Harry O (1973–1976)

Harry Orwell is a world-weary private investigator who was forced to leave the Los Angeles Police Department after a bullet became lodged near his spine. Moving to San Diego, he lived on ... See full summary »

Creator:

Howard Rodman

Stars:

David Janssen, Anthony Zerbe, Paul Tulley

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
David Janssen	...	Harry Orwell (45 episodes, 1973-1976)
Anthony Zerbe	...	Lt. Trench (30 episodes, 1975-1976)
Paul Tulley	...	Sgt. Roberts (29 episodes, 1975-1976)

Storyline

Harry Orwell is a world-weary private investigator who was forced to leave the Los Angeles Police Department after a bullet became lodged near his spine. Moving to San Diego, he lived on the beach, and, when not working on a current case, spent much of his time fixing up his boat, which was called The Answer. Harry O was unusual in that he didn't own a flashy car in which to conduct high-speed chases, preferring to ride the bus instead.

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Plot Keywords:

private detective | detective | cult tv | character name in title

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Harry-O

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (44 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Lt. K.C. Trench: Orwell... Why in the world should I bother answering your questions?
Harry O: Because my feet hurt?

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Connections

Follows Harry O: Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On (1973)

User Reviews

It was only marginally about the mystery...

Harry Orwell was a gumshoe that Dashiel Hammet would appreciate (though he talked a bit more like Philip Marlowe, and his Southern California felt more like Ross MacDonald's.

It's been decades since I saw an episode of Harry O. I remember it having 70's cop show production values (everybody drove Fords). I can't really recall any of the stories. But I remember dialog and mood and characters with many layers. This show's success had less to do with the mystery and more to do with people and fantastic story-telling. You *liked* Orwell and Manny Quinlan. You wish you could meet people like that. You like to think they're out there somewhere, holding up some kind of code of decency in a dirty world. And if you had to have an adversarial relationship with a guy like Trench (the great Anthony Zerbe), at least you knew he was honest and fair and smart.

Those passages of narration were poetry! With Janssen's world-weary delivery it was like a ballad by Sinatra. Sure wish I could see some of these again.