"The White Shadow" (1978) TV series 1978-1981

Creator:

Bruce Paltrow

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | unknown

Release Date:

27 November 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

A white former NBA professional retires from the pro game and gets a job as a basketball coach in a predominantly black inner-city high school.

Plot Keywords:

School | Basketball | Coach | High School | Baseball

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Ken Howard	...	Ken Reeves (54 episodes, 1978-1981)
Kevin Hooks	...	Morris Thorpe (33 episodes, 1978-1981)
Timothy Van Patten	...	Mario 'Salami' Pettrino / ... (33 episodes, 1978-1981)
Byron Stewart	...	Warren Coolidge (33 episodes, 1978-1981)
Thomas Carter	...	James Hayward (29 episodes, 1978-1981)
Joan Pringle	...	Sybil Buchanan (28 episodes, 1978-1981)
Ken Michelman	...	Abner Goldstein (28 episodes, 1978-1981)
Ira Angustain	...	Ricky Gomez / ... (28 episodes, 1978-1981)
Nathan Cook	...	Milton Reese (27 episodes, 1978-1981)
Erik Kilpatrick	...	Curtis Jackson (25 episodes, 1978-1980)
John Mengatti	...	Nick Vitaglia (23 episodes, 1979-1981)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Company Four

Trivia:

The character of Jackson never graduated from Carver because he was shot and killed by armed robbers holding up a liquor store. According to writer Marc Rubin, executive producer Bruce Paltrow originally wanted Jackson to be killed while committing the robbery.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the end of the following episodes, "Wanna Bet?" and "That Old Gang of Mine". The roman numeral of the year 1979 at the end of the credits, was MCMLXXVIX. There was confusion of that because, the "V" should've been removed. The remaining first season episodes were finalized as MCMLXXIX, which was 1979 when the "V" was deleted.

Quotes:

Morris Thorpe: [a new kid shows up wearing a basketball letter jacket] Relax, that jacket said Montana. There can't be more than three high schools in the whole territory.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Ego Trip's Race-O-Rama" (2005)

Great show

This ranks as one of the best tv shows I've ever seen. Timely, even today, and very well-acted. I watched this while it was on TV Land and very much enjoyed it. Not at all cheesy and very honest. The title character was not always nice or good, but believable, and there was always a lesson to be learned.