January 17, 1975: π½πΌπππππΌ debuted on ABC-TV.
Its 50 years for π½ππ§ππ©π©π, the ABC detective series starring Robert Blake as unorthodox plainclothes police detective Tony Baretta. The show followed Baretta, who lived in an unnamed city, residing in an apartment of the run-down King Edward Hotel with his Triton cockatoo, Fred. A master of disguise, Baretta often uses them while performing his duties and when not working he usually wore a short-sleeve sweatshirt, casual slacks, a brown suede jacket and a newsboy cap. Baretta is known for his catchphrases, such as "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time," "You can take dat to da bank," and "And dat's the name of dat tune".Baretta drove a rusted-out Mist Blue 1966 Chevrolet Impala nicknamed "The Blue Ghost" and frequented Ross's Billiard Academy. The series also features Billy Truman, a retired cop who worked with Baretta's father, Rooster, a streetwise pimp, and Baretta’s supervisors, Inspector Shiller and Lieutenant Hal Brubaker. The show's theme song, "Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow," was composed by Dave Grusin and Morgan Ames and sung by Sammy Davis Jr.
The series was created by Stephen J. Cannell and came about as a reboot of earlier series ππ€π’π, after actor Tony Musante left the show. Robert Blake was given creative control over much of the production. Though initially faring badly, Baretta was moved to Wednesday nights and ratings soared, with Blake winning an Emmy for Best Actor.
Despite the show's success, Blake expressed his dislike for being committed to the series and left when his contract was up. Baretta entered pop culture, being spoofed in Mad magazine and mentioned in the films Reservoir Dogs and That '70s Show. The series has enjoyed extensive reruns, showing up in recent years on TV Land and MeTV.
82 episodes were produced over four seasons, the first of which was released to DVD. Word is the episode transfers for the remaining seasons were destroyed in Universal's 2008 fire, meaning great expense to pull original film elements out of the vault and restore/transfer them. At this point, any remaining release is unlikely barring a network licensing the show for reruns and footing the bill.
Baretta - Season One DVD https://amzn.to/4gaHmzw
