July 14 - 20, 2024
celebrityupdate
BY JAY BOBBIN
Andy Griffith OF MATLOCK ON METV Q: I see that a new version of “Matlock” is coming, but I still enjoy watching the original series with Andy Griffith. When did that start, and how long did it run? A: The show’s history began with a 1986 NBC movie titled “Diary of a Perfect Murder,” with folksy lawyer Ben Matlock and his daughter Charlene (then played by Lori Lethin) handling the defense for a television reporter suspected of killing his ex-wife. The film’s ratings were good enough for the network to order a weekly series, and “Matlock” premiered that fall, though Linda Purl assumed the role of Charlene for that version … but only for the first season. Interestingly, a two-part “Matlock” episode from its first NBC year served as the basis for “Jake and the Fatman,” the William Conrad-Joe Penny show that aired on CBS. Though its ratings lessened from year to year, “Matlock” remained a staple of the NBC lineup for five more seasons. With Purl’s exit, explained by Charlene’s departure to start her own firm, Nancy Stafford (who had appeared in a first-year episode in a different rolle) was cast as the elder Matlock’s new law partner Michelle Thomas. Griffith’s former sitcom co-star Don Knotts became a notable recurring guest as Matlock’s neighbor. When NBC elected to cancel “Matlock” in 1992, ABC stepped in and picked up the show, ultimately giving it three more seasons. Stafford left the cast and was replaced by Brynn Thayer, who — like Stafford — had appeared on the series earlier. Also joining for the ABC run was Daniel Roebuck as a novice attorney, and he stayed for the remainder of the show, though Thayer was succeeded in the final year by Carol Huston as another of Matlock’s associates. Griffith actually made his final appearance as Matlock after the series ended, reprising the part in an episode of “Diagnosis Murder” opposite the latter show’s star, Dick Van Dyke … who had been a guest in the first weekly “Matlock” story.
Yuji Okumoto in “Cobra Kai”
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