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[Pow]

T.H.E. Cat was TV show that debuted in 1966 on NBC and was created by Harry Julian Fink.

"Out of the night comes a man who saves lives at the risk of his own. Once a circus performer, an aerialist who refused the net. Once a cat burglar, a master among jewel thieves.
Now a professional bodyguard. Primitive...savage...in love with danger.

The Cat."

Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat (Robert Loggia) worked out of the jazz nightclub El Casa del Cato that was owned by his friend Pepe Cordoza (Robert Carricart).

Cat took on dangerous assignments as a bodyguard.
He was a fierce fighter & martial artist. He carried a gun and a switchblade, Cat's Claws, up the sleeve of his left hand shirt."

The show had a film noir look and feel with a dark & edgy atmosphere. It was a half~hour show back in the days when we still had 30-minute dramas in prime time.

Fun, entertaining show with a terrific theme score to it.

[Eadie]

“Out of the night comes a man who saves lives at the risk of his own. Once a circus performer, an aerialist who refused the net. Once a cat burglar, a master among jewel thieves. Now a professional bodyguard. Primitive… savage… in love with danger. The Cat!”

This was the intro of a series that was, for a variety of reasons, truly ahead of its time. (The series preceded the 1968–1970 ABC television series It Takes a Thief, which was also about a cat burglar who used his skills for good.)

T. H. E. Cat had a hero who was a reformed thief, having spent an unspecified term in prison, and of Gypsy heritage. In the mold of famed private-eye Peter Gunn and the waterfront bar ‘Mother’s’, Cat operated out of the ‘Casa Del Gato’ (House Of The Cat) in San Francisco, of which he was part owner.

The show was dark and moody, fitting the character, and was one of the first to use martial arts in a realistic way. (The others were The Green Hornet, which premiered on ABC the same year, and the earlier 1960 syndicated series, The Case of the Dangerous Robin starring Rick Jason.) This was unknown on TV at that time and rarely seen even in films (an exception was The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the first Hollywood movie to show martial arts in realistic fashion instead of the ‘judo chops’ usually depicted). The series also featured a number of highly gifted guest stars and relied heavily on the film noir school to set the tone of the series.

Despite rumors to the contrary, Tom Cat was not an assassin. Nor did he work for San Francisco P.D., although he was brought in on certain operations (such as the pilot episode) where a specialist was called for (his SFPD contact was Captain McAllister, played by R.G. Armstrong) . In the October 7th episode Brotherhood, Tom Cat performed sniper duty during a hostage situation — this was long before S.W.A.T. was born. Tom Cat carried a Walther PP automatic in (same series as James Bond's Walther PPK) .32 caliber and a balanced throwing knife strapped to his left forearm. He was lethal with both.

Episodes

To Kill a Priest, written by Harry Julian Fink, directed by Boris Sagal

Sandman, written by J.D. Buchanan, directed by Boris Sagal

Payment Overdue, written by Robert Hamner,directed by Boris Sagal

Brotherhood, written by Harry Julian Fink, directed by Maurice Vaccarino

Little Arnie From Long Ago, directed by Don McDougall

None to Weep, None to Mourn, directed by Harvey Hart

The Moment Of Truth, written by A. Rowe, directed by John Rich

Marked For Death, written by S. Adams, directed by Alan Crosland

Crossing at Destino Bay, written by R.E. Thompson, directed by Boris Sagal

To Bell T.H.E. Cat, written by B.C. Schoenfeld,directed by Sutton Roley

Curtains for Miss Winslow,directed by Herschel Daugherty

King of Limpets,directed by Boris Sagal

The System, written by Robert Hamner,directed by Don Mc Dougall

The Canary Who Lost His Voice,directed by Joseph Pevney


The Ring of Anasis, written by Herman Miller, directed by Jacques Tourneur

Queen of Diamonds, Knave of Hearts, written by Jack Turley, directed by Boris Sagal

A Hot Place to Die, written by Jack Turley, directed by Paul Baxley

A Slight Family Trait, written by Jack Turley, directed by Boris Sagal

If Once You Fail, written by Harry Julian Fink, directed by Maurice Vaccarino

Design for Death, directed by Alan Crosland

Mind Over Matter, directed by Boris Sagal

The Blood-Red Night, directed by Bert Freed

The Ninety Percent Blues, directed by Harry Harris

The Long Chase, directed by Paul Baxley

Twenty-One and Out, directed by Paul Stanley

Lisa, directed by Jud Taylor

Wkipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.H.E._Cat

IMDb https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060030/

The series was recut into a feature movie.
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Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.

[Krel.]

I used to watch the show, but I don't remember much about it. I remember the throwing knife, and his grappling hook, but I don't remember him carrying a pistol.

Back in the 60s, the Walther PP series was the Cadillac of pocket pistols, small 9mm pistols were not yet a thing. In the 70s my Brother was a Police Officer, and his off-duty weapon was a Walther PP in .380 caliber.

In the first season of "Mannix" he worked for a high-tech private detective agency, and they all carried Walther PP pistols. The quasi-spy premise didn't work, so in the second season he owned his own agency and carried a .38 snub-nose revolver.

The James Bond movies had a big effect on movies, TV, and the Central Intelligence Agency. I read an interview with a man who was a C.I.A. Agent in the early 60s. He said that the spy movies and TV shows influenced them. Before James Bond, they carry weapon for C.I.A. Agents was a Smith & Wesson .38 Special Chief's Special revolver. It the Agent wanted a 9MM pistol, they used a S&W M39, which was the most advanced 9MM on the market. After "Doctor No", Agents wanted a .32ACP Walther PPK, a weaker cartridge!

David.

[Pow]

T.H.E. Cat, as noted, had a dark moody atmosphere to it which set it apart from most dramatic TV shows in 1966.

The Green Hornet show was similar somewhat in look to T.H.E. Cat.

Love to have seen a crossover episode between these 2 terrific series. However, since TC was on NBC and TGH on ABC at the time a crossover was never gonna happen.

[Pow]

From the 1966 Fall Preview issue of the TV Guide.

T.H.E. Cat stands for Thomas Hewitt Edward cat (Robert Loggia), who, they say, used to be a cat burglar. In any case, he is now a professional bodyguard ("They say you've saved the lives of a thousand men. Is that true, sir?" "A slight exaggeration." says Cat modestly).

He brings a rather impressive set of talents to his work ---- he scales walls, walks tightropes and carries a shiv up his sleeve. He spends his off-duty hours in a murky bistro called Casa del Gato, owned by his gypsy friend Pepe.

The locale is a contemporary metropolis, and you've never seen so many dark streets or ominous shadows in your life. In Hollywood they probably call it M.O.O.D.

Debut: NBC. Sept.16.

[Bud Brewster]

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"The following program is brought to you in LIVING COLOR."

(And through the magic of a very old VHS tape.)

Seeing the peacock and hearing that intro is a blast from the past!


_____________ T.H.E. CAT 1966 TV series intro


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

I would love to have seen a crossover between T.H.E. Cat & The Green Hornet! Both shows had that dark, film noir style. Alas, Cat was on NBC, the Hornet on ABC.

Another thought was this: imagine Bruce Lee (as much as I admired Robert Loggia in the part) as T.H.E. Cat!

He would have brought his phenomenal martial arts skills to the role. But no network in 1966 was gonna take a chance on having an Asian as the lead on a TV series.