The The Fugitive an American television series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen starred as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death penalty. En route to death row, Kimble's train derails and crashes, allowing him to escape and begin a cross-country search for the real killer, a "one-armed man" (played by Bill Raisch). At the same time, Dr. Kimble is hounded by the authorities, most notably by Stafford Police Lieutenant Philip Gerard (Barry Morse).

The show's popularity sparked a 1997 motion picture re-make. most fans preferred the original. Of course.

David Janssen Like Clark Gable, David Janssen lost quite a few film roles in the early stages of his career because his ears were "too big" and -- also like Gable-- he did pretty well for himself in the long run. The son of a former beauty queen-stage mother, Janssen was virtually s trong-armed into show business, appearing as a child actor on-stage and as a juvenile performer in such films as Swamp_Fire (1946).

Signed to a Universal contract in 1950, David Janssen showed up fleetingly in films both big-budget (To Hell and Back) and small (Francis Goes to West Point). Full stardom eluded Janssen until 1957, when he was personally selected by actor/producer Dick Powell to star in the TV version of Powell's radio series Richard_Diamond,_Private_Detective. Though he didn't exactly become a millionaire (for several years he earned a beggarly 750 dollars per week), Janssen's saleability soared as a result of his three-year Diamond gig, and by 1960 he was earning top billing in such Allied Artists productions as King of the Roaring 20s (1960), in which he played gambler Arnold Rothstein, and Hell to Eternity (1960). In 1963, he landed his signature role of Dr. Richard Kimble on TV's The Fugitive. For the next four years, Janssen/Kimble perambulated throughout the country in search of the "one-armed man" who committed the murder for which Kimble was sentenced to death, all the while keeping one step ahead of his dogged pursuer, Lieutenant Gerard (Barry Morse). The final episode of The Fugitive, telecast in August of 1967, was for many years the highest-rated TV episode in history. There was little Janssen could do to top that, though he continued appearing in such films as Warning Shot (1967) and Green_Berets (1969), and starring in such TV series as O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (1971) and Harry_O (1974-1976). David Janssen died of a sudden heart attack at age 49, not long after completing his final TV movie, City in Fear (1980). Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Fugitive, along with "Peyton Place," set the course for later prime time serial dramas such as "Dynasty." The series gave newer network on the block ABC what it needed, a blockbuster series to wean viewers away from CBS and NBC, Du Mont was becoming a faded memory. The series was always a cover story in screen fanzines which added to ABC's attention getting delight. Robert Conrad, episode announcer whose ominous snarl prepared us for the worst with Kimble's predicament, became TV detective "Canon" years later for the same production company, Quinn-Martin. Barry Morse, the tail gating cop. would later be up in UK's "Space:1999."

RATE THIS OLDIES TV DRAMA CLASSIC