"The F.B.I." (1965) TV series 1965-1974

Writer:

Jonathan Box

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Release Date:

19 September 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Plot:

The cases of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Plot Keywords:

FBI | Based On Film | Police | Acronym In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Efrem Zimbalist Jr.	...	Inspector Lewis Erskine (241 episodes, 1965-1974)
Philip Abbott	...	Arthur Ward (172 episodes, 1965-1974)
Marvin Miller	...	Narrator (120 episodes, 1966-1974)
William Reynolds	...	Special Agent Tom Colby / ... (110 episodes, 1966-1974)

Series Directed by
Virgil W. Vogel		(37 episodes, 1969-1974)
Don Medford		(32 episodes, 1965-1974)
Jesse Hibbs		(28 episodes, 1966-1970)
William Hale		(17 episodes, 1967-1971)
Christian Nyby		(16 episodes, 1965-1967)
Ralph Senensky		(16 episodes, 1966-1972)
Robert Douglas		(13 episodes, 1967-1974)
Robert Day		(9 episodes, 1968-1969)
Philip Abbott		(8 episodes, 1970-1974)
Gene Nelson		(7 episodes, 1967-1970)
William A. Graham		(6 episodes, 1965)
Seymour Robbie		(6 episodes, 1971-1974)
Paul Wendkos		(5 episodes, 1966)
Earl Bellamy		(4 episodes, 1972-1973)
William Wiard		(4 episodes, 1973-1974)
Lewis Allen		(3 episodes, 1966-1968)
Michael O'Herlihy		(3 episodes, 1970-1972)
Carl Barth		(3 episodes, 1971-1972)
Walter Grauman		(3 episodes, 1972-1974)
George McCowan		(2 episodes, 1968)
Nicholas Webster		(2 episodes, 1971)
Lawrence Dobkin		(2 episodes, 1972-1973)
Arnold Laven		(2 episodes, 1972-1973)
Philip Leacock		(2 episodes, 1972-1973)
Marc Daniels		(2 episodes, 1973)

Series Writing credits
Mark Rodgers		(31 episodes, 1965-1974)
Robert Heverly		(30 episodes, 1968-1973)
Mark Weingart		(16 episodes, 1967-1973)
Gerald Sanford		(13 episodes, 1966-1972)
Norman Jolley		(12 episodes, 1965-1971)
Don Brinkley		(11 episodes, 1965-1971)
Charles Larson		(11 episodes, 1965-1969)
Ed Waters		(11 episodes, 1971-1973)
Robert M. Young		(8 episodes, 1970-1973)
Calvin Clements Sr.		(7 episodes, 1972-1974)
Robert Leslie Bellem		(6 episodes, 1965-1967)
Anthony Spinner		(6 episodes, 1966-1970)
Andy Lewis		(6 episodes, 1966-1969)
Norman Lessing		(5 episodes, 1965-1973)
David W. Rintels		(5 episodes, 1965-1970)
E. Arthur Kean		(5 episodes, 1967-1968)
Warren Duff		(5 episodes, 1969-1972)
Jack Turley		(4 episodes, 1969-1973)
Dick Nelson		(4 episodes, 1972-1973)
Robert C. Dennis		(3 episodes, 1967-1973)
Robert I. Holt		(3 episodes, 1967-1968)
John D.F. Black		(3 episodes, 1968-1969)
Paul Schneider		(3 episodes, 1968)
Robert W. Lenski		(3 episodes, 1972-1974)
Ron Bishop		(2 episodes, 1966-1971)
Robert J. Shaw		(2 episodes, 1966-1967)
Leonard Kantor		(2 episodes, 1966)
Daniel B. Ullman		(2 episodes, 1966)
John W. Bloch		(2 episodes, 1967-1968)
Barry Oringer		(2 episodes, 1968-1973)
Peter Allan Fields		(2 episodes, 1968-1970)
Albert Aley		(2 episodes, 1968-1969)
Arthur Heinemann		(2 episodes, 1968-1969)
Robert Soderberg		(2 episodes, 1968)
Benjamin Masselink		(2 episodes, 1971-1972)
Irv Pearlberg		(2 episodes, 1973-1974)
Richard H. Landau		(2 episodes, 1974)
S.S. Schweitzer		(2 episodes, 1974)
Jonathan Box		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Quinn Martin	....	executive producer (155 episodes, 1965-1974)
Charles Larson	....	producer (114 episodes, 1965-1969)
Norman Jolley	....	associate producer (68 episodes, 1965-1967)
Adrian Samish	....	supervising producer (57 episodes, 1968-1974)
Mark Weingart	....	associate producer (49 episodes, 1968-1972)
Philip Saltzman	....	producer (35 episodes, 1969-1972)
Mark Rodgers	....	associate producer (15 episodes, 1967-1969)
Anthony Spinner	....	producer (3 episodes, 1973-1974)

