September 13, 1974: A Big Night of Premieres On NBC

James Garner

September 13, 1974: It's a big night for NBC: The Peacock Network premieres 3 legendary shows. 
 
The crime drama The Rockford Files returns James Garner to TV. He plays Jim Rockford, a private detective who was pardoned after 5 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He lives in Malibu, but in a trailer he can barely afford, instead of a fancy beach house; and takes cases 25 miles down the coast in Los Angeles.

The show was co-created by Roy Huggins, toward the end of a career that was highlighted by The Fugitive; and Stephen J. Cannell, toward the beginning of a career that would include many other action-dramas. It makes Garner, already popular through the 1957-62 ABC Western Maverick and several movies, a superstar.

Mike Post wrote the great theme song. Too bad TV studios won't spring for a great one-minute opening like that anymore. The show runs for 6 seasons, until 1980, plus 8 TV-movies from 1994 to 1999. Garner died in 2014.

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James Komack's sitcom Chico and the Man premiered, making a huge star of comedian Freddie Prinze. José Feliciano sang the theme song. Prinze played Chico, who works in a garage in East Los Angeles, owned by Ed, a grumpy old widower played by Jack Albertson, who lets Chico live in a van on the property. Ed had to deal with the neighborhood's changing demographics, while Chico was a part of it.

Prinze suffered from depression, and took his own life shortly before filming for the 3rd season ended. The writers explained that Chico went to visit relatives in Mexico. The show was still getting good ratings, so a 4th season was ordered, with a new "Chico": Raul, a 12-year-old boy played by Gabriel Melgar. It didn't work, and that was the last season.

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The crime drama Police Woman premiered, reminding everyone of what a bombshell Angie Dickinson is, even as she approaches her 43rd birthday. She plays Detective Sergeant Pepper Anderson for 4 seasons. (There is a dispute as to what Pepper's real name was, Suzanne or Lee Ann.)

Police Woman influenced later shows such as Charlie's Angels, which, in 1978, People magazine derided as a "three-shaker imitation." It caused an avalanche of applications for employment from women to police departments around the United States. Sociologists who have in recent years examined the inspiration for long-term female law enforcement officials to adopt this vocation have been surprised by how often Police Woman has been referenced. The show became big enough that President Gerald Ford considered it his favorite show, and rescheduled a press conference so as not to delay its broadcast.

The series ran for 4 seasons. As of September 13, 2022, Dickinson is still alive.

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September 13, 1974 was a Friday -- a Friday the 13th. It didn't seem to bring bad luck to those shows, though. Not immediately, anyway, though Chico and the Man did lose its star too soon.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 6-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Woodie Fryman outpitched George "Doc" Medich. Ben Oglivie and Jim Nettles, brother of Yankee 3rd baseman Graig Nettles, hit home runs. Al Kaline, in his last month as an active player, went 0-for-4. Lou Piniella drove in all the Yankees' runs with a home run.

* The New York Mets split a doubleheader with the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium. The Mets won the opener, 6-0. Tom Seaver pitched a 4-hit shutout, striking out 11, and outpitching Rick Reuschel. The Cubs won the nightcap, 4-3. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the 7th, when the Mets scored 2 runs. The Cubs scored 3 in the top of the 8th, the Mets scored 1 in the bottom of the 9th, and Ron Dunn won it for the Cubs with a home run in the top of the 11th.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at Jarry Park in Montreal. The Pirates tied the game in the top of the 9th, but in the bottom of the 9th, Barry Foote tripled Ron Woods home. Willie Stargell went 0-for-4.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The game went to the 17th inning, when the Cards got 5 runs on 4 singles, 2 walks (1 intentional), and 2 RBI sacrifice flies. The Phils got 1 run back in the bottom of the 17th, but it was far from enough.

* The Baltimore Orioles began a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The O's won the 1st game, 3-2. Mike Cuellar outpitched Dick Bosman.

The Orioles were leading 8-6 in the top of the 9th, when the Indians lodged a protest. The umpires suspended the game, and it was resumed the next night. The game finished with the same score.

Over the 2 games, Brooks Robinson went 3-for-7 with an RBI for the Orioles, and his former Baltimore teammate Frank Robinson went 3-for-9 for the Indians.

