Slattery's People

Slattery's People
Crenna with guest star Ed Wynn, 1964.
GenreDrama
Created byJames E. Moser
StarringRichard Crenna
Ed Asner
Tol Avery
Theme music composerNathan Scott
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes36
Production
Executive producerJames E. Moser
ProducerMatthew Rapf
Production companiesBing Crosby Productions,
in association with Pendick Enterprises and the CBS Television Network (filmed at the studios of Desilu)
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 21, 1964 (1964-09-21) –
November 26, 1965 (1965-11-26)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Slattery's People is a 1964–65 American television series about local politics starring Richard Crenna as title character James Slattery, a state legislator, co-starring Ed Asner and Tol Avery, and featuring Carroll O'Connor and Warren Oates in a couple of episodes each. James E. Moser was executive producer. The program, telecast on CBS, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Slattery's People is mainly notable for having been one of the few American television series spotlighting the travails of local politicians, a topic that other programs of the period mainly avoided. Episodes opened with the following admonition: "Democracy is a very bad form of government. But I ask you never to forget: All the others are so much worse."[1]

Many television critics highly praised the series. Many politicians also approved of the program. U.S. Representative James C. Corman said in a Congressional Record statement on September 30, 1964, “I am pleased that they have taken the high road to show a legislator’s life, and have not pandered to sensationalism or unreality to stimulate an audience following.” This series was a major career change for Crenna. Following more than a decade as a lead actor in two popular network comedies, Our Miss Brooks and The Real McCoys, his role as Jim Slattery opened doors for later guest appearances in several dramatic programs and feature films.

Moser's script for the pilot ("Question: What is truth?") was printed as an appendix in Teleplay; an introduction to television writing by Coles Trapnell.

Television composer Nathan Scott wrote the theme music for Slattery's People.[2]

  1. ^ "- YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
  2. ^ Burlingame, Jon (2010-03-03). "Nathan Scott, 94, scored TV shows - Composer's credits included 'Dragnet,' 'Lassie'". Variety. Retrieved 2010-03-10.