''Dick Tracy'' is an American unsold

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

adapted from the comic strip of the same name by

Chester Gould Chester Gould (; November 20, 1900 – May 11, 1985) was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the ''Dick Tracy'' comic strip, which he wrote and drew from 1931 to 1977, incorporating numerous colorful and monstrous villains. Ear ...

. It was produced during the 1966–1967 television season and filmed by

20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film production and distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Com ...

Cast

Ray MacDonnell Ray MacDonnell (March 5, 1928 – June 10, 2021) was an American television actor, best known for his role as Dr. Joe Martin, patriarch of the Martin family, on the daytime soap opera ''All My Children'', a role he played for 40 years. Early y ...

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the '' Detroit Mirror'', and was distributed by the Chicago T ...

Victor Buono Victor Charles Buono (February 3, 1938 – January 1, 1982) was an American actor, comic, and briefly a recording artist. He was known for playing the villain King Tut (comics), King Tut in the television series ''Batman (TV series), Batman'' (1 ...

as Mr. Memory *

Davey Davison Davey Davison (born Lillian M. Davis) is a retired American actress. Career Davison appeared in the following television series: ''Hazel'', ''Route 66'', '' Shannon'', '' The New Breed'', '' The Eleventh Hour'', ''Empire'', ''Gunsmoke'', ''G ...

as Tess Trueheart Tracy *

Jan Shutan Jan Shutan Levinson (born Janice Dottenheim; November 5, 1932 – October 7, 2021) was an American actress, best known for her appearance in '' Star Trek: The Original Series'', ''Sons and Daughters'' and ''The Andy Griffith Show''. Life Shut ...

as Lizz *

Ken Mayer Ken Mayer (June 25, 1918 – January 30, 1985) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Major Robbie Robertson in the 1950s television series, '' Space Patrol''. Career Following service in the United States Army Air Corps' int ...

as Chief Patton * Monroe Arnold as Sam Catchem * Jay Blood as Junior * Eve Plumb as Bonnie Braids * Allen Jaffe as Hook

Production

The pilot was produced by

William Dozier William McElroy Dozier (; February 13, 1908 – April 23, 1991) was an American film and television producer, writer and actor. He is best known for two television series, ''Batman'' and '' The Green Hornet''. Early life Dozier was born in Omaha, ...

who had also made the TV series ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' and ''

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell (director), James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas i ...

''. According to Dozier, while the pilot was made nobody wanted it with Dozier theorizing it wasn't "far out" enough.

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

considered the show for both the 1966–67 and 1967–68 Fall schedules, but with producer Dozier's series ''

The Tammy Grimes Show ''The Tammy Grimes Show'' is an American sitcom starring Broadway actress Tammy Grimes that aired during the 1966–67 season on the ABC network. ''The Tammy Grimes Show'' was one of the few primetime series of the era canceled after only four ...

'' and ''

'' cancelled as well as the significant ratings drop experienced by ''

'', NBC likely lost confidence in the viability of the project.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt0179765 Television pilots not picked up as a series Live-action television shows based on comics Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows based on American comics