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PALM SPRINGS - Can you believe that an article in the Washington Post can expose a problem and inspire a swift resolution? Last year Neely Tuckers Mannix Was the Man questioned why this TV detective show wasnt out on DVD. The story was picked up by numerous papers across the countries in the following week. Fans of the show wrote the studio demanding a Mannix fix. This groundswell of support has been rewarded with Mannix: The First season being released on June 3.

In celebration of this moment, Mike Connors, who played Mannix for eight seasons, called up The Party Favors for an exclusive chat about cars, basketball and Neil Diamond. For a guy about to blow out 83 candles on his birthday cake, Connors sounds like he can still strap on his blazer and beat down a mystery.

Connors is overjoyed that the media can positively motivate a Hollywood executive. The article in the Washington Post talking about why there wasnt a DVD started the whole ball rolling, Connors says. Hes pleased with the studios recent treatment of Mannix, but still has a question. I never got a straight answer as to why it wasnt on DVD. Im still not sure why it wasnt, but it is now and thats fine.

The article prompted the studio executives to included plenty of bonus features on the boxset instead of a barebones release of other 70s detective shows. They even produced a fresh conversation between Connors and the man who played his boss in the first season.

I really enjoyed getting together with Joe Campanella and rehashing the old days, Connors says. And they were old days. I hadnt seen Joe in a long time. He recalled some of the things I had forgotten. And I recalled a few things hed forgotten. The bottom line is (the first season) never was much in reruns. They showed the last seven years because the premise was so different from a computer agency to a private agency.

Connors is excited about getting the DVD since he hasnt seen these freshman season since they were originally broadcast in 1967. I dont remember hardly any of the stories. Ive havent seen the episodes yet. I only saw one episode. Im dying to see them because it will all be kinda new to me. Connors and Campanella provide an audio commentary on Another Final Exit.

A lot of actor talk about how they cant stand to see their movies. Connors sounds like an excited fan eager to snag the boxset. I wasnt crazy about watching myself at the time I was doing things. You look at it and you get despondent in that you should have done something different. You shoulda, coulda done it better. But now I look at it and say, Wow! God, we were young in those days. Look at that: Im running.

While watching the pilot (The Name Is Mannix), Connors will also wince at the moments he received lifelong nagging injuries. I dislocated my shoulder and broke my wrist. It was all worth it once the pilot got picked up. To this day my wrist hurts and my shoulder gets sore and stiff. Its all coming back. All the injuries from all those years of doing stunts, Connors sighs.

Did the shows budget afford a stuntman?

I had a very good stuntman, Dick Ziker. We would get together and decide how much I could do, Connors declares. We wanted the camera to be in close so that it would be much more believable if (the viewers) saw the actual actor doing the stunt. Without jumping off a cliff or driving a claw off a cliff, I would try to do as much as I could. Luckily I was fairly athletic and I could handle a lot of this stuff.

Did he join the stuntmen association having gotten banged up so much for the sake of the series?
?No.

Like all great TV detectives, Mannix drove quite a few different boss cars in pursuit of closing a case. Did he ever think of buying a version of his TV car for driving around in his private life?

I never did, Connors declares. The first year we had an Oldsmobile Tornado. They didnt have convertible. They got George Barris and he made that car into a convertible. It was the most unwieldy car that Ive ever driven. I wouldnt want it if they gave it to me. Later on we got into the little green (Plymouth Barracuda) convertibles. They were great little cars, but I had my fill of driving those on the show.

Fans of the show that might think twice before buying one of Mannixs old cars if they intend on driving around the neighborhood.

I pity anyone who bought any of those cars, Connors says. They might have had two or three thousand miles on them, but every week they were in the shop being repaired.

Mannix was produced by Desliu. The company was producing Mission: Impossible at the same time. Lalo Schifrin composed the iconic themes for both shows. How tight was he to crew that accepted those self-destructing assignments?

We were on the same lot and very often used the same sets, Connors said. Peter Graves and I had dressing rooms right next to each other. Were very good friends. In fact I was out to dinner with him the other night.

