JUST FOR
FUN...
"SIX DEGREES
OF ROGER DAVIS"
Throughout his acting career, Roger frequently crossed paths with the same actors and directors on different projects. In some cases, several of those actors teamed up after crossing Roger's path and starred together in other projects. But sometimes, there were just unexplainable, weird coincidences that are noteworthy only to the most dedicated trivia buff. Anyhow, here's a list of those incidents where Roger co-starred or was directly connected with an actor or director in a specific episode or movie, and how that "path" played out:
TV PROGRAMS AND MOVIES
..........................................
DARK SHADOWS:
Grayson
Hall ("Julia Hoffman") guest starred on "Route 66" the very same night
that Roger guest starred on "The Twilight Zone," both on CBS on February
21, 1964. Also, Diana Millay ("Laura Collins") once guested on Roger's
series, "Redigo." And, when Alexandria Moltke left "Shadows" temporarily
to give birth, Roger's former wife Jaclyn Smith auditioned for her role.
Lara Parker ("Angelique") guest starred with Roger on both "The Highwayman"
and "Galactica 1980." Dennis Patrick (Jason McGuire) co-starred with
Roger in NET/PBS's "Home" and "The Bionic Woman." Also, Thayer David
("Ben Stokes") and John Karlen ("Willie Loomis") guested with Roger's former
wife Jaclyn on "Charlie's Angels."
ROUTE 66:
While Roger
never appeared in the show, he worked with two of the show's stars on later
projects: with George Maharis on "The Most Deadly Game," and with
Glenn Corbett on an episode of "Alias Smith and Jones" and in the movie
"Nashville Girl." Later, Davis worked with "66" star Martin Milner's
partner from "Adam-12," Kent McCord, on episodes of "Galactica 1980."
DALLAS and
KNOTS LANDING:
Several
of Roger's co-stars during his early career teamed up later for regular
roles on "Dallas": Dack Rambo ("River of Gold;") Barbara Eden ("Ride
the Wild Surf;") Glenn Corbett ("Alias Smith and Jones" and "Nashville
Girl;") Dennis Patrick ("Dark Shadows," "Home" and "The Bionic Woman;")
Randolph Mantooth ("Alias Smith and Jones;") Martha Scott and Martin E.
Brooks ("The Bionic Woman;") Keenan Wynn ("Alias Smith and Jones") and
director Wayne Farlow ("Aspen," Quincy" and "The Bionic Woman;") and with
others on "Knots Landing:" Michele Lee ("Alias Smith and Jones,")
James Houghton ("Alias Smith and Jones" and "Aspen,") Stuart Whitman ("Ruby,")
William Devane ("MacBird") and Michelle Phillips ("Aspen.") Stretching
things a bit, "Knots" star Julie Harris co-starred in "East of Eden," which
featured two actors that later taught Roger in an acting class at Columbia
University. And Davis barely missed out on starring with Lois Chiles
("Dallas") on "The Way We Were."
CHARLIE'S
ANGELS:
Aside from
being married to one of the three stars of the show (Jaclyn Smith, 1968-75,)
Roger crossed paths with Kate Jackson ("Dark Shadows," "Killer Bees,")
and with Farrah Fawcett's husband, Lee Majors, on "The Big Valley," "Alias
Smith and Jones" and "The Bionic Woman."
CAGNEY AND
LACEY:
Roger starred
with Sharon Gless ("Cagney") on "A Little Bit Like Murder" and "Faraday
and Company" in 1973, and co-starred with Tyne "Lacey" Daly's on-screen
husband, John Karlen, on "Dark Shadows."
MATLOCK:
The young
cult member (Wallace Langham,) that Roger protected in a 1989 episode ,starred
in the 2004 made-for-TV movie, "The Unauthorized Biography of 'Charlie's
Angels,'" which featured actors playing the roles of "Roger Davis" and
"Jaclyn Smith." And Julie Sommars, assistant DA on the show, appeared
with Roger on the premiere of "The Rockford Files."
QUINCY:
Stars John
S. Ragin ("Dr. Astin") and Val Bisoglio (bar owner) appeared with Davis
on other shows: Ragin on "Alias Smith and Jones," and Bisoglio on
"Galactica 1980." Director Wayne Farlow also worked with Roger on
"Aspen" and "The Bionic Woman."
THE DUKES
OF HAZZARD:
Sorrell
Booke ("Boss Hogg") appeared with Davis on "Alias Smith and Jones," while
James Best ("Roscoe P. Coltrane") guested on "Redigo" and "The Gallant
Men." Roger also took an acting class taught by Best (Best was quite
an accomplished actor before taking on the silly "Dukes" role.)
