Mike Connors as Joe Mannix
Actor Mike Connors, best known for playing the title role on the TV detective show Mannix, died on January 26, 2017, at 91, of leukemia. The series premiered on September 16, 1967, on CBS and ran for eight seasons and 194 episodes, ending its run on April 13, 1975. It performed solidly, if not spectacularly in the ratings, becoming the #7 top-rated series in its fourth season. The show, set in Los Angeles, is often grouped with other programs of the era like Ironside, Columbo and Kojak.
A Best Classic Bands reader tipped us to the October 28, 1967, episode of Mannix titled “Warning Live Blueberries,” where the PI wanders into the Lost Dimension club searching for someone. There’s a rock band playing.
But that’s no ordinary rock band. It’s the unmistakable voice of Stephen Stills. Look closely during the few times in the scene where the band is shown and there they are: the Los Angeles-based Buffalo Springfield performing “Bluebird.” There’s Stills and Richie Furay playing guitar in front. Neil Young is behind Stills. That’s Bruce Palmer on bass and Dewey Martin on drums.
Buffalo Springfield’s Palmer, Furay, Martin, Young and Stills
The group’s second album, Buffalo Springfield Again, was about to be released on November 18, and they were coming off a huge success with “For What It’s Worth,” a #7 pop hit from their 1966 self-titled debut. Though they never earned another Top 40 single, Buffalo Springfield’s place in classic rock history is secure. And so is Mike Connors in TV history.
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Buffalo Springfield formed on March 3, 1966, and made their live debut five weeks later, at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, in an unbilled performance. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Related: Our Album Rewind of 1967’s Buffalo Springfield Again
Connors was born Krekor Ohanian on August 15, 1925, in Fresno, Calif., of Armenian descent. He was a good enough athlete that after serving in World War II, he played college basketball at UCLA for the legendary coach John Wooden. Before landing the lead in Mannix, Connors appeared in dozens of films and TV series. But it was his role as the square-jawed private investigator Joe Mannix that made him a star. His character’s loyal secretary, Peggy Fair, was played by Gail Fisher, who became the first African-American actress to win an Emmy Award. Mannix was nominated twice for an Emmy Award for Best Dramatic Series.
4 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationJorma Kaukonen played “Laughing Boy”.
I heart that song so much. The scenes are so great. I love Mannix waiving his paper with disdain to clear the air while he’s smoking a cigarette. Ha ha
Enjoyed seeing Cmdr Mike “Viper” Metcalf/Cousin Strawberry/actor Tom Skerrit do his thing while that great music was relegated to background music behind a go-go dancer swirling around in an orange pancho. Great trivia, thank you!
The day before this was filmed Richie Furay married Nancy, the woman he is still married to today.