Was there ever talk of a crossover episode? Did they discuss Mannix being a very special agent for the Impossible Missions Force? No. Not really, Connors says. Some of the Mission: Impossible cast did guest shots on my show especially after their show went off the air a year ahead of mine. Peter Lupus, Greg Morris and Barbara Anderson popped up needing Mannixs help.

Working on a Desliu production, did the producers ever use old Star Trek sets like they did on Mission: Impossible?

No, Connors said. Those were completely different type sets. Mission was a little more futuristic than our show so they could get away with some of that stuff in their stories.
?The first season of Mannix was semi-futuristic. Intertect, the detective agency that employed him, used a massive computer fueled with punch cards to assist him on a case. Even Connors gets a laugh while watching the Jurassic technology in action.

They filled a whole wall with those computers. It was so completely different. I dont think the public was ready to accept that computer premise. It was beyond belief of most people that a computer could be so intelligent. The computer and Intertect only lasted this one season. The second season featured Mannix as a solo act who worked with his guts and fists.

A Star Is Born

How Mike Connors got into the acting game is an amazing story that involves an Oscar-winning director and the greatest college basketball coach of all time. It was on the hardwood of UCLA that Connors was discovered. But it took numerous bites before he realized his destiny was in front of the cameras.

That was the first time I got the idea that there was anything in the way of acting in my life, he said. William Wellman (director of The Ox-Bow Incident) was with his son at a UCLA basketball game. The coach introduced all the players to his son. After the game was over, Bill Wellman said to the coach, Ask that kid if hed be interested in being an actor. And I said, Yeah, sure. He said, The next time I do a picture, Ill give you a call.

Days later, the acting bug bit him again. His speech teacher who was head of the drama department at UCLA asked him to stay after class. Id like to ask you a question, she said. Im having tryouts for some plays. Have you ever thought of trying out for a play?

No, Connors replied. Not really.

Then fate stepped in. About two weeks later the coach says, Ruth Birch called and wanted to know if there was an athlete here. Theyre replacing Tarzan. I mentioned Will Wellman was interested in you.

Connors went to see Birch who said he wasnt right for Tarzan but encouraged him to get into acting and set him up with a coach. I started taking acting classes at UCLA. I gave up basketball to try and become an actor. His try has lasted over 50 years including appearing on Two and a Half Men last season.

Wellman lived up to his word. Connors soon found himself on the set of Island in the Sky alongside John Wayne.

Who was the coach that chalked up Connors career direction?

My sophomore year, I played basketball during John Woodens first year, Connors says.

Being a Bruin alumni while having a hit network series gave Connors a good seat when UCLA was in full dynasty mode under Wooden.

Was it a glorious time for him?

It was terrific, Connors confirms. As a matter of fact, Gail Goodrich and Kareem Abdul-Jabber guested on one of the Mannix episodes. We had a lot of fun doing little basketball bits.

For those poking around for Mike Connors name in UCLA basketball scorecards, youll have to look for Krikor Ohanian. Thats his real name. Although in his early films, youll see him listed as Touch Connors.

How did he end up with such a strange stagename?

When I first became an actor, I was signed by Famous Artist Agency, Connors explains. One of the agents there was a man named Henry Wilson. He was responsible for Rock Hudsons name, Rory Calhoun, Race Gentry and Tab Hunter.

So when Connors signed with the agency, they put him with Wilson who told him he had change his name. Do you have any nicknames? Wilson asked.

Connors explained the guys at UCLA used to kid him about having a soft touch.

Touch! Wilson exclaimed. Thats it. Youre going to be Touch Connors!

I hated it from day one, Connors says. The jokes were ridiculous. Heres Touch and Go! They called my wife Go. The minute I got the Tightrope series, I told them, Ive got to change that name. Thus Mike Connors became a TV star.

Mannix had 194 episodes over its eight season run from 1967 to 1975. At what point did Connors realize that this show was going to last a while?

