Private Sug Sugarman. I can't think of any show from that era that had a black character on equal footing (as opposed to being a servant, etc) with the Caucasians.
"I slept with you and you're in love with my husband. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?"
Car 54 had Nipsey Russell as a supporting cast member, and that ran from 1961 to 1963. It is very strange when you read up on television shows during the 1960s, it was controversial to have minorities as supporting actors or even lead actors in television shows that were not targeted to minorities. As an example, casting Gail Fisher as the secretary on Mannix almost didn't happen.
shareWho played Olga, the artist/art student whom Bilko interrupted in order to give Alda's Thompson some publicity? And then there's Marie, the maid, unlisted. Makes me wonder if they ever reappeared or were just extras given a few lines. Too bad there wasn't a more comprehensive IMDb back then!
shareThat's what I like about the show, besides the fact that it's so much damn fun to watch----I can't think of any other show I've seen from that era that showed an integrated military unit, and there was even a young black woman among the women's unit who was a semi-regular on the show, even though she had few lines. And it's really interesting how their presence is just simply taken for granted. I'm assuming that probably kept the show from being shown in some Southern markets, but apparently the makers of the show didn't care---it wasn't an issue for them, which was refreshing. The Peter Gunn show actually had a black policeman (played by Morris Erby) as a regular character on the show for only eight episodes, but they had one good episode about him in which he's framed for murder, and Peter Gunn only has a short amount of time to prove him innocent before he gets locked up for good. The show also had an episode with a then-up-and-coming Diahann Carroll as a woman who was trying to hide out from her deranged husband, who had threatened to kill her. Gunn takes her case, and winds up having to help her hide when her husband shows up again. Good episode, too. The actor who played her husband--I can't recall his full name---played in Stanley Kubrick's The Killing.
shareGlad to see a good comment with no rant :)..yes, TPSS had some intergrated actors, and very commendable..one guy even stopped Phil on the streets in his home city, NYC, trying to rob him...only to discover that it was Phil, then apologizing, saying, "you're okay"(Source: Per "TV'S BIGGEST HITS", 1980,1984. Rick Mitz)
shareLol---so being famous saved him from actually getting robbed? That's something!
shareI remember a Private Palmer as a regular and a Sergeant Burch featuring once or twice.
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