THE BIONIC
WOMAN:
Roger guest
starred with Lindsay Wagner in the show's premiere; Wagner and Davis met
in an acting class taught by actor James Best (see "The Dukes of Hazzard,"
above.) Also, series co-star Richard Anderson appeared with Roger
on "Redigo." Lee Majors regularly guested on "Bionic" as part of
his sister show, "The Six Million Dollar Man;" Majors was married to Jaclyn
Smith's co-star, Farrah Fawcett, on "Charlie's Angels." Lee was also a
regular on "The Big Valley," where Roger once guested, and had also appeared
on "Alias Smith and Jones." Actor Dennis Patrick ("Dark Shadows,"
"Home") guested with Roger on the same "Bionic" episode, as did Martin
E. Brooks ("The New Perry Mason.") Also, director Wayne Farlow worked
with Roger on "Aspen" and "Quincy."
THE BRADY
BUNCH:
Four guests
on "Alias Smith and Jones" also had guest roles on "The Brady Bunch:"
J. Pat O'Malley (Carol's father,) Burt Mustin (as a relative of a Jesse
James casualty,) Jim Backus (once, as a ghost town resident; later as the
owner of Mike Brady's architect firm; he later guested on "Charlie's Angels"
with Roger's former wife Jaclyn,) and Herb Vigran (once, as a frazzled
trading stamp store manager, and later as a driving test examiner; Vigran
also guested with Roger on "Galactica 1980" and with Jaclyn on "Charlie's
Angels.") And Roger co-starred with Robert Reed (Mike Brady) on an
episode of "Galactica 1980."
MICKEY SPILLANE'S
MIKE HAMMER:
Roger worked
with both actors who held the lead role in this series: Darren McGavin
(who starred in the 1956 version, appeared with Davis on a remake of "From
Here to Eternity,") and Stacy Keach (starred in the 1984 "Hammer" remake,
and shared the stage with Roger in "MacBird.")
ACTORS AND DIRECTORS
................................
Left to
right: Glen Larson, Roy Huggins, Earl Holliman, Robert Redford, Bo
Hopkins, Kate Jackson, Diana Hyland, Pernell Roberts, William Devane
GLEN LARSON:
The late
noted producer and writer used Roger on many projects, often calling on
him to 'jump start' a series on its premiere episode. Roger guest
starred in Larson's "Chameleons," "The Highwayman," "Galactica 1980," "The
Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries," "Quincy," "Alias Smith and Jones," "McCloud"
and "Night Man."
ROY HUGGINS:
The late
Roy Huggins was Roger-friendly as well, featuring him in "Aspen," "This
is the West that Was," "Alias Smith and Jones," "The Young Country," "The
Rockford Files" and "The Bold Ones." Roger also helped one of his
own UCLA students with an audition for Huggins' TV version of "Bus Stop,"
which impressed Roy, as he hired Roger as a contract player at Warner Brothers
shortly thereafter.
ROBERT ALTMAN:
The late,
famed movie director worked with Roger on "Redigo" after Roy Huggins saw
Roger's acting skills while Roger helped a student with an audition for
"Bus Stop." Altman also worked with Sally Kellerman on the movie
version of "M*A*S*H;" Kellerman had co-starred with Roger on a remake of
"From Here to Eternity."
JO SWERLING:
Jo was another
Roger fan; as a director under Roy Huggins, Jo worked with Davis on "Alias
Smith and Jones," "The Rockford Files," "This is the West that Was," "The
Bold Ones" and "Aspen."
PETER DUEL:
Both Roger
and Peter auditioned for "Ride the Wild Surf" in 1964; Roger won the role.
Then, both Peter and Roger auditioned for "Love on a Rooftop" in 1965;
Peter got the role. "The Young Country" (1970) starred both Roger
and Peter. Also, Roger was the narrator for "Alias Smith and Jones,"
which Peter starred in as "Hannibal Heyes." After Duel's suicide
in 1971, Roger assumed Peter's role.
WILLIAM DEVANE:
Roger replaced
Devane in the off-Broadway production of "MacBird," and Devane starred
in the 1980 remake of "From Here to Eternity," while Davis had starred
in an earlier remake of the same movie.
CURTIS HARRINGTON:
The late
noted horror movie director cast Roger in two of his movies: "Ruby"
and "Killer Bees."
BEN MURPHY:
Co-starred
with Roger on "Alias Smith and Jones," and later, Roger narrated "This
is the West that Was," starring Murphy.
EARL HOLLIMAN:
The "Police
Woman" star and animal rights activist played alongside Roger on "Alias
Smith and Jones" and "Night Man." Holliman's co-star on "Police Woman,"
Charles Dierkop, also guest starred on "Alias." Dierkop, coincidentally,
co-starred in the movie, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," which was
the basis for "Alias Smith and Jones."
