79 Park Avenue

79 Park Avenue (alternate title Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue) is an American miniseries directed by Paul Wendkos and broadcast on television on October 16–18, 1977 on NBC, in three two-hour installments on three consecutive nights. It is based on the 1955 novel of the same name by Harold Robbins.

79 Park Avenue
Written byHarold Robbins (novel), Richard DeRoy (adaptation, screenplay Part I), Jack Guss (screenplay Part II), Lionel E. Siegel (screenplay Part III)
Directed byPaul Wendkos
StarringLesley Ann Warren, Marc Singer, David Dukes
Music byNelson Riddle
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerGeorge Eckstein
ProducerPaul Wendkos
Release
Original networkNBC
Original release
  • October 16, 1977 (1977-10-16)

Cast

Production

It stars Lesley Ann Warren as a prostitute and Marc Singer as a gangster struggling to survive in the 1930s. David Dukes, Barbara Barrie, Raymond Burr, and Polly Bergen co-starred.[1][2][3][4]

The teleplay was split among three writers, with Richard DeRoy doing the first part, Jack Guss the second, and Lionel E. Siegel the third.[5]

Reception

The show was a ratings success. Part I (which debuted on Sunday October 16, 1977) was the 10th most watched show in the United States for the week (22.3 rating, 16.3 million homes)[6] and the ratings momentum jumped for the last two installments. Part II (Monday, October 17, 1977) was the second-most watched primetime show for the following week (29.9 rating, 21.8 million homes), and Part III (Tuesday October 18) was third. (27.7 rating, 20.2 million homes).[7]

The critical reviews of the series were not positive, but not overly vicious, recognizing the series for what it was and no more. Tom Shales of The Washington Post called the series a "laughable tawdry throwback to movie eyebrow raisers of the '50s, though without any of their appealingly cheap panache. Television loves to raise the subject of sex and then avoid it like the plague."[8] Joan Hanauer of UPI described the series as "what is usually called a 'woman's show'", meaning, "the romance is unrealistically sentimental and the moral tone is high, which in no way interferes with depicting the sleaziest kind of sex." She found the second installment to be strongest of he three.[9]

And although he credited the performances of the lead actors, John J. O'Connor of The New York Times was also underwhelmed by the series, calling it an "already tired story ... manufactured for mass consumption with all of the artistic concern afforded a can of baked beans."[10] O'Connor's year end review of 1977 television referred to 79 Park Avenue and Aspen as "dumb pot-boilers" which "tarnished considerably" the "promising concept of mini-series."[11]

That the series might be somewhat controversial due to the sexual nature of the story was known from the beginning. Executive Producer George Eckstein admitted "broadcasting standards people got very apprehensive when it was announced that this property was going to be on TV."[12] And when Fred Silverman took over at NBC in June 1978, he promised to stop lurid programming like 79 Park Avenue. Silverman stopped plans for a sequel to the miniseries[13] and also halted a planned rerun in 1979.[14]

Awards

Warren won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama.[15]

References
  1. Buck, Jerry (14 October 1977). '79 Park Avenue' Book Needed Careful Editing For TV, Santa Cruz Sentinel (Associated Press story)
  2. Beck, Marilyn (28 September 1977). Warren is happy with hooker role, San Bernardino Sun (Gannett New Service story)
  3. Sharbutt, Jay (5 October 1977). Only One Lesley Ann Warren, Santa Cruz Sentinel (Associated Press content)
  4. (16 October 1977). Cinderella on Park Avenue, The Boston Globe
  5. (9 September 1977). 79 Park Avenue New Mini-Series, Dixon Evening Telegraph
  6. (21 October 1977). World Series Big Hit, Santa Cruz Sentinel (Associated Press story)
  7. (27 October 1977). ABC Tops in Television Ratings, Desert Sun (Associated Press content)
  8. (15 October 1977). Imitating Life on 'Park Avenue', The Washington Post
  9. Hanauer, Joan (15 October 1977). Unhappy Hooker at '79 Park', Galesburg Register Mail (UPI content)
  10. O'Connor, John J. (23 October 1977). Pretenses Aside, It's Titillation As Usual, The New York Times
  11. O'Connor, John J. (31 Decembre 1977). Picking television's best -- and worst -- of 1977, San Bernardino Sun (The New York Times news service)
  12. Henninger, Paul (12 October 1977). Robbins' potboiler gets stirred by NBC, San Bernardino Sun (Gannett News Service story), p. C-6.
  13. Maurice, Dick (21 November 1978). No more beer in store for TV's Archie Bunker, Desert Sun
  14. (25 July 1979). Brokerage firm is enamored by films, San Bernardino Sun
  15. "The 35th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1978)". GoldenGlobes.com. Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Retrieved 2 May 2015.
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