Series Original Music by
Bronislau Kaper		(23 episodes, 1965-1966)
Richard Markowitz		(13 episodes, 1965-1969)
Sidney Cutner		(13 episodes, 1966-1969)
Duane Tatro		(5 episodes, 1968-1970)
John Elizalde		(3 episodes, 1968)
Leo Arnaud		(2 episodes, 1965)

Series Cinematography by
William W. Spencer		(80 episodes, 1965-1973)
Robert C. Moreno		(26 episodes, 1967-1968)
Jack Swain		(6 episodes, 1970-1971)
Andrew J. McIntyre		(5 episodes, 1966)
Robert J. Bronner		(3 episodes, 1966)
William T. Cline		(3 episodes, 1967)
Robert Hoffman		(2 episodes, 1965-1968)

Series Film Editing by
Marston Fay		(40 episodes, 1966-1972)
Jerry Young		(23 episodes, 1965-1970)
Thomas Neff		(19 episodes, 1965-1968)
Jodie Copelan		(5 episodes, 1970-1972)
Donald Hoskinson		(2 episodes, 1973-1974)

Series Casting by
Bert Remsen		(25 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Art Direction by
Richard Y. Haman		(132 episodes, 1965-1974)
Dale Hennesy		(2 episodes, 1970)

Series Set Decoration by
Hoyle Barrett		(113 episodes, 1965-1974)

Series Makeup Department
Dan Greenway	....	makeup artist (12 episodes, 1965-1967)
William Turner	....	makeup artist (2 episodes, 1967)

Series Production Management
Arthur Fellows	....	executive in charge of production / in charge of production (102 episodes, 1966-1974)
Howard P. Alston	....	production manager / executive production manager (83 episodes, 1965-1974)
Dick Gallegly	....	production manager / unit production manager (71 episodes, 1966-1972)
Adrian Samish	....	executive in charge of production / in charge of production (52 episodes, 1966-1968)
Wilbur Mosier	....	unit production manager (34 episodes, 1967-1968)
John Elizalde	....	post-production supervisor (20 episodes, 1965-1967)
Walter Coblenz	....	unit production manager (11 episodes, 1969-1970)
Glenn Cook	....	unit production manager (7 episodes, 1970-1971)
Paul Wurtzel	....	unit production manager (2 episodes, 1968)
Ben Chapman	....	production manager (2 episodes, 1973-1974)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Wurtzel	....	assistant director (39 episodes, 1965-1972)
Phil Cook	....	assistant director (29 episodes, 1966-1972)
Carl Barth	....	second unit director / assistant director (20 episodes, 1967-1971)
Lorin Bennett Salob	....	second assistant director (12 episodes, 1971-1972)
David Hawks	....	assistant director (10 episodes, 1966-1967)
Robert Daley	....	assistant director (5 episodes, 1967)
Donald Roberts	....	assistant director (4 episodes, 1967)
Maurice Vaccarino	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1965-1966)
Jack Cunningham	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1969-1970)
David Whorf	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1970-1971)
Russell Llewellyn	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1967-1968)
William McGarry	....	assistant director (2 episodes, 1968)
Craig Huston	....	trainee assistant director (unknown episodes)
Wilbur Mosier	....	second unit director (unknown episodes)
Robert Rubin	....	assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
William L. Stevenson	....	sound effects editor (8 episodes, 1965-1967)
William A. Phillips	....	sound effects editor (6 episodes, 1965-1967)
Francis E. Stahl	....	production sound mixer / production mixer (6 episodes, 1965-1966)
Robert B. Lee	....	production sound mixer / production mixer (3 episodes, 1967)

Series Stunts
Jesse Wayne	....	stunts / stunt double / ... (10 episodes, 1965-1974)
Larry Holt	....	stunts (8 episodes, 1968-1974)
Craig R. Baxley	....	stunts (4 episodes, 1973)
Bill Catching	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Loren Janes	....	stunt coordinator (unknown episodes)
Gene LeBell	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Paul McWilliams	....	stunt double (unknown episodes)
Regina Parton	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Rick Sawaya	....	stunt driver (unknown episodes)
David Sharpe	....	stunt coordinator (unknown episodes)
Dean Smith	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Dick Warlock	....	stunts (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Glen Bird	....	chief electrician (7 episodes, 1965-1966)
John F. Baron	....	chief electrician (3 episodes, 1967)
George Bennett	....	chief electrician (2 episodes, 1966)
Paul Jacobsen	....	electrician (unknown episodes, 1966)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Edward McDermott	....	wardrobe supervisor (32 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Editorial Department
Carl Barth	....	editorial coordinator (28 episodes, 1965-1967)
Ray Daniels	....	assistant editor (4 episodes, 1965-1966)
John Loeffler	....	assistant editor (2 episodes, 1965)
Donald Hoskinson	....	assistant editor (2 episodes, 1966-1967)
Bob Piercy	....	assistant editor (2 episodes, 1966-1967)
Richard K. Brockway	....	editorial supervisor (2 episodes, 1973-1974)
Ron Meredith	....	assistant film editor (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Bronislau Kaper	....	composer: theme music / composer: series theme / ... (114 episodes, 1965-1974)
Dominic Frontiere	....	conductor / music conductor (61 episodes, 1965-1967)
John Elizalde	....	music supervisor / composer: stock music (16 episodes, 1968-1972)
Ted Roberts	....	music editor (10 episodes, 1965-1967)
Ken Wilhoit	....	music editor / music supervisor (10 episodes, 1970-1974)
Richard Markowitz	....	composer: stock music (4 episodes, 1967-1968)
Joseph Tulley	....	music editor (3 episodes, 1965)