PERNELL ROBERTS:
Although
Roger's two appearances on "Bonanza" were after Roberts left the show in
1965, Roger did co-star with him on episodes of "Quincy" and "Alias Smith
and Jones." Later, Barbara Cason, the wife of Roger's co-star Dennis
Patrick on "Dark Shadows," made frequent guest appearances on Pernell's
1979-86 series "Trapper John, MD," as did John Karlen ("Shadows") and Ben
Murphy ("Alias Smith and Jones.") Cason had also appeared in "House
of Dark Shadows."
DIANA HYLAND:
The late,
great "Peyton Place" and "Eight is Enough" actress crossed paths with Davis
on both "The Twilight Zone" and "Alias Smith and Jones."
NOAH BEERY,
JR.:
The late
character actor starred with Roger on "The Rockford Files" and as a guest
on "Alias Smith and Jones."
KATE JACKSON:
Appeared
with Roger on "Dark Shadows" and "Killer Bees," and later with his former
wife Jaclyn on "Charlie's Angels."
MONTE MARKHAM:
While Markham
guested on "Alias Smith and Jones," Roger guest starred later on Markham's
"The New Perry Mason."
CHAD EVERETT:
The late
Chad Everett appeared on Davis's "Redigo," and Roger later appeared on
two episodes of Everett's "Medical Center."
LORNE GREENE:
Roger guested
with the late series star on both "Bonanza" and "Galactica 1980."
EDDIE ALBERT:
Roger worked
with the late Eddie Albert, Sr (the "Green Acres" star) on "The Act" in
1984, and with his son, the late Eddie Albert, Jr. on "Killer Bees" in
1976.
TONY FRANCIOSA:
The late
Franciosa co-starred with Davis in two movies: "Aspen" and "This
is the West that Was."
PAT HINGLE:
The late
character actor appeared with Roger on "The Bold Ones" and "The Act."
ABE VIGODA:
The late
"Barney Miller" star was in "Dark Shadows" and guest starred with Davis
on "The Rockford Files."
WALTER BARNES:
The late
western character actor appeared with Roger on both "Bonanza" and "Alias
Smith and Jones."
BURL IVES:
Everyone's
perennial favorite Ives worked with Roger on "The Bold Ones" and "Alias
Smith and Jones."
ROBERT REDFORD:
While Davis
and Redford never crossed paths on screen, Redford's movie, "Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid," was the basis for Roger's series, "Alias Smith and
Jones." And, in 1973, Davis had won the lead role in "The Way We
Were," but unwittingly suggested to the movie's producers that Robert Redford
would have been his first choice for the role...and Roger was replaced.
In 1974, Redford portrayed Jay Gatsby in "The Great Gatsby;" Davis owned
the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, KY, which was a focal point in the F.
Scott Fitzgerald novel, and Roger's earnest eccentricities have been compared
to Jay Gatsby's on several occasions in print! And, of course, there's
more than just a passing resemblance between the two actors.
WALLY COX:
The late
"Mr. Peepers" actor and "Hollywood Squares" 'square' co-starred with Roger
on "Alias Smith and Jones" and in "The Young Country."
GEOFFREY
LEWIS:
Played two
guest roles in "Alias Smith and Jones," and later guested on "Nip/Tuck,"
which used Roger's Malibu home as one of their backdrops.
BO HOPKINS:
Roger's
late, longtime friend and co-star on "Aspen" also guested with former wife
Jaclyn on "Charlie's Angels."
RICHARD KIEL:
The late
Richard Kiel acted with Roger in both "Flash and the Firecat" and in the
"Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" premiere.
LUIS DELGADO:
The late
actor played on both "The Rockford Files" and "The Young Country" with
Roger.
LINDA EVANS:
The "Dynasty"
seductress appeared with Roger in "The Big Valley" and in "McCloud."
GEORGE PEPPARD:
Though the
two never worked together on the same project, Peppard was the actor initially
thought of to replace Pete Duel's "Hannibal Heyes" character on "Alias
Smith and Jones," then Peppard showed up a decade later playing the character
"Hannibal Smith" on NBC's "The A-Team." (Thanks
to reader 'Dad' Rovat for suggesting this one!)
JACLYN SMITH:
Keeping
business separate from pleasure, Roger and his first wife seldom crossed
paths in their careers. "Dark Shadows" producers turned down Jaclyn's
audition for the part of "Victoria Winters" in 1968, as they didn't like
the idea of two actors being married on- and off-screen. In a commercial
for "Close Up" toothpaste in the early 1970s, Jaclyn was the spokesmodel
to Roger's voiceover. Also, in 1975, Jaclyn was offered the female
role in "Flash and the Firecat," but turned it down...then changed her
mind later, but not until Roger's co-star Tricia Sembera had been hired
instead. Beyond that, the couple appeared in separate episodes of
"The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries."
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