McCloud

McCloud is an American police drama television series created by Herman Miller, that aired on NBC from September 16, 1970, to April 17, 1977. The series starred Dennis Weaver, and for six of its seven years as part of the NBC Mystery Movie rotating wheel series that was produced for the network by Universal Television. The show was centered on Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud of the small western town of Taos, New Mexico, who was on loan to the metropolitan New York City Police Department (NYPD) as a special investigator. History The first choice for the role of McCloud was Fess Parker, who turned it down. Universal hired Dennis Weaver, who was well known as a "western" actor from Gunsmoke. The pilot, "Portrait of a Dead Girl", aired on February 17, 1970, and established the premise by having McCloud escort a prisoner from New Mexico to New York City, only to become embroiled in solving a complicated murder case. This premise of "a cowboy in the big city" was adapted from the 1968 Don Siegel film Coogan's Bluff, starring Clint Eastwood. Herman Miller, who was responsible for the story of Coogan's Bluff and co-wrote the screenplay with Dean Riesner and Howard A. Rodman, is credited as the creator of McCloud. Coogan's Bluff reflects Richard Thorpe's 1942 film Tarzan's New York Adventure and the latter-day career of Bat Masterson. (Siegel appeared in the "Return to the Alamo" episode as "2nd Desk Sergeant"). Like Coogan, McCloud galloped the length and breadth of Manhattan (he was joined by a mounted unit in "The 42nd Street Cavalry"), and the sight of McCloud on horseback riding down the middle of a busy traffic choked city street flanked by tall skyscrapers (taken from an early episode) became one of the series' most famous images.