Dick Sargent Movies
His father was a World War I flying ace, and his mother was a silent film actress. His name was Richard Cox until he changed it to Dick Sargent, fearing that casting directors of the 1950s would assume he was trying to capitalize on the success of then-hot TV star Wally Cox. In films since 1957's Bernardine, Sargent was also a regular on several one-season-wonder TV series of the '60s; his oddest gig was on the very short-lived The Tammy Grimes Show (1966), playing the star's twin brother. Sargent's latter-day fame rests with his five-season (1969-73) tenure as the "second Darrin Stevens" on the weekly sitcom Bewitched. "I don't know why (Dick York) quit the show" commented Sargent at the time he succeeded York as Darrin. "I just thank God that he did." At the peak of his popularity, Sargent listed a failed first marriage on his studio biography. This, however, was a subterfuge, calculated to keep the actor's homosexuality a secret. Many years after the cancellation of Bewitched, Sargent became incensed at California governor Pete Wilson's veto of a gay-rights bill. At this point, the actor deliberately put his career on the line by making public his own sexual orientation. Thus, Sargent was one of the first major Hollywood actors to voluntarily come out of the closet without the spectre of AIDS hanging over him. Dick Sargent died of prostate cancer at the reported age of 61. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1993
In this behind-the-scenes thriller, a movie actress finds herself accused of hacking up her producer. She tries to flee with two lovers preparing to marry. The three get into all sorts of trouble that ends with the death of the fiancee. Once again, the actress finds herself accused of the crime, but did she do it? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Fiorentino, C. Thomas Howell, (more)
- 1991
- R
A young mens' hazing turns to murder in this crime drama set in a small town run by a powerful businessman. The victim was beaten to death with a monogrammed baseball bat, and later the head-killer tried to make it seem as if the young man was run down by the car of Frank Govers, a traveling salesman. Sheriff Ralph Baker begins investigating and finds his hands figuratively tied at every turn by the town fathers, particularly the powerful Will Curran. Baker does believe that Govers was framed, but the salesman, who has his own dubious past to protect takes off and ends up hiding out in the cabin of a teen-age wife whose husband has left her. Meanwhile Sheriff Baker arrests Will Curran's son Don, the guilty party in the murder. Back at the cabin, two fugitives from prison burst into the cabin and take the hapless salesman hostage. Things look pretty bleak at this point until Curran breaks his son out of jail and heads for the hills to cut a deal with the escaped convicts. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
A famous actress moonlights as a prostitute on the streets of L.A. and has to contend with clientele, her father, and the consequences of her double identity when a hotel owner finds out who she is. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
An otherwise boring and unpopular Louise is enamored with Brad, the star of the high-school football team, but her feelings are not reciprocated. One week before her birthday, she visits a psychic and is told she has latent, genetically predisposed witch abilities that will blossom on her sixteenth birthday. Soon she finds the information to be true and uses her powers to gain the typical teen goals: popularity, revenge on cruel teachers and other meanies, and high-school football star Brad... ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robyn Lively, Dan Gauthier, (more)
- 1989
When a wealthy homosexual man (Wlad Cembrowicz) turns up missing, his sister (Debra Sandlund) convinces her ex-husband (Sam Behrens) to investigate the legion of suspects. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Behrens, Shari Belafonte, (more)
- 1987
Comedian Foster Brooks curtails his "lovable lush" routine to play Simon Thane, a celebrated artist living in Cabot Cove. For the last several years, Thane has jealously guarded his favorite painting, which he has never allowed to be seen publicly. Jessica (Angela Lansbury) becomes involved in the story when Thane is murdered and his prized painting stolen, leading our heroine to conclude that the mysterious work of art may contain a clue as to the killer's identity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
When Robert Knight (Bernie White) is placed in a mental institution by his money-hungry relatives, he escapes and seeks vengeance. Hardly an innocent victim, Robert really is a crazed killer, so none of the characters evoke much sympathy. His main targets are his Uncle Charles (Dick Sargent) and Aunt Joanne (Marilyn Hassett).This dysfunctional bunch makes the Manson family look like Ozzie and Harriet as they resort to murder and cannibalism. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernie White, Marilyn Hassett, (more)
- 1986
