''Lucas Tanner'' is an American drama series aired on NBC during the 1974–75 season. The title character, played by David Hartman, is a former

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player and sportswriter who becomes an English teacher at the fictional

Harry S Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th Vice president of the United States, vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Frank ...

Memorial High School in

Webster Groves, Missouri Webster Groves is an inner-ring Greater St. Louis, suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 24,010 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster Universit ...

, a suburb of St. Louis. He changed professions following the death of his wife and child. Episodes often deal with the resistance of traditional teachers to Tanner's unorthodox teaching style. Regular co-stars included Rosemary Murphy, Kimberly Beck, John Randolph, and ten-year-old Robbie Rist. Unusually, the show was actually filmed in Webster Groves, rather than on a Hollywood backlot. That gave it a somewhat unusual "look" for a prime-time TV series. A 90-minute pilot film of the series aired on NBC the week of May 4, 1974; the pilot also starred

Kathleen Quinlan Kathleen Denise Quinlan (born November 19, 1954) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1977 film of the novel ''I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (film), I Never Promised ...

and Joe Garagiola.NBC TV Guide ad for week of May 4, 1974, at Vintage Toledo TV.
/ref> This series was Hartman's last work as an actor. In November 1975, he began as co-host of ABC's ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

''. To date, he has not returned to acting.

Episodes

References

*Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh, '' The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows'' (7th ed. 1999), p. 601.

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0071008, Lucas Tanner 1974 American television series debuts 1975 American television series endings 1970s American workplace drama television series 1970s American high school television series American English-language television shows Tanner, Lucas Television series about educators Television series by Universal Television Television shows set in Missouri Television shows set in St. Louis NBC television dramas