Q: Has any actor starred or appeared in a featured role in more series than Ted Danson? I can think of “Cheers,” “Becker,” “Mr. Mayor,” “The Good Place,” “CSI,” “CSI: Cyber” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and likely there are more.
A: You could also have mentioned “Ink,” “Help Me Help You,” “Damages,” “Bored to Death,” “Fargo” and the current “A Man on the Inside.” Early in his career, he was also on a couple of daytime soaps, but not as a regular. If I count “Curb,” he can take credit for starring roles in 13 series.
But Robert Urich has long been credited with 15 shows, “the most of any actor,” say several references. In addition to hosting several nonfiction shows, he had these scripted series: “Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice,” “Tabitha,” “S.W.A.T” (the original series), “Soap,” “Vega$,” “Gavilan,” “Spenser: For Hire,” “American Dreamer,” “Crossroads,” “It Had To Be You,” “The Lazarus Man,” “Love Boat: The Next Wave” and “Emeril.” And should we also count miniseries like “Lonesome Dove”? Let the debate begin.
Crime drama busted
Q: Is there any chance there will be another season of “City on a Hill” with Kevin Bacon as the unscrupulous Jackie Rohr?
A: Showtime canceled the crime drama — which also starred Aldis Hodge — in 2022 after three seasons, and I do not know of any plans to bring it back. If you want more Bacon, his recent projects include “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” for Netflix, and he has a new series, horror drama “The Bondsman,” expected in 2025 on Prime Video.
You can see Hodge as Alex Cross in a new series, “Cross,” based on the character from James Patterson novels; it’s on Prime Video. And I know what you’re thinking: Didn’t other people play Cross onscreen? Yes. Morgan Freeman played him in the movies “Kiss the Girls” (1997) and “Along Came a Spider” (2001), and Tyler Perry played Cross in the movie “Alex Cross” (2012).
A ’60s gem
Q: Years ago, I saw the movie “This Property is Condemned” in a theater. It starred Natalie Wood and Robert Redford, probably one of his early ones. I scroll through TCM every week looking for it. I happened upon it months ago, but found it after it had started. Any chance you could find out if and when it may be featured? It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen.
A: The 1966 movie was indeed an early Redford work, but a prestigious one, co-written by Francis Ford Coppola based on a Tennessee Williams play and directed by Sydney Pollack. I can’t tell you when it will air again. You can find it streaming, for a fee, on Prime Video and Apple TV. There also has been a DVD release, which you may be able to get through a library.