Bob Hope makes his first starring film appearance in 14 years in this made-for-TV movie. Hope stars as a seedy private eye, hoping to get one last good case before calling it quits. Don Ameche, a retired art thief reduced to working as a chauffeur, teams with his old friend Hope to solve the mystery of a missing painting. The unknown criminal has a murderous streak, resulting in a few close calls for the octogenarian heroes. Masterpiece of Murder is murder, all right, but definitely no masterpiece. Bob Hope appears to be sleepwalking, while Don Ameche does his utmost to breathe life in the tiresome proceedings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Jolene (Celia Weston) is thrilled when TV game show host Harry Parker (John McCook) proposes marriage. But she begins to wonder if such a union is possible after she manages to super-glue herself to boss Mel (Vic Tayback). Jean Smart of Designing Women and 24 fame makes an early TV appearance in this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The chances of burned-out cabbie Reverend Jim (Christopher Lloyd) passing any sort of competency test is roughly equivalent to a snowball's chance of surviving in hell, but that's just what he must do in this episode. Upon learning that his late father has left him three-and-a-half million dollars in his will -- but with certain very rigid conditions: Jim must prove he is of sound mind, and fast! He must also dress and act like something resembling a normal human being, and for help in this matter he turns to the most "normal" people he knows: Alex (Judd Hirsch)...and Louie (Danny DeVito)? ~ All Movie Guide
- 1981
In this stereotyped but right-on look at the world of show-business, drama builds as a New York director (Dick Sargent) auditions aspiring new talent for his upcoming play, while the possibility of rejection looms in everyone's mind. The potential stars themselves are widely variant individuals: one is an alcoholic, pill-popping young singer (Roslyn Kind) struggling in the shadow of her famous mother, another is a parole officer heading for trouble when his secretary is kidnapped, yet another is a womanizer sleeping with the rich backer of the show, and one is a young, maladjusted man whose façade does not match his interior. Almost all of the aspirants get a part in the play, but their intrigues, the pressure they feel, and their personal ambitions eventually lead to acrimony and unexpected mayhem. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Sargent, Meredith Mac Rae, (more)
- 1980
The Gossip Columnist is a rare one-part offering from Operation Prime Time, the TV-syndication service responsible for such miniseries as The Kent Family Chronicles. Fourth-billed Kim Cattrall plays the title character, journalist Dina Moran. Instructed by her boss (Dick Sargent) to take over the gossip column previously written by Hedda Hopper-clone Alma Llewellyn (Sylvia Sidney), Dina becomes a veritable Rona Barrett (why, one would think that scenarist Michael Gleason had purposely based the character on Barrett). In the course of 2 hours, our heroine makes and breaks several celebrities. Martha Raye plays a character not far removed from herself: a formerly big star hoping for a comeback. The cast includes such TV perennials as Robert Vaughn, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Sherman, Richard Deacon and Lyle Waggoner, along with such guest stars as Steve Allen, Jim Backus, Jack Carter, Allen Ludden, Jayne Meadows, Rip Taylor and Betty White. The Gossip Columnist first aired during the third week of March, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
With James Best still boycotting the series because of perceived hazardous working conditions, former Bewitched costar Dick Sargent appears in this episode as Grady Byrd, temporary replacement for Sheriff Roscoe Coltrane. When Luke Duke (Tom Wopat) inadvertently causes Daisy (Catherine Bach to lose her job at the Boars' Nest, Sheriff Byrd hires Daisy as a deputy sheriff. Unfortunately, the Duke boys are so determined to see that Daisy does a good job that they won't let her lift a finger on her own. Ultimately, however, Daisy proves her worth by chasing after a pair of escaped prisoners--and never mind that it was her fault that the prisoners escaped in the first place! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Robert Wightmanbecomes a regular in the role of John-Boy Walton (which he'd previously played on a recurring basis, replacing Richard Thomas) in the ninth and final season of The Waltons. The two-part season opener (originally telecast as a single two-hour episode) takes place during the final months of WW2, as John Walton (Ralph Waite) tries to clear his friend Harley Foster (Hal Williams) of a long-standing murder charge. Convinced that Harley's original trial was biased, John is willing to put his own reputation--and freedom--on the line to prove the man's innocence. Elsewhere on Walton's Moutain, storekeeper Ike Godsey (Joe Conley) and his formidable wife Corabeth (Ronnie Claire Edwards) have a spirited argument over a woman's "proper place" in a male-oriented society. And as the newly-uniformed Ben Walton (Eric Scott) is headed for the war in the Pacific, his brothers John-Boy and Jim-Bob attempt to connect up with each other in Paris--an effort that seems doomed to failure! Jason Moses in seen in the role of Harley Foster's stepson Josh, replacing Todd Bridges, who of course had moved on to Diff'rent Strokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Bo (John Schneider) and Duke (Tom Wopat) join forces with Texas Ranger Jude Emery (John Shearin) to capture "Snake" Harmon (Sam Melville), an outlaw race driver who traffics in contraband critters. Pursuing their quarry into the dismal reaches of Yuchee Swamp, our heroes try to catch a Snake by thinking like a Snake--with fascinating results. Featured in the cast is former pro football player and future Hollywood stuntman Ben Davidson. This episode was intended as the pilot for a weekly spinoff series starring John Shearin, which alas never came to be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This routine, relatively low-budget horror film with a few well-known actors (Peter Graves, Keenan Wynn) unfolds a tale that has echoes in George Orwell's 1984 or in various sci-fi movies. The premise: Americans have not realized that their government is in cahoots with certain industrial and medical giants to clone the citizens and thereby create a society that is easily controlled. Richard, one of the clones (Tim Donnelly) slowly comes to believe that the normal human society is much better than the cloned version and starts a rebellion against the powerful forces in control. What happens after that is about as hard to believe as what has happened before. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Donnelly, Dick Sargent, (more)