Series Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver / production driver (8 episodes, 1973-1974)

Series Other crew
John Conwell	....	assistant to executive producer / assistant to producer (132 episodes, 1965-1974)
Mark Rodgers	....	story consultant (38 episodes, 1966-1967)
Arthur Fellows	....	assistant to executive producer (32 episodes, 1965-1966)
John D. Craig	....	technical advisor (31 episodes, 1965-1966)
Robert Leslie Bellem	....	story consultant (25 episodes, 1965-1966)
Robert Heverly	....	story consultant (21 episodes, 1969-1972)
Harry Fried	....	story editor (19 episodes, 1965-1966)
Robert Maharis	....	location manager (2 episodes, 1973-1974)
Arthur Weingarten	....	executive story consultant (2 episodes, 1973-1974)

Series Thanks
J. Edgar Hoover	....	appreciation to (4 episodes, 1970)

Production Companies

• Quinn Martin Productions (QM)
• Warner Bros. Television
• Warner Bros.
• Warner Brothers/Seven Arts Television (1967-1969)

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1965-1974) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Mystery Channel (????) (Japan) (TV)
• Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) (1965) (Japan) (TV)
• Warner Bros. Television (1974-)
• Warner Bros.
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD) (season one, part 1) (DVD-R)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (USA) (DVD) (season two, part 2) (DVD-R)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (USA) (DVD) (second season, part one) (DVD-R)
• Warner Home Video (2012) (USA) (DVD) (third season, parts one & two) (DVD-R)
• Warner Home Video (2013) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R) (fourth season)
• Warner Home Video (2013) (USA) (DVD) (complete fifth season) (DVD-R)

Other Companies

• Ford Marketing Corporation  cars
• National Geographic Society  Mt. Everest photograph (episode "Plunderers, The")

Also Known As:

Runtime:

60 min (239 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Filming Locations:

Angeles National Forest, California, USA

Company:

Quinn Martin Productions (QM)

Trivia:

F.B.I. memos, which were recently released under the Freedom of Information Act, have revealed that the real F.B.I. had a veto over casting for guest stars on the series. According to the memos, actors Robert Blake and Bette Davis were barred from making guest appearances on the series.

Movie Connections:

Featured in ABC's 50th Anniversary Celebration (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

F.B.I. Theme

Not that much of a TV classic but still an interesting curio from the 60s-70s

As a young kid, I remember watching The F.B.I. on Sunday nights at 8:00pm eastern time on ABC. No matter which episode I saw, it was always clear who were the good guys and who were the bad guys.

As of this posting, I am having some fun watching various episodes of The F.B.I. on AOL's IN2TV website. Even though the show lasted for 9 seasons (1965-1974) and the actual F.B.I. did play a part in the production of the TV series, I have to admit that the show is nothing more than a typical crime drama. When it came to crimes and crime solving, there were no gray areas. The lead characters were rather robotic with no personal lives whatsoever. There was an attempt in the first season to humanize Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) whose partner was dating his daughter but that clumsy storyline was dropped very quickly.

Just like with many television shows from past decades, I am always amazed seeing actors who paid their dues acting in TV shows before becoming famous or infamous. From the shows I viewed, I noticed future Academy Award winners including Diane Keaton, Gene Hackman, Jessica Tandy, Robert Duvall, Michael Douglas and Ron Howard (as Ronny Howard).

Some actors who became famous in other TV shows including Hal Linden (Barney Miller), Nicholas Colasanto (Cheers), William Shatner (Star Trek, TJ Hooker and Boston Legal among others) and Donna Mills (Knots Landing).

In the infamous category, there are appearances by Robert Blake and Claudine Longet. Then again, the ultimate infamous person indirectly associated with the show was the late F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover. Check out their IMDb biography pages for more information.

Since the Ford Motor Company sponsored the show, all you tended to see were cars by Ford. The Ford logo was prominent during the opening credits from seasons 1-5. I still find the abrupt edit rather humorous. Is Ford unwilling to put up the cash to show off their now classic cars?

When I look at past and present crime shows like Hill Street Blues, Law and Order and CSI (all editions), it reminds me how The F.B.I. (the show) was more of a dinosaur. Despite changing cultural and creative values, the program did not change with the times. It was a rather bland and sometimes not very challenging show, despitea few episodes that did kept my interest. And although it's always nice to see future stars, overall, The F.B.I. was just a standard crime drama. Competent but not a classic.