| Complete series cast summary: | |||
| Robert Blake | ... |
Det. Tony Baretta
(82 episodes, 1975-1978)
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| Tom Ewell | ... |
Billy Truman
(44 episodes, 1975-1978)
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| Michael D. Roberts | ... |
Rooster
/ ...
(33 episodes, 1975-1978)
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Tony Baretta is a street-smart, maverick undercover cop with the NYPD, who won't hesitate for a second to toss the rule book out the window if it stands between himself and taking some bad guy off the street. His unconventional methods often land him in hot water with his boss (Inspector Schiller, later Lt. Brubaker), but as long as Baretta was getting the job done, there wasn't much they could do. Ex-cop Billy and Huggy Bear-wannabe Rooster were Baretta's main men on the street, and Fred was his pet cockatoo. Written by Marty McKee <mmckee@soltec.net>
When Baretta was first broadcast, I was 10 years old and I had the BIGGEST crush on Robert Blake. Unfortunately, none of my little friends liked "Baretta". They all watched "Starsky and Hutch" at that time. All I ever heard on the bus ride to and from school was "Paul's cuter!" "No, David's cuter!" It was those two guys or Mark Shera from "Barnaby Jones"...yeesh! I never quite understood the appeal of Paul Michael Glaser or David Soul or Mark Shera, so I had nothing to contribute to the debate (and they all thought I was weird for swooning over Robert Blake anyway). I have to completely disagree with the description of the character Rooster as a "Huggy Bear wanna-be"! (Not sure what Huggy Bear's deal was in "Starsky and Hutch"...some sort of scam artist?) You know Rooster wouldn't hesitate to smack a ho upside the head with his platform shoe, and he might even cut a bitch if necessary. Couldn't imagine anyone named "Huggy" delivering a proper beat down. "Baretta" was an awesomely gritty cop show (oh my, those tight shirts he wore!) and let's face it, Rooster was a straight up pimp. I wish this series was shown in syndication today. I haven't seen it in years.