artist who apparently died while at work. McGraw disputes the police, who list the death as one of natural causes.<ref name=ctva/> Peter Paul Fix (1901-1983), later the reliable Sheriff Micah Torrance on [[ABC]]’s ''The Rifleman," guest stars.<ref name=ctva/>
In "Friend of the Court", 12-year-old Tommy Cassady (portrayed by Billy Chapin) runs away from boarding school toward [[Reno, Nevada|Reno]], [[Nevada]], in an effort to prevent his parents, (Dennis McCarthy and Catherine McLeod) from obtaining a [[divorce]].<ref name=ctva/> In the penultimate episode on April 8, 1958, two brothers in the [[diamond]] business steal a large gem and try to blame the theft on McGraw. Ross Elliott guest stars.<ref name=ctva/>
Other ''Meet McGraw'' guests included [[Chris Alcaide]], Carl Esmond, Jay Novello, Sebastian Cabot, Mary Castle, Sally Brophy, Ann McCrea, and Kathleen Nolan. The final episode is entitled "Rare Perfume".<ref name=ctva/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meet McGraw}}
[[Category:Television]]
[[Category:Television Shows]]
[[Category:1950s]]