O'HARA (CBS) ------------- 1951 & 1956 By: Stewart Wright Initial Compilation: 02/14/2003 Latest Revision: 04/24/2005 Copyright 2005 by Stewart Wright Audition Show: 1 First Show: 05/20/1956 Last Show: 10/29/1956 Number of Shows: 12 Length: 25 and 30 minutes AUDITION SHOW: The audition show for O'HARA was unusual in that it was recorded nearly FIVE YEARS before the series aired on CBS. SERIES DESCRIPTION: O'HARA was a crime drama series that had two short, separate runs during 1956. The main character was Bob O'Hara, a foreign correspondent, who was based in Hong Kong. While the O'Hara character was ostensibly a reporter, he usually became involved in investigating and solving some crime. O'Hara was essentially a detective in reporter's clothing. The O'Hara character also functioned as the narrator. During the late Spring - early Summer run, Jack Moyles starred as O'Hara. In the early Fall run, Stacy Harris played O'Hara. Standard Openings: Both runs used a song called "Hong Kong Blues" as their theme song. Each of two runs of the series had somewhat different openings. Here are sample openings. From the MOYLES run: O'HARA: "From O'Hara - Hong Kong to Interconpress, San Francisco. Check Southeast Asia files for quote Mister Marco unquote and advise. If I'm right you'll have two thousand words for tomorrow's front page. If I'm wrong you're going to need a new boy in Hong Kong. Signed - - O'Hara. MUSIC: HONG KONG BLUES MAIN TITLE ANNCR: "O'Hara, starring Jack Moyles, a new series of adventure, action and danger in the life of a free lance foreign correspondent. MUSIC: GONG HITS and FADES ANNCR: Tonight, O'Hara cables his first story from Hong Kong. From the HARRIS run: BIZ: O'HARA WHISTLING HONG KONG BLUES. SOUND: INSERT PAPER INTO TYPEWRITER. SLIDE CARRIAGE TO STARTING POSITION. BEGIN TYPING. O'HARA: O'Hara. . . Hong Kong. . . October 1st. Here is the story of a beautiful girl who got into trouble just waiting for a friend. MUSIC: HONG KONG BLUES IN AND TO B.G. ANNCR: "O'Hara! Transcribed reports, from one of America's noted foreign correspondents. . . whose syndicated columns appear in newspapers throughout the world. MUSIC: GONG AND UNDERSCORE TO B.G. SPONSORSHIP: Sustained CAST AND CREW: CAST: Jack Moyles as BOB O'HARA (audition and episodes 001- 007) Stacy Harris as BOB O'HARA (episodes 008-012) Byron Kane as COMMISSIONER PHELPS (audition and episodes 001-007) Ben Wright as AH CHANG (episodes 001-007) GUEST CAST: Tony Barrett, Richard Beals, Herb Butterfield, Lillian Buyeff, John Dehner, Don Diamond, John Dodsworth, Fritz Feld, Virginia Gregg, Betty Harford, Lou Krugman, Jack Kruschen, Peg La Centra, Raymond Lawrence, Charlie Lung, Shep Menken, Ralph Moody, Ellen Morgan, Jeanette Nolan, Peter Rankin, Alan Reed, Tracey Roberts, Eric Snowden, Larry Thor, Lurene Tuttle, Peggy Webber, Miriam Wolfe, and Ben Wright. CREW: PRODUCERS: Tommy Tomlinson and Sterling Tracy (Audition) William N. Robson (Episodes 001 - 007) Antony Ellis (Episodes 008 - 012) DIRECTORS: Tommy Tomlinson and Sterling Tracy (Audition) William N. Robson (Episodes 001 - 007) Antony Ellis (Episodes 008 - 012) WRITERS: Gilbert Thomas (Audition) Les Crutchfield (Episode 001) Irene Winston (Episode 002) William N. Robson (Episodes 003, 005, 007) Tony Barrett (Episodes 004 and 006) Antony Ellis (Episodes 008 and 010) Charles B. Smith (Episodes 009, 011, and 012) MUSIC: Jerry Goldsmith (Episodes 001 - 003) Jerry Goldsmith & Don Ray (Episodes 004) Don Ray (Episodes 005 - 008) Amerigo Marino (Episodes 009) Carl Fortina (Episodes 010 - 012) ANNOUNCERS: Art Gilmore (Audition) Hugh Douglas (Episodes 001 - 007) George Walsh (Episodes 008 - 010) Gil Warren (Episode 011) Dan Cubberly (Episode 012) SOUND EFFECTS: Bill James and Vic Livoti (Episode 001) Gus Bayz and Vic Livoti (Episodes 002 - 003) Gus Bayz and Bill James (Episodes 004 - 007) Tom Hanley and Ray Kemper (Episodes 008 & 012) Tom Hanley and Bill James (Episodes 009 - 010) Gus Bayz and Bill James (Episodes 011 - 003) LOG: The log is divided into sections with the day and time of broadcast listed at the beginning of each section. All airing dates, times, and titles, except for the Audition Show, are from the series scripts. Note on Episode Numbers (EP): The scripts for the seven episodes of the Moyles run of O'HARA were not numbered. The scripts for the five episodes of the later run starring Stacy Harris as O'HARA were numbered 1 through 5. For this log, I have numbered the episodes of this series consecutively based on their ordering of airing starting at 001 and ending at 012. Episodes Known To Be In Circulation: Episodes known to be in circulation are marked with an # at the end of the episode date, episode number, and title line. All times are for the Eastern Zone. AUDITION SHOW Date Title 1951 The Judas Face # - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SUNDAY 6:05 - 6:30 PM Date EP Title 05/20/1956 001 Visa Vice Versa 05/27/1956 002 The Woman Who Had Everything 06/03/1956 003 Celestial Celestine 06/10/1956 004 The Legend 06/17/1956 005 Godfathers' Day In Old Hong Kong 06/24/1956 006 The Set-Up 07/01/1956 007 The Purloined Mig - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MONDAY 8:30 - 9:00 PM Date EP Title 10/01/1956 008 The Girl Who Waited 10/08/1956 009 The Story of Sister Mary 10/15/1956 010 Mother's Little Darling 10/22/1956 011 Red October 10/29/1956 012 The Lost Boy # INFORMATION SOURCES: O'HARA Scripts and other documents pertaining to the series. KNX Collection American Radio Archives Grant R. Brimhall Library Thousand Oaks, CA http://www.tol.lib.ca.us New York Times 1956 Radio listings. Please send error corrections or additional information to: Stewart Wright stewwright@att.net