America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988– )
"America's Most Wanted" (original title)

True crimes are dramatized in hopes that viewers can give information leading to the capture of the criminals.

Stars:

John Walsh, Don LaFontaine, Jon Leiberman

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
John Walsh	...	Himself (265 episodes, 1988-2011)

Storyline

In this series, John Walsh, the father of a murdered child hosts this show that illustrates crime stories which have lead to the capture of hundreds of fugitives from the law. With as much luridness and accuracy as possible, various crimes are dramatically recreated with an appeal for any viewer with information as to the crime and the perpetrators to call the show and the authorities and help the cause of justice.

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Plot Keywords:

criminal | law | reenactment | dramatization | criminal justice | 

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Taglines:

America's Most Wanted is where America Fights Back

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Genres:

Documentary | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Fox [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 February 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

A.M.W.

Filming Locations:

Aspen, Colorado, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Fox Productions, STF Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The show's most spectacular success was the case of John List, a man who murdered his entire family in cold blood nearly twenty years earlier and was never caught. Using the standard dramatization and an amazingly accurate forensic sculpture to account for his age since his last known photograph, the show was instrumental in the identification and capture of the fugitive within one week of broadcasting the segment. List was captured on June 1, 1989 after having lived under the pseudonym Robert Clark in Denver, Colorado and Midlothian, Virginia. On April 12, 1990, he was convicted in a New Jersey court of five counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to five life terms in prison. On March 21, 2008 List died at age 82 in a Trenton, New Jersey prison from complications of pneumonia.

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Quotes

[Repeated Line]
John Walsh: And remember, you can make a difference.

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Connections

Referenced in Cool as Ice (1991)

User Reviews

Way to fight back John!

In the summer of 1981 in Hollywood, Florida when Adam Walsh was abducted and murdered it sent off a panic and fear all over the United States. The father of Adam that being John Walsh lobbied Congress to pass the Missing Children's Bill to facilitate the police in such cases all around the country and a national center for missing children was even created. Then in 1988 John Walsh with his special interest had a nationwide show "America's Most Wanted" which was seen as a criminal search. By 1995 350 profiled criminals had been captured with the help of viewer tips. This series is so popular that it still currently shows on FOX and has made host John Walsh so well known that he is considered a celebrity to many people. The most terrible crimes such as murder and rape and serial killings are profiled so this is serious stuff. John Walsh may have lost a son to crime but he fights for not only Adam but many other victims to show the rights of a victim must be noticed and most important of all the goal is to catch a criminal.