The Name of the Game (1968–1971)

This groundbreaking series had three rotating stars, who were featured in independent episodes tied together by a loose common theme. The commonality was Howard Publications, the self-made ... See full summary »

Stars:

Budd Albright, Gene Barry, Robert Stack

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Budd Albright	...	Man (68 episodes, 1968-1971)
Gene Barry	...	Glenn Howard (42 episodes, 1968-1971)

Storyline

This groundbreaking series had three rotating stars, who were featured in independent episodes tied together by a loose common theme. The commonality was Howard Publications, the self-made publishing empire of Glenn Howard. Episodes featuring Howard focused on his business and political confrontations and his flamboyant lifestyles. Other episodes featured Jeff Dillon, a crusading investigative reporter, or Dan Farrell. Farrell was a retired FBI agent who used his position as the editor of "Crime Magazine" to wage a literary war against organized crime. The series had several semi-regulars who were featured in one or more of the plot threads, including editorial assistant Peggy Maxwell, and junior reporters Joe Sample, Andy Hill and Ross Craig.

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Genres:

Adventure

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Audacia es el juego

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 90 min (76 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The pilot for this episode was a two-hour TV-movie produced by Universal for N.B.C. called Fame Is the Name of the Game. Universal and N.B.C. were the same entities that pioneered the made-for-TV movie (with 1964's See How They Run, the first full-length film produced especially for home television). "Fame is the Name of the Game", aired in 1966, starring Anthony Franciosa as 'Jeff Dillon' and was the first tele-film produced as a pilot that was picked up for a regular TV series. The Later 'Gene Barry' TV series role as publisher 'Glenn Howard' was played in an elderly version by George Macready.

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Connections

Version of Kate & Allie: The Namath of the Game (1988)

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Soundtracks

"The Name of The Game Theme"
by Dave Grusin

User Reviews

One of the best TV Drama's

I used to love this show. I have not seen it recently, and I do not know how it would play today. However, my younger self remembers this as one of the best tv dramas ever. I remember one episode when Tony Franciosa returns to New York City to visit his mother and astranged older brother played by Martin Balsem. Franciosa throughout is trip is reading Thomas Wolf's "You can Never Go Home Again." He reunites with is brother, but later find that his grocery store owner brother is also a local drug dealer. It ends with Franciosa turning his brother into the police. His mother forgiving him, but she leaves to live in her home country of Italy. Susan Saint James played one of the magazine's researchers, and stared in one episode opposite Joseph Cotton. This was a 90 minute show that had three rotating stars. Tony Franciosa played the star reporter for a fictional magazine called "People," his millionare publisher was Glenn Howard played by Gene Barry, and Robert Stack played Dan Farrell, a former FBI agent turned crime reporter.