Robert Simon Movies
Inaugurating his career at the Cleveland Playhouse, American character actor Robert F. Simon made his first Broadway appearance in Clifford Odets' Clash By Night. In 1949, Simon succeeded Lee J. Cobb in the role of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. He made his film debut in 1954, spending the next two decades playing a steady stream of generals, doctors, executives and journalists. One of Simon's most prominent film roles was the father of the title character in 1956's The Benny Goodman Story. On television, Simon played bombastic newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson in the weekly adventure series The Amazing Spider-Man (1977-78), and could also be seen in recurring roles on Saints and Sinners (1961), Bewitched (1964), Custer (1967), Nancy (1970) and MASH (1972-73 season, as General Mitchell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1982
Quincy (Jack Klugman) prepares to provide expert testimony in the murder trial of mob boss Victor Ramsay (Tige Andrews), determined to prove that Ramsay pressured his victim into having a heart attack. Unfortunately, Ramsay's son Joseph (Peter Virgo Jr.) has carefully arranged for Quincy to be discredited by planting phony evidence near the dead body of the only witness to the crime. Now Quincy has a scant three weeks to restore his reputation and nail the bad guys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Quincy (Jack Klugman) is outraged to learn that young Sherry Anderson (Heidi Bohay) has died from injuries sustained in a car accident after being treated at a standard emergency hospital. It seems that Sherry's father Bruce (Leonard Stone), who at the crash scene appeared to be the more seriously injured of the two, was rushed to the Memorial Hills emergency trauma center, where the doctors were able to save his life. Arguing that the same special medical care should have been made available to Sherry, Quincy begins lobbying the city to finance additional trauma centers--even as Memorial Hills faces extinction due to lack of funds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Sam (Robert Ito) finds it impossible to believe that his friend Steve Yomoshira (Bill Saito), a kind and gentle man, had gone berserk and killed a police officer before taking his own life. The subsequent autopsy reveals that Steve suffered from radiation poisoning, possibly connected with a covert Army experiment to determine a man's ability to withstand torture. With the help of Quincy (Jack Klugman), Sam sets about to learn the truth about this questionable procedure--and in the process, to clear Steve's name for the sake of his widow (Nobu McCarthy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Spider-Man is on the case when government information is stolen. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1978
The Chinese Web, is one of 15 episodes from the '70's American TV series The Amazing Spider Man. This series chronicled the exploits of superhero Spiderman, who, like Superman led an everyday existence under the guise of Peter Parker (Nicholas Hammond) but could transform himself into a spider and trap villains in his silky webs. In this episode, Parker travels to China to help a Chinese politician accused of treason. Parker, as usual, arrives just in time to save the innocent and to ensure that justice is done. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- 1978
A live-action episode featuring Spider-Man when he attempts to save the city from a plutonium accident. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1978
Deadly Dust began as the opening episode of the live-action TV series The Amazing Spider-Man. Nicholas Hammond stars as Peter Parker, who after being bitten by a radioactive spider is transformed into the web-slinging, wall-crawling Spider-Man (a character created for the Marvel Comics line by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby). In his first TV adventure, Spider-Man is accused of stealing plutonium from a university lab, but the real culprits are terrorists who demand a one-billion-dollar ransom, lest they expose New York City to plutonium poisoning. Featured in the cast is Joanna Cameron, who'd once played a "super" character herself, a do-gooder named Isis, on Saturday morning TV. Deadly Dust was first telecast as a Spider-Man two-parter on April 5 and 12, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
In this adventure, Spider-Man is terribly affected by an advanced cloning experiment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
A young organizer for a California farmhand union dies of carbon monoxide poisoining, and the evidence points to suicide. Quincy (Jack Klugman), however, suspects that the man was murdered--and that one of two rival union leaders, currently embroiled in a bitter power struggle, may have been responsible. Conducting a personal investigation, Quincy exposes a great deal of corruption within the the union system...and also unearths a motive for murder that surprises even him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Girl in the Empty Grave was the third of four TV pilot films for a proposed Andy Griffith detective series. Griffith stars as Abel Marsh, a small-town police chief whose casual demeanors hides a sharp analytical mind and gift for deduction. The plot gets under way when a young girl shows up in town. It happens that the girl is supposed to be dead: in fact, virtually everyone in the community attended her funeral. Who is the girl in the grave--and, more importantly, who was responsible for the murder of the "dead" girl's parents? First telecast September 20, 1977, Girl in the Empty Grave was followed two months later by The Deadly Game; neither film would yield a weekly series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Griffith
- 1976
