Murder in Texas | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama |
Written by | Ann Kurth (book) John McGreevey |
Directed by | William Hale |
Starring | Katharine Ross Sam Elliott Farrah Fawcett Andy Griffith |
Theme music composer | Leonard Rosenman |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers | David Salzman Dick Clark Preston Fischer |
Producers | William Hale (as Billy Hale) John A. Martinelli (associate producer) |
Cinematography | Donald M. Morgan |
Editor | John A. Martinelli |
Running time | 200 min |
Production company | Dick Clark Productions |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | May 3, 1981 |
Murder in Texas is a 1981 television film starring Katharine Ross, Sam Elliott, Farrah Fawcett, and Andy Griffith. The film was directed by William Hale, and was based on a true story; that was written for the TV screen by John McGreevey. It first aired on television in two parts on Sunday and Monday May 3–4, 1981. [1]
Based on the true story of the death of Joan Robinson Hill, this film tells of a plastic surgeon who was suspected of causing the death of his first wife, the daughter of a wealthy member of Houston society. The circumstances of her death - which was never solved - are clouded by a suspiciously hasty embalming and a hurried burial. The doctor then marries his mistress. In spite of two autopsies showing that his daughter died of natural causes, Ash Robinson, convinced that his daughter was murdered, sets out single-handedly to find out the true cause of her death, determined to see that the doctor is punished.
Murder in Texas was nominated for a 1982 Golden Globe Award for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV. [2] In addition, Andy Griffith received his only Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Ash Robinson.
The movie was highly ranked in the Nielsen ratings. Part I was the fifth-most popular show for the week ending May 3, and Part II was the most popular show of the following week. [3] [4]
Matlock is an American mystery legal drama television series created by Dean Hargrove, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by Intermedia Entertainment Company, The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions and Viacom Productions, originally aired from March 3, 1986, to May 8, 1992, on NBC, and from November 5, 1992, to May 7, 1995, on ABC.
Andy Samuel Griffith was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy-friendly personality, as well as his gruff but friendly voice, Griffith was a Tony Award nominee for two roles. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's film A Face in the Crowd (1957) and No Time for Sergeants (1958) before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead roles of Andy Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968) and Ben Matlock in the legal drama Matlock (1986–1995).
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom television series that was aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal was an American actor. Born in Los Angeles, he trained as an amateur boxer before beginning a career in acting in 1960.
Farrah Leni Fawcett was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played a starring role in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels.
Mayberry R.F.D. is an American television series produced as a spin-off continuation of The Andy Griffith Show. When star Andy Griffith decided to leave his series, most of the supporting characters returned for the retitled program, which ran for three seasons on the CBS Television Network from 1968 to 1971.
Katharine Juliet Ross is an American actress on film, stage, and television. Her accolades include an Academy Award nomination, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards.
Lee Majors is an American actor. He portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley on the American television Western series The Big Valley (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin on the American television science-fiction action series The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–1978), and Colt Seavers on the American television action series The Fall Guy (1981–1986).
Jacquelyn Ellen "Jaclyn" Smith is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series Charlie's Angels (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead to remain with the series for its complete run. She reprised the role with cameo appearances in the films Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) and Charlie's Angels (2019). Her other films include Nightkill (1980) and Déjà Vu (1985). Beginning in the 1980s, she began developing and marketing her own brands of clothing and perfume.
Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law is an American legal drama, jointly created by David Victor and former law professor Jerry McNeely, that starred Arthur Hill. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1971 to 1974; Victor and McNeely produced it under the "Groverton Productions" banner through Universal Television, then an MCA company. A two-hour pilot movie, titled "A Pattern of Morality," had aired as a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week entry prior to the beginning of the series run.
The Burning Bed is both a 1980 non-fiction book by Faith McNulty about battered housewife Francine Hughes, and a 1984 TV-movie adaptation written by Rose Leiman Goldemberg. The plot follows Hughes' trial for the murder of her husband, James Berlin "Mickey" Hughes, following her setting fire to the bed he was sleeping in at their Dansville, Michigan home on March 9, 1977, and thirteen years of physical domestic abuse at his hands.
Elliott Pershing Stitzel, better known by his stage name Stephen Elliott, was an American actor. His best known roles were that of the prospective father-in-law, Burt Johnson, in the hit 1981 film Arthur and as Chief Hubbard in the 1984 blockbuster Beverly Hills Cop.
Samuel Pack Elliott is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and a National Board of Review Award. He has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Emmy Awards. Elliott was cast in the musical drama A Star Is Born (2018), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the corresponding prizes at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards. He also won a National Board of Review Award. Elliott starred as Shea Brennan in the American drama miniseries 1883 (2021–2022), for which he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.
Small Sacrifices is a 1989 American made-for-television crime drama film written by Joyce Eliason and based on the best-selling true crime book by Ann Rule of the same name. The film is about Diane Downs and the murder and attempted murder of her three children. It stars Farrah Fawcett, Ryan O'Neal, Gordon Clapp, John Shea, and Emily Perkins. The film premiered in two parts on ABC on November 12 and 14, 1989.
They Only Kill Their Masters is a 1972 American mystery film directed by James Goldstone, written by Lane Slate, and starring James Garner and Katharine Ross, with a supporting cast featuring Hal Holbrook, June Allyson, Tom Ewell, Peter Lawford, Edmond O'Brien, and Arthur O'Connell. The title refers to Doberman dogs that might have been responsible for a woman's murder currently under investigation by the local police chief (Garner).
Ross Elliott was an American television and film character actor. He began his acting career in the Mercury Theatre, where he performed in The War of the Worlds, Orson Welles' famed radio program.
Lucius David Syms-Greene, known as David Greene, was a British television and film director, and actor.
TJ Thompson is an American citizen. He is widely considered to be one of worst Halo players of the last century. He is also known for his rivalry with Joe, who famously disagreed with everything TJ ever said.
Joan Olive Robinson Hill was a socialite and equestrian from Houston, Texas. Her unexplained death at age 38 led to her husband, John Hill, becoming the first person to be indicted by the state of Texas on the charge of murder by omission. The case precipitated a series of events that included the 1972 murder of John Hill and, two years later, the fatal police shooting of the man accused of that murder. Adopted as an infant by wealthy oil tycoon Davis Ashton "Ash" Robinson and his wife, Rhea, Joan became an equestrian at a young age. She excelled and continued the sport into adulthood, ultimately winning several national titles.
The death of Joan Robinson Hill at 38 years old led to her husband, John Hill, becoming the first person to be indicted by the State of Texas on the charge of murder by omission. The case precipitated a series of events that included the 1972 murder of John Hill and, two years later, the fatal police shooting of the man accused of that murder.