Dan August


Dan August is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from September 23, 1970, to April 8, 1971. Burt Reynolds played the title character. Reruns of the series aired in prime time on CBS from May to October 1973 and from April to June 1975.

Premise

Police lieutenant Dan August investigates homicide cases in his hometown of Santa Luisa, California.

Cast

Reynolds stars as police lieutenant Dan August. Other cast members include:
Barney Phillips had a recurring role as Mike Golden, the medical examiner.

Guest stars

Guest stars including Diana Muldaur in the pilot episode "Murder by Proxy"; Martin Sheen in "Dead Witness to a Killing"; Dabney Coleman in "The King Is Dead"; Larry Hagman in "The Law"; John Ritter in "Quadrangle of Death"; and Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, Mickey Rooney, and Gary Busey in "The Manufactured Man". Ahna Capri played Linda Perry in "Death Chain" and "Prognosis: Homicide".
Other guest actors to appear on the show include Michael Ontkean, Joan Hackett, Vera Miles, Annette O'Toole, Gary Collins, Ricardo Montalbán, Ford Rainey, Carolyn Jones, Fritz Weaver, John Marley, Janice Rule, Alexandra Hay, Norman Alden, Joan Van Ark, Bradford Dillman, Geraldine Brooks, Donna Mills, Victor French, Richard Basehart, Sherry Lansing, Monte Markham, Jan-Michael Vincent, Stephen Collins, Laurence Luckinbill, Lee Meriweather, Sal Mineo, Fernando Lamas, Ellen Corby, Susan Oliver, John Beck, Michael Pataki, Diana Hyland and Simon Scott.

Episodes

Production

Reynolds later recalled "I swore I'd never play a cop on TV because you can't make jokes or have a broad. You wind up loving your car a lot. I was halfway out the door when Quinn said the magic words - $15,000 a week."

Relation to earlier works

The series was based on Quinn Martin's 1970 made-for-TV movie House on Greenapple Road, starring Janet Leigh, which was based on Harold R. Daniels's 1966 mystery novel of the same name. It was directed by Robert Day from a script by George Eckstein. Christopher George played Dan August, with Keenan Wynn as Sergeant Wilentz and Barry Sullivan as Chief Untermeyer. Ned Romero was the only actor in the film who reprised his role in the series. The film also featured Julie Harris, Walter Pidgeon, Ed Asner, Eve Plumb, Lynda Day, Joanne Linville, Tim O'Connor, Mark Richman, and William Windom.

Television films

In 1980, a movie titled Dan August: Once Is Never Enough aired on ABC. In fact, this was a re-editing of episode 15, "Death Chain," with episode 25, "Prognosis: Homicide." ABC and Quinn Martin productions were looking to further capitalize on the success of Burt Reynolds, at the time riding high on the international success of the Smokey and the Bandit films and the public's interest with his private life with actress Sally Field. Subsequently, another television film, editing together the Diana Muldaur and Dabney Coleman episodes, produced Dan August: The Jealousy Factor.

Home media

On December 7, 2018, Visual Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1.

Reception

While not initially popular enough to be renewed for a second season, Dan August became a fan favorite in reruns, particularly after Reynolds' popularity surged in the mid-1970s with his escalating movie career. CBS re-aired the series both on The CBS Late Movie and in prime time during summer "rerun seasons" of both 1973 and 1975 to larger audiences.