Officer Dan Segal (Robert Drivas) makes it his mission in life to avenge the death of his gambler brother (Harry Davis), who was murdered by a professional hit man. In order to expose the "brains" behind the murder, Segal goes undercover, posing as a bookie and infiltrating an unusually nasty gambling ring. Featured in the cast is the late Claudia Jennings, the well-proportioned leading lady of many an R-rated action flick of the 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
A robbery gang comes to the attention of homicide detectives Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) when the crooks murder a fellow gang member. Going undercover, Keller tries to determine if there is a link between the criminals' activities and a sultry nightclub singer. Lola Falana makes a rare dramatic appearance as the songbird in question, who happens to have been the murdered man's sweetheart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Season Two of Streets of San Francisco opens with an episode focusing on Steve Keller (Michael Douglas), the young partner of veteran SFPD detective Mike Stone (Karl Malden). Forced to kill a robbery suspect, Keller finds his career on the line when the dead man's father (Michael Constantine) insists that his son was unarmed. This time, not even Stone can come to Keller's rescue unless a weapon is found--a prospect that grows dimmer as the story wears on. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Shirley (Shirley Jones) discovers to her horror that her credit rating has been destroyed to a department-store computer error. Young computer whiz Tom Baker (John David Carson) does his best to rectify the mistake, only to inadvertently run Shirley's 29-dollar debt into the thousands! Elements crucial to the plot include an aggressive collection agency, a grass-roots picket line, and a malfunctioning cuckoo clock. Song: "Maybe Someday". (Trivia note: guest star John David Carson had played Keith Partridge in the original, unsold Partridge Family pilot film). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Prolific character actor Joe Don Baker is evil incarnate in the role of Leonard Collier Cord, a convicted rapist, torturer and murderer. Paroled after twelve years, the unrepentant Cord vows to get even with Mike Stone (Karl Malden), the detective who sent up. With fiendish calculation, Cord decides to hit Stone where it will hurt the most--by killing Mike's daughter Jeannie (Darleen Carr). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) investigate when a successful and universally admired politician dies in what appears to be an accident. As usual, Stone suspects foul play, and isn't afraid of ruffling a few feathers among the political elite to prove his point. The key to the solution of this case involves a complicated relationship among several prominent people with more than a few skeletons in their closets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Vic Morrow heads the guest cast as Vic Tolliman, leader of a gang of thieves. Hijacking a gold shipment, Tollman and his henchmen are unaware that the gold has been mixed with deadly uranium. Per the episode's title, Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) have only twenty-four hours to track down the thieves before the entire Bay Area has been fatally contaminated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
After serving 12 years for a crime actually committed by his brother Dmitri Kampacalas (Scott Marlowe), Jason (played by future Starsky and Hutch costar Paul Michael Glaser), is released from prison. Returning home, Jason is secure in the belief that, per agreement, Dimitri has told the truth to their father Cadmus (Nehemiah Persoff),a Greek restauranteur. But Cadmus is still convinced that Jason is guilty--and is grimly unforgiving towards his "jailbird" son. The tragic consequences stemming from this crisis bring Detectives Stone (Karl Malden) and Keller (Michael Douglas) onto the scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
It looks like the jig is up when Darrin's mother, Phyllis (Mabel Albertson), catches her grandson, Adam, in an act of magic. Using reverse psychology, Samantha manages to make it appear as if Phyllis is herself a sorceress. The problems that stem from this misapprehension culminate in a zany mock séance, and a major "change of life" for Phyllis' husband, Frank (Robert Simon). Written by Ed Jurist, "Samantha and the Antique Doll" originally aired on April 22, 1971, as the final episode of Bewitched's seventh season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, (more)
- 1970
Inheriting a fortune from an Indian benefactor, Candy fulfills his long-standing ambition to quit the Ponderosa. Before long, Candy has accepted an executive position with a prosperous-looking land promoter (Walter Brooke). But when he discovers that his boss is a crook, Candy enlists the aid of the Cartwrights to turn the tables on the duplicitious promoter. Written by John Hawkins, "The Big Jackpot" has seldom been aired since its original network playdate of January 18, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, (more)
- 1968
Hoping to earn enough money to purchase a guitar, Opie takes a job as a soda jerk at Crawford's drugstore, When he accidentally breaks an expensive-looking perfume bottle, Opie worries that Mr. Crawford (Robert F. Simon) will fire him, thus he spends all his savings to replace the bottle. But our hero soon discovers that his grand gesture was entirely unnecessary. Written by Kent Wilson, "Opie's Drugstore Job" first aired on January 15, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Dodson
- 1967
Darrin doesn't want his parents (Mabel Albertson and Robert F. Simon) to find out that baby Tabitha is a witch, but at the same time, he can't come up with a good reason not to leave them alone with their granddaughter. The problem blossoms into a full-scale feud between Darrin's mother and Samantha's mom, Endora. Worse still, the bitter feelings threaten to break up Darrin's mom and dad. Written by James Henerson, "It's Witchcraft" first aired on March 30, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, (more)
