July 21, 2002

 

      NOTABLE TV DRAMAS FEATURING ETHNIC & OTHER MINORITIES (to 2000)

 

                                                             Timeline by Tim Books

 

A question frequently raised is why African-Americans and other minorities have so seldom been the leads in TV dramatic series. For many years minorities were seen often headlining comedy and variety shows (Amos ‘n’ Andy, The Flip Wilson Show), but not in drama. Following is a selective list of some notable dramas—mostly series, but some specials—in which ethnic and other minorities took the lead. There are certainly more (depending on your definition of “notable”), and additions are welcome at tim@timbrooks.net.

 

Jul. 1949          Mama (CBS). Peggy Wood.  Family drama.                             Norwegian-American

1950                The Cisco Kid (Syndicated). Duncan Renaldo. Western.           Hispanic

Apr. 1951        Showtime U.S.A. (ABC): 1^st TV production of the all-

  black play “Green Pastures,” with Avon Long and Ossie

  Davis (excerpts).                                                                    Black

Sep. 1951        Gallery of Mme. Lui-Tsong (Dumont). Anna May Wong

   Crime drama.                                                                        Chinese-American

Oct. 1953        Harlem Detective (WOR-TV NY, local). Local live

  drama series about black & white detective teams.

  Lasted 3 months.                                                                    Black

Oct. 1955        Philco TV Playhouse (NBC): “A Man is Ten Feet Tall”

  Gritty waterfront drama starring Sidney Poitier                         Black

1955                Adventures of Fu Manchu (Syndicated). Glen Gordon.

  Crime drama.                                                                         Asian

Sep. 1955        Brave Eagle (CBS). Keith Larsen. Western from Native

  American’s point of view.                                                       Native American

Sep. 1956        Broken Arrow (ABC). Co-starred Michael Ansara as

  Apache chief Cochise.                                                            Native American

Jun 1957          New Adventures of Charlie Chan (Syndicated). J. Carrol

  Naish as the philosopher-sleuth.                                              Asian

Oct. 1957        Zorro (ABC).  Guy Williams.  Western set in old Calif.              Spanish-American

Oct. 1959        Law of the Plainsman (NBC). Michael Ansara as an

  Apache with a Harvard law degree.                                        Native American

Oct. 1959        The Untouchables (ABC). Robert Stack.  Complaints from

  Italians about so many Italian mobsters.                                   Italian-American

Sep. 1965        I Spy (NBC). Bill Cosby, Robert Culp.  Breakthrough spy

  series with black as co-lead.                                                   Black

Sep. 1967        Ironside (NBC). Raymond Burr as wheelchair-bound

  detective.                                                                                Handicapped

Sep. 1968        The Outcasts (ABC). Western with Don Murray and Otis

  Young as bounty hunters, notable for Young’s portrayal

  of a rather angry ex-slave.                                                       Black

Sep. 1968        The Mod Squad (ABC). Clarence Williams III as one of a

  trio of young crime-fighters.                                                     Black

Sep. 1969        Room 222 (ABC).  Lloyd Haynes as a teacher.                        Black

Sep. 1971        Longstreet (ABC). James Franciscus as a blind detective.          Visually impaired

Sep. 1972        Anna and the King (CBS). Yul Brynner in a TV version of

  “The King and I.”  Set in Siam.                                               Asian

Sep. 1972        Banacek (NBC). George Peppard as Polish-American

                            private eye.                                                                           Polish-American

Oct. 1972        Kung Fu (ABC). David Carradine. Western.                             Chinese-American

Oct. 1973        Kojak (CBS). Telly Savalas as a NY detective.                        Greek-American

Oct. 1973        Shaft (CBS). Richard Roundtree as detective.                           Black

Oct. 1973        Tenafly (NBC). James McEachin as detective.                          Black

Jan. 1974         “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman”, Emmy-winning

  TV movie starring Cecily Tyson.                                             Black

Sep. 1974        Get Christie Love (ABC). Teresa Graves as a sexy detective.    Black

Sep. 1974        Petrocelli (NBC). Barry Newman as a rural lawyer.                  Italian-American

Sep. 1974        Nakia (ABC). Robert Forster as Native-American sheriff.         Native-American

Sep. 1976        Serpico (NBC). David Birney as a NY detective.                      Italian-American

Jan. 1977         “Roots” (ABC). One of the great landmarks of American

  TV, an introduction to African-American history for many.       Black

Jan. 1977         Lanigan’s Rabbi (NBC). Art Carney with Bruce Solomon

  as his crime-fighting rabbi/advisor.  Based on Kemelman

  novels.                                                                                    Jewish

Sep. 1977        The Fitzpatricks (CBS). Bert Kramer. Drama about a

  working class Irish-Catholic family.                                         Irish-American

Mar. 1979        Harris and Company (NBC). Bernie Casey. Family drama.       Black

Sep. 1979        Paris (CBS). James Earl Jones as a detective.                           Black

Sep. 1979        The Lazarus Syndrome (ABC). Louis Gossett Jr. as a

  doctor.                                                                                   Black

Mar. 1980        Palmerstown U.S.A. (CBS). Ensemble drama (including

  Michael J. Fox) about a black & a white family in 1930s.        Black

Jan. 1982         Fame (NBC). Debbie Allen, others. Multi-cultural youth

  drama.                                                                                    Multi-cultural

Dec. 1986        The Cavanaughs (CBS). Barnard Hughes.  Family drama.         Irish-American

Jan. 1987         Ohara (ABC).  Pat Morita.  Detective.                                      Japanese-American

May 1990        Brewster Place (ABC). Oprah Winfrey.  Drama                        Black

Sep. 1990        Gabriel’s Fire/Pros & Cons (ABC). James Earl Jones tries

  again, as an ex-con detective.                                                  Black

Sep. 1991        Brooklyn Bridge (CBS). Danny Gerard. Family dramedy.         Jewish

Aug. 1994        M.A.N.T.I.S. (Fox). Carl Lumbly. 1^st black superhero?            Black

Sep. 1994        New York Undercover (Fox). Michael de Lorenzo, Malik

  Yoba. New York detectives.                                                  Hispanic/Black

Mar. 1995        Under One Roof (CBS). James Earl Jones again, in a

  family drama.                                                                          Black

Mar 1996         Mystery Files of Shelby Woo (Nickelodeon). Irene Ng,

  Pat Morita.  Kids’ adventure series.                                        Chinese-American

Jun. 2000         Resurrection Boulevard (Showtime). Family drama.                   Hispanic

Jun. 2000         Soul Food (Showtime). Family drama.                                      Black

Dec. 2000        Queer as Folk (Showtime).  Drama.                                          Gay