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The White Shadow

J

joeybabe25

I was a tremendous fan of "THe White Show" when it was on CBS in the late 70's and early 80's. It was realistic, extremely well written and superbly acted. That the show only lasted 54 episodes is a real shame.

All 54 episodes are on YouTube, and tonight for the first time in years I watched few. Although a show of it's time, it does not seem terribly dated. I doubt the inner city has changed that much, even in the 30+ years.

In the second season the show made a gutsy move. They killed, onscreen, a regular member of the cast. This was the episode where Curtis Jackson was in a liquor store getting wine for a celebration party and he is shot to death during a robbery of the store.

I will never forget seeing that for the first time so many years ago and thinking "Wow, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this". The series was awesome, and Ken Johnson deserved an Emmy for his role.

Does anyone know if anything like this has happened on night time television before; where a regular character is killed onscreen? I know for one reason or another different tv characters have died as a part of the series, but I don't remember one ever like this.

"The White Shadow" was one of televisions real highlights.

Joe
 
TORCHWOOD PREMIERE SPOILER BELOW...

On British TV, the series "Torchwood" killed off a character in the first episode that had been shown in all pre-premiere promos and PR as being a full cast member. Nice little shock for those tuning in.

(Oh, come on, that's not a spoiler any longer...)
 
I wonder how the actor who played Curtis Jackson in WS felt about losing a nice gig? I wonder if there was something other than the storyline that caused the producers to kill him off?

Joe
 
I also thought The White Shadow was a great show. IIRC, it was produced by the late Bruce Paltrow - father of Gwyneth.

I don't think Ken Howard (Coach Reeves) gets enough recognition - he's an excellent dramatic and comic actor. Two recent Howard gigs of note:

- Ed Truck - the former (before Michael Scott) Manager of the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin on The Office.

- Hank Hooper, the CEO of Kabletown on 30 Rock.
 
I highly doubt these happened on-screen, but the late CBS sudzer "The Guiding Light" ....on at least two seperate occasions...one in the late 50's, and another in the 90's....killed off major characters who could be considered fan favorites.

In each case...huge negative fan reaction hurt the show for years afterward.
 
According to the series creator 'Revenge' will kill off a long-time cast member in its season finale next Sunday. There has been massive speculation on who this might be but the only hint offered by Mike Kelley is that it will be someone with the show since the beginning.
 
The big difference in the killing (or death by other means) of a regular character is whether or not it is onscreen.

I think that it is rare.

Joe
 
Lkeller said:
I don't think Ken Howard (Coach Reeves) gets enough recognition - he's an excellent dramatic and comic actor. Two recent Howard gigs of note:

- Ed Truck - the former (before Michael Scott) Manager of the Scranton branch of Dunder-Mifflin on The Office.
Click to expand...

"Shadow" was part of the MTM family, so it was a given that it would be a quality production.

Ironically, Howard's character on "The Office"--who I think was only on one or two episodes at most--was killed (offscreen) on the show in gruesome fashion. He was decapitated in an auto accident.

Two other characters that were killed off:

*Perhaps the most famous: McLean Stevenson's Henry Blake character was killed off in the last scene of the final episode of MASH in its third season. The cast assumed Blake flying away would end it, but then producers then gave them another page that had Radar announcing (in the busy OR) his death, with a final pan of the stunned characters.

*In 1991, Peter Horton's character on "Thirtysomething" died in a car accident.
 
BD Sullivan said:
*Perhaps the most famous: McLean Stevenson's Henry Blake character was killed off in the last scene of the final episode of MASH in its third season.
Click to expand...

Not for those of us who saw "Mr. Roberts" from which this scene was taken.
 
As for characters getting killed right there in the storyline:

1.) On the original daytime Dark Shadows, in 1841 parallel time, Reverend Trask shoots the witch Angelique, right after she gave up her powers to convince Barnabas Collins she loved him. As she dies in his arms, Barnabas realizes he truly does love her. (If he had realized this three years or so earlier, half of the Collins Family could have been saved.) DS also shows the heroine Josette leaping off the Widow's Hill cliff to avoid becoming a vampire. (Twilight hadn't yet made vampirism cool.) Dr. Woodard, a busy body who tries to out Barnabas as a vampire is killed in a traffic accident right on the show - Angelique found him a pest. In the colonial era, Naomi Collins drank poisoned liquor for all the viewers after losing both of her children. Barnabas kills Colonel Nathan Forbes after Forbes learns his secret. In Victorian times, we see Barnabas get staked by Edward Collins. Finally, poor Abe Vigoda, guest starring as a watchmaker, is mauled by a werewolf. (This was quite a graphic scene for its time, and a good introduction to the show to many cities seeing the show for the first time after it changed times.)

2.) On LA Law, a female character turned to enter an elevator, but there was no elevator, and she fell down the shaft.

3.) On one episode of All In The Family, a pro-Israeli advocate leaves the Bunkers house after a visit (he said they needed protection after a swastika is mistakenly painted on Archie's door. After a few seconds of discussion between the four family members, there is a big explosion sound. The Bunkers rush to their door and look outside. All four are stunned. Archie says, "They blew him up in his car."
 
joeybabe25 said:
I wonder how the actor who played Curtis Jackson in WS felt about losing a nice gig? I wonder if there was something other than the storyline that caused the producers to kill him off?

Joe
Click to expand...
He was more than likely going to be written out at the end of the season, anyway, since his character was a high school senior. There were at least two more members of the team, Goldstein and Gomez, that were written out of the show for the third season because they were seniors, also, in the second season. Goldstein joined the Marines and Gomez had gotten married and had a child. There may have been another team member or two that had "Graduated" at the end of the second season.
 
