As a stone Steven J. Cannell fan I was interested in an article the LA Times ran the other day on the 80s show The Great American Hero. In the course of the lengthy piece we get a good look at how a TV show is sometimes born, some of Cannell's work methods and an interesting insight into the chemistry--or lack thereof--between the two stars.
What also worked was that Katt, the theater upstart, and Culp, who had been a television actor since the 1950s, did not get along well on the set and the friction only heightened the abrasive banter between their characters, who were opposites in politics, disposition and generational sensibility. “You couldn’t put us in the same room without a verbal confrontation about how we were going to approach a certain aspect or scene or something and neither of us was going to back down.”
Did the pair ever soften toward each other? “We did reach a sort of détente … although we were never buddies we did find a good working relationship on set.”
Cannell also talks about the possibility of a Great American Hero movie
For the rest go here:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2008/11/greatest-americ.html
2 comments:
Any series in which Robert Culp eats dog biscuits is aces in my book.
My actor friend Michael Cornelison (now based in Des Moines -- he was ELIOT NESS in my recent indie film) had a recurring role on GREAT AMERICAN HERO. He was in two or three episodes.
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