It was after the second year because our ratings started to climb, Connors says. The network was very happy with it. Each year the ratings got better. As a matter of fact, we would have been on another year if Paramount and CBS didnt get into a disagreement because our ratings were still in the Top 20 when we went off the air. Paramount wanted to put reruns of Mannix on at 11 oclock at night. CBS said, No. Not as long as youre on network first run. Were not going to let you compete with the first run. Paramount said, Well, we want to sell and get our money out of this thing. Paramount chose not to continue.

A year or two later it was a common practice to put a show on in reruns while it was still going in first runs.

One of the highlights of the first season boxset is Neil Diamond performing Solitary Man on The Many Deaths of Saint Christopher. How did the singer in the sparkling shirts end up on the set of Mannix?

The producer came to me and said, You know Mike, we need somebody to play in a nightclub scene. My kids say theres a young guy named Neil Diamond thats very good. I said, Ive never heard of him, but whomever you want is fine with me. So Neil Diamond came on the set. He did a short number and I walked through the bar. And (the director) said, Thats it were finished. Neil said, What? You mean you hired me to work and thats all I have to do on this show? He was furious. They came to me and asked me to calm Neil down. Hes very upset. So I went over and said, Neil, Im sorry. I wasnt aware of what went on. If I had known, I would have explained to you that it isnt a major part in the show. He was very upset about it and left.

About three years later he was a the top of his career and doing a one man show at the Greek Theater. A friend of mine had tickets and we went to see the show. During the intermission, an usher came up to me and said, Mr. Diamond would like you to come back after the show and be his guest and have a drink. The two ladies with us were: Oh God, we want to meet him. So we went backstage. Neil came over and said, Well, things are a little different now, arent they Mike? And I said, Yeah. Congratulations, Neil. He wanted me back there to give a little zing.

As our conversation near the end, I ask about Gail Fisher. She joined the series during the second season to play his secretary, Peggy Fair. How was she received by the fans of the show at the time?

She was really accepted in a great way. The funny thing is the network didnt want her to be on the show because they were worried what the South would do with a black actress on the show. Bruce Geller and I fought to get her on the show. We had to agree if there was a lot of bad mail, Geller would figure out a way to write her out of the show. The show became so popular and we got so many good letters about her that she went on to win the Emmy and be a big important part of the show.

Reports are that Paramount has already done High-Def transfers of the first three seasons. This is always a good indicator of whats coming on DVD. With any luck, the second season should be out before Christmas.

As we say goodbye, it feels good to know that soon Mike Connors would sit back in his favorite chair and watch Mannix knock back Scotches, kick ass and mock computers. Hell be enjoying his show as much as the rest of us (like Senator Brad Honeycutt) whove waited so long for it to appear on DVD. The case of the Missing First Season has been solved.

MANNIX TRIVIA

Did you know that Tim Robbins is a major Mannix fan?



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« Antworten #1 am: 27. Januar 2009, 04:00:01 »

Spitze!!!

Knnte den Bericht evtl. jemand auf deutsch bersetzen?
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« Antworten #2 am: 27. Januar 2009, 05:46:52 »

Zitat
Mike Danko schrieb am 27.01.2009 04:00 Uhr:
Spitze!!!

Knnte den Bericht evtl. jemand auf deutsch bersetzen?


Da wre ich auch sehr fr [11]

Ich habe ihn mir mal ausgedruckt, mal sehen, ob ich den mal in einer Puase lese, was ich so verstehe [1]
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« Antworten #3 am: 27. Januar 2009, 07:52:23 »

Echt super!!!! Ist das Interview als Bonus auf den DVDs drauf, wei das jemand?
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« Antworten #4 am: 08. Mai 2016, 05:21:59 »

Spitze!!!

Könnte den Bericht evtl. jemand auf deutsch übersetzen?

Oh ja, bitte!!!!!!!  Betenn / Anbeten
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« Antworten #5 am: 13. Februar 2017, 17:58:21 »

Spitze!!!

Könnte den Bericht evtl. jemand auf deutsch übersetzen?

Oh ja, bitte!!!!!!!  Betenn / Anbeten

Darüber würde ich mich auch sehr freuen, da ich kaum englisch verstehen kann.
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