Dighton Rockhead said:
I highly doubt these happened on-screen, but the late CBS sudzer "The Guiding Light" ....on at least two seperate occasions...one in the late 50's, and another in the 90's....killed off major characters who could be considered fan favorites.

In each case...huge negative fan reaction hurt the show for years afterward.
Click to expand...

of course, daytime soaps have killed off major charaters for years (and frequently "resurrect" them later). My mom was a huge Edge of Night fan in the early '60s (when it was on CBS) and they killed off a young mother (wife of the series' hero). They were flooded with letters, but the show survived.
 
jwk1979 said:
He was more than likely going to be written out at the end of the season, anyway, since his character was a high school senior. There were at least two more members of the team, Goldstein and Gomez, that were written out of the show for the third season because they were seniors, also, in the second season. Goldstein joined the Marines and Gomez had gotten married and had a child. There may have been another team member or two that had "Graduated" at the end of the second season.
Click to expand...
After further research, there were three other characters that were written out at the end of season two, as their characters were also "Seniors" during that season. Besides Curtis Jackson, Gomez and Goldstein, Milton Reese, Hayward and team manager Phil were also written out as being seniors. THe White Shadow was attempting to be a true portrayal of high school by actually having the kids graduate from high school instead of having them play for the high school basketball for 5 or 6 years. If the White Shadow had been renewed for a 4th season, it was highly likely that Cooledge, Salami and the character played by Kevin Hooks would have been written out following the 3rd season.
 
jwk1979 said:
jwk1979 said:
He was more than likely going to be written out at the end of the season, anyway, since his character was a high school senior. There were at least two more members of the team, Goldstein and Gomez, that were written out of the show for the third season because they were seniors, also, in the second season. Goldstein joined the Marines and Gomez had gotten married and had a child. There may have been another team member or two that had "Graduated" at the end of the second season.
Click to expand...
After further research, there were three other characters that were written out at the end of season two, as their characters were also "Seniors" during that season. Besides Curtis Jackson, Gomez and Goldstein, Milton Reese, Hayward and team manager Phil were also written out as being seniors. THe White Shadow was attempting to be a true portrayal of high school by actually having the kids graduate from high school instead of having them play for the high school basketball for 5 or 6 years. If the White Shadow had been renewed for a 4th season, it was highly likely that Cooledge, Salami and the character played by Kevin Hooks would have been written out following the 3rd season.
Click to expand...

Though you have to keep in mind that a TV season does not necessarily equate to one year. There's no reason that you can't have actors playing kids in a typical 4 year high school, and cover it in 6 or 7 seasons. The only problem, of course is that the "kids" (usally 18 or over in real life when the show starts) are hitting their late 20s if the show has a long run.

Remember M*A*SH*, and the 11 year "tour" Hawkeye was forced to serve. No wonder he was bitter and had gray hair by the end. ;D
 
joeybabe25 said:
In the second season the show made a gutsy move. They killed, onscreen, a regular member of the cast. This was the episode where Curtis Jackson was in a liquor store getting wine for a celebration party and he is shot to death during a robbery of the store.
Does anyone know if anything like this has happened on night time television before; where a regular character is killed onscreen? I know for one reason or another different tv characters have died as a part of the series, but I don't remember one ever like this.
Click to expand...

I believe that James Garner's character in one of his shows was killed off but his (again I don't remember the series) look-alike brother or cousin was introduced.

Harry-O: Again memory fails me here, but I believe that after the first season the police officer Harry was buddies with was killed off and replaced with Anthony Zerbe as the show moved from San Diego to Los Angeles because of production costs.

Kathleen Nolan's character of Kate on "The Real McCoy's" died (in the series not real life) leaving Richard Crenna's character of Luke a widower. From what I read Nolan and the producers of the show decided to part company. ("Creative differences?")
 
I do remember "The White Shadow" - most of the episodes were directed by Bruce Paltrow (Gwyneth's dad), who also directed other MTM dramas. (Kevin Hooks, Eric Laneuville and Timothy Van Patten would later become TV directors.)

I recall the scenes where the guys would sing in the shower after their games or gym class; they did a pretty good rendition of "Duke of Earl" once. Another episode had them cutting a record, using the name "Shower of Power" for their group. They took it to Frazer Smith, a popular DJ, and persuaded him to air it; he did, and the listeners called in to say how much they hated it....
 
I always "loved" how Grant Tinker and Bruce Paltrow couldn't find a genuine Hispanic actor to play Gomez on The White Shadow.

I'm sure they lost sleep over it.
 
I can't believe Jill Hennessey's on-screen "death" in Law & Order's "Aftershock" hasn't been mentioned.
 
Lkeller said:
Though you have to keep in mind that a TV season does not necessarily equate to one year. There's no reason that you can't have actors playing kids in a typical 4 year high school, and cover it in 6 or 7 seasons. The only problem, of course is that the "kids" (usally 18 or over in real life when the show starts) are hitting their late 20s if the show has a long run.

Remember M*A*SH*, and the 11 year "tour" Hawkeye was forced to serve. No wonder he was bitter and had gray hair by the end. ;D
Click to expand...
The White Shadow was attempting to show realistic portrayal of high school and of high school atheletics. Plus, each season of the White Shadow was treated as High School Basketball season in itself. At the end of the first season, Carver didn't make the playoffs. At the end of the second season, Carver won the district championship. Season 3, they were rebuilding their team.

Also, the actors were all in their mid to late 20s at the time and a few of them were starting to look a little too old to still be in high school.
 
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