Walking Tall (TV series)

Walking Tall
GenreDrama
Written byLee Sheldon
Starring
ComposerEdd Kalehoff
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes7
Production
Executive producerDavid Gerber
ProducerMel Swope
Production locationNewhall, Santa Clarita, California
CinematographyWilliam Gereghty
Editors
  • Bob Fish
  • Richard Freeman
  • Rod Stephens
Running time60 min
Production companyDavid Gerber Company Inc.
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseJanuary 17 (1981-01-17) –
June 6, 1981 (1981-06-06)
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Walking Tall is an American television drama series that ran on NBC in 1981 for one season of seven episodes. The first 5 episodes aired Saturday nights at 9:00 p.m. (opposite the ABC series The Love Boat). The last 2 episodes aired Tuesday nights at 10:00 p.m. (opposite ABC's Hart to Hart). NBC reran all 7 episodes from April–June 1981. This one-hour show was a continuation of the 1973 film Walking Tall, which was based on the life of McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser. In this series, Pusser is the sheriff of the fictionalized McNeal County, Tennessee, fighting criminals each week in 1969.

Bo Svenson played Pusser, whom he had played before in Walking Tall Part 2 (1975) and Walking Tall: Final Chapter (1977). (Brian Dennehy played Pusser in A Real American Hero in 1978 on CBS).

The rest of the cast included:

L.Q. Jones appeared in one segment as John Witter, Pusser's long-time nemesis.

Guest stars included Robert Englund, William Windom, Chuck Connors, Merlin Olsen, Ralph Bellamy, Gail Strickland, James MacArthur, and Art Hindle.

The theme song "Walking Tall" was sung by Brad Mercer. At the time, Svenson was the highest-paid actor in a television series. [citation needed]