Roll Out
Roll Out is an American sitcom that aired Friday evenings on CBS during the 1973-1974 television season. Starring nightclub comedian Stu Gilliam and Hilly Hicks, and featuring Ed Begley Jr. and Garrett Morris, the series was set in France during World War II and was loosely based on the 1952 film Red Ball Express.
| Roll Out | |
|---|---|
 Stu Gilliam (top) and Hilly Hicks. | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Larry Gelbart Gene Reynolds |
| Written by | Gene Reynolds Don Weis Richard Kinon William Wiard |
| Directed by | William Wiard |
| Starring | Ed Begley Jr. Garrett Morris Rod Gist Mel Stewart Jimmy Lydon Stu Gilliam Hilly Hicks Darrow Igus |
| Theme music composer | Dave Grusin |
| Composers | J. J. Johnson ("Dark Victory") Benny Golson Dave Grusin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Gene Reynolds Larry Gelbart |
| Cinematography | Robert C. Moreno |
| Editors | Joseph Gluck Neil Travis |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company | 20th Century Fox Television |
| Distributor | 20th Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | October 5, 1973 – January 4, 1974 |
Actor Jimmy Lydon, familiar as a juvenile lead in the 1940s, was cast as an Army captain. His character's name was Henry Aldrich; the same name he used in Paramount's comedy features of the 1940s.
Synopsis
In an effort to cash in on the success of M*A*S*H, CBS decided to air another Army comedy. Instead of Army medics, Roll Out highlighted the pratfalls of the supply drivers of the 5050th Quartermaster Truck Company of the U.S. Third Army's Red Ball Express, whose staff was mainly African American. The series attempted to use the World War II setting as a commentary on race relations, just as M*A*S*H's Korean War setting was also a commentary on the Vietnam War.
Roll Out aired opposite ABC's The Odd Couple. Subsequently, Roll Out failed to win its timeslot and was canceled halfway through its sole season. It was replaced on February 8, 1974, by Good Times, a spin-off of Maude starring Esther Rolle and John Amos, which would run for six seasons.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Stu Gilliam | Corporal Carter "Sweet" Williams |
| Hilly Hicks | Private First Class Jed Brooks |
| Ed Begley Jr. | Lieutenant Robert Chapman |
| Garrett Morris | Wheels Dawson |
| Mel Stewart | Sergeant B.J. Bryant |
| Jimmy Lydon | Captain Henry Aldrich |
| Teddy Wilson | High Strung |
| Rob Gist | Phone Booth |
| Darrow Igus | Jersey Hampton |
| Val Bisoglio | Captain Rocco Calvelli |
| Sam Laws | Sergeant Grease |
| Penny Santon | Madame Delacourt |
| Dana Brady | Dominique Delacourt |
Episodes
| Nº | Title | Air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | October 5, 1973 | |
| We meet the men of the "Red Ball Express" a mostly black Army transportation unit based in World War II France. In the debut episode we see how Sweet honors a fellow driver's his last wish by organizing a New Orleans-style funeral. | |||
| 2 | "Sunday, Sweet Sunday" | October 12, 1973 | |
| Sweet accepts Jed's invitation for a Sunday drive to church, but Sweet does not plan to go to church. | |||
| 3 | "Dark Victory" | October 19, 1973 | |
| Sweet and Jed accept a volunteer mission and stand a good chance to return as heroes, if they survive. | |||
| 4 | "Strange Bedfellows" | October 26, 1973 | |
| As part of a contest, Sweet gets a chance to travel to Paris. | |||
| 5 | "Dear Rocco" | November 2, 1973 | |
| When the mail truck explodes, Captain Calvelli receives only half of a "Dear John" letter, but that is enough to make him crazy. | |||
| 6 | "Sweet Millions" | November 16, 1973 | |
| Sweet finds a bag of $100 bills inside a hollow tree and everyone else is miffed by his new affluent attitude. | |||
| 7 | "Members of the Wedding" | November 23, 1973 | |
| The drivers are tasked with delivering a gift to a General's wedding, but the job is tougher than they originally thought. | |||
| 8 | "The Paper Caper" | November 30, 1973 | |
| Sweet and the boys are turned into unlikely safe crackers. | |||
| 9 | "No Wages – All Fear" | December 14, 1973 | |
| Sweet's "high-living, always-jiving" attitude drives Jed crazy. | |||
| 10 | "Christmas the '44" | December 21, 1973 | |
| The Company's Christmas looks pretty gloomy until a bunch of orphans come into their lives. | |||
| 11 | "Honor Truck" | December 28, 1973 | |
| When Sweet realizes that the winner of "honor truck" will win a pass to Paris, nothing, including fair play, will stop him from winning. | |||
| 12 | "Didn't He Ramble?" | January 4, 1974 | |
| Sweet gets an honorable discharge after he sprains his ankle. | |||