* The Chicago White Sox swept the California Angels, 8-0 and 3-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Jim Kaat pitched a 4-hit shutout in the opener.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-5 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Rico Petrocelli doubled Dwight Evans home with the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning, followed by 2 more runs. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-3 with 2 walks. Rookie Robin Yount did not play.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-5 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Rod Carew went 2-for-4 with a walk, and a home run to win the game in the bottom of the 9th inning. Harmon Killebrew struck out as a pinch-hitter. Rookie George Brett went 2-for-5.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 9-0 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Buzz Capra pitched a 6-hit shutout. Hank Aaron did not play.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Pete Rose went 0-for-5, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4.

* And the Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-4 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

January 29, 1977: The Death of Freddie Prinze

January 29, 1977: Comedian Freddie Prinze dies by suicide. He was only 22 years old.

Frederick Karl Pruetzel was born on June 22, 1954 in Manhattan, the son of a German immigrant father and a Puerto Rican mother. He dropped out of high school in his senior year, to become a standup comedian.

In spite of being half-German, he called himself a "Hunga-rican": Part Hungarian, part Puerto Rican. Since Alan King was called the King of Comedy, he billed himself as "Freddie Prinze, the Prince of Comedy." In late 1973, only 19 years old, he got his big break by appearing on The Midnight Special, which led to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He was the 1st comedian so young to impress Carson enough to be welcomed to a sit-down chat following his routine. He even went on to become the youngest of Johnny's frequent "guest hosts."

Both of those shows were on NBC, and the Peacock Network was impressed enough to give him his own sitcom at age 20: Chico and the Man, debuting on September 13, 1974. "The Man" was Jack Albertson, who ran a garage in an East Los Angeles neighborhood that had become mostly Mexican. "Chico" was Freddie as Francisco Rodriguez, who worked for him, and lived in a van on the premises. The show was a hit immediately, partly due to Chico's catchphrase: "Looking good!" with the "oo"s stretched out.

His star kept rising: Dean Martin asked him to appear on his Celebrity Roasts. In 1975, he recorded a comedy album, Looking Good. He even sang on the Tony Orlando and Dawn variety show. (Orlando, like Prinze, grew up in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, and was half-Puerto Rican. In his case, the other half was Greek.) He had married Kathy Cochran, and had a son, Freddie Prinze Jr. In September 1976, he signed a 5-year deal with NBC, worth $6 million. It all seemed to be coming together.

In reality, it was all falling apart. He was suffering from depression, and commented that, at his shows, he could no longer hear the laughter. He was taking Quaaludes, and was arrested for driving under their influence. He had cheated on his wife with actresses Raquel Welch, Pam Grier and Lonette McKee, and she had left him.

On January 28, 1977, at his home in Los Angeles, he spoke to his wife on the phone, and then his manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder, came over. While Snyder was there, Freddie took a gun, and shot himself in the head. He was taken to UCLA Medical Center and, knowing that there was no hope, his family had him removed from life support the next day.

In 1979, CBS broadcast Can You Hear the Laughter? The Freddie Prinze Story, starring Ira Angustain, which incorrectly portrayed Freddie being alone when he shot himself. Freddie Prinze Jr. later became an acting star, marrying fellow actor Sarah Michelle Gellar, and they have 2 children.

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January 29, 1977 was a Saturday. Justin Hartley, who played the superhero Green Arrow on Smallville, the first live-action version of the character, was born on this day.

Baseball and football were out of season. There were 5 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Kansas City Kings, 112-105 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Houston Rockets, 101-97 at The Omni in Atlanta. John Drew scored 37 points.

* The Washington Bullets beat the Indiana Pacers, 108-107 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons, 109-101 at the Chicago Stadium.

* And the Phoenix Suns beat the New Orleans Jazz, 118-102 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Pete Maravich scored 34 in defeat for the Jazz.

There were 7 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Los Angeles Kings, 4-0 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres played to a tie, 3-3 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins played to a tie, 3-3 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Cleveland Barons, 4-3 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The Washington Capitals beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-2 at the St. Louis Arena.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Minnesota North Stars, 4-3 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

* And the New York Rangers, the Chicago Black Hawks, the Atlanta Flames and the Colorado Rockies were not scheduled.

And there were 3 games in the World Hockey Association:

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Cincinnati Stingers, 7-2 at the Colisée de Québec.

* The Houston Aeros beat the Calgary Cowboys, 6-4 at the Stampede Corral in Calgary.

* And the San Diego Mariners beat the Winnipeg Jets, 5-3 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena).

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Coventry City, 3-1 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.