"Oh my God, that's my daughter." So read the advertising copy of Hardcore. George C. Scott plays Jake Van Dorn, a man of means and conservative values who discovers that his precious daughter is appearing in X-rated films. Desperately making his way through the sub-rosa world of pornography, Van Dorn talks to pimps, prostitutes, and other such sterling individuals in hopes of locating his daughter and dragging her home. At one point, he falsely advertises himself as a porn producer in hopes that his little girl will show up for an interview. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, (more)
- 1977
The long-running Aaron Spelling TV series Fantasy Island was launched with a two-hour pilot film, which originally aired January 14, 1977. Ricardo Montalban stars as the enigmatic, sartorially splendiferous Mr. Roarke, who welcomes those willing to pony up the $50,000 to spend a weekend on "Fantasy Island." Roarke's assistant, the diminutive Tattoo ("De plane, boss! De plane!") is played by Herve Villechaize. The special guest stars indulging in their fantasies this time around include Bill Bixby, Sandra Dee, Carol Lynley, Peter Lawford, Hugh O'Brian, Eleanor Parker, Victoria Principal, Dick Sargent and Tina Sinatra. Parker plays a wealthy woman who wants to attend her own funeral, just to see what her relatives really think of her. Businessman Bixby is sent back in time to a bittersweet wartime romance. And bored hunter O'Brian wants to see what it's like to be "the hunted." Mr. Roarke indulges all these fantasies with his usual finesse, just as he would in the series proper, which ran from January 28, 1978 through August 18, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
More ambitious and expensive than ABC's first "novel for television" miniseries QB VII, the eight-episode, 12-hour Rich Man, Poor Man was the one that truly put the genre on the map, its phenomenal success in the ratings making possible the even more spectacular Roots. Adapted from the mammoth novel by Irwin Shaw, the miniseries covers the years from WWII to the 1960s, detailing the vacillating fortunes of the immigrant Jordache brothers. "Rich Man" Rudy Jordache (Peter Strauss) is determined to use his hard-earned education -- and his inherent ruthlessness -- to carve out a business and political empire not unlike that enjoyed by Joseph P. Kennedy and his progeny. "Poor Man" Tom Jordache (Nick Nolte), a quick-fisted hothead, goes an entirely different route, first as a professional boxer, then as a functionary of the evil gangster chieftain Falconetti (William Smith). Naturally, both brothers become entangled in romance along the way, with Julie Prescott (Susan Blakely) ending up as Rudy's benighted spouse. Originally telecast on February 1, 2, 9, 16, 23, and March 1, 8, and 15 in 1976, Rich Man, Poor Man earned 20 Emmy nominations and led to a weekly sequel, Rich Man, Poor Man -- Book 2, in the fall of 1976 (this version necessitated a title change for the original, which was rebroadcast as Rich Man, Poor Man -- Book 1 in the spring of 1977). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Strauss, Nick Nolte, (more)
- 1976
The scene is a roller-games rink, where skating star Karen Jason has been killed in an "accident." To find out the truth behind Karen's death, the Angels go undercover as roller girls. Along the way, they discover that Karen was murdered as part of a scheme to defraud an insurance firm -- but the villains aren't about to let our heroines skate away scot-free. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Kate Jackson, (more)
- 1974
Melvin Purvis: G-Man was one of two TV pilot films intended to launch a series based on the life of famed FBI agent Purvis. Dale Robertson played the title role in both, emphasizing the heroics and downpedalling Purvis' shameless self-aggrandizement (he was so rabid a publicity hound that many historians have come to doubt the veracity of his accomplishments). The "public enemy" tackled by Purvis in this 90-minute film is kidnapper/bandit Machine Gun Kelly (Harris Yulin). The script accurately portrays Kelly as a cowardly dolt, completely dominated by his ambitious wife (played by Maggie Blye). First aired April 9, 1974, Melvin Purvis: G-Man was followed by The Kansas City Massacre (1975). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Love and romance are examined in these 3 stories. ~ 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
- 1972
Dining out at a Chinese restaurant, Samantha downs an exotic drink called "The Heavenly Himalayan," and as a result, her face breaks out in red stripes. Worse still, Sam loses all her powers, and the only antidote is the tail feather of the extinct dodo bird. The ensuing complications lead Sam and Darrin on a circuitous route, ending up in the same restaurant where it all began. Janos Prohaska, an "animal impersonator," whose repertoire included gorillas and bears, is here cast as an oversized and very surly dodo bird. Written by Leo Townsend, "Sam's Witchcraft Blows a Fuse" first aired on March 18, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, (more)
- 1972
Darrin blows his top again, when he thinks that Samantha has used witchcraft to create a winning ad slogan. As it turns out, Sam does help Darrin, albeit in the time-honored "trial and error" fashion preferred by those irksome mortals. J. Edward McKinley, one of the series' stable of recurring character actors, is once more cast as Darrin's client, this time a man named Benson. First broadcast on March 11, 1972, "A Good Turn Never Goes Unpunished" was written by Bernie Kahn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, (more)
