The Day the Running Stopped

Fifty-four years ago today, my family got together with a group of friends to watch Dr. Richard Kimble walk out of a courtroom a free man.

This was the final episode of The Fugitive, which starred David Janssen as the doctor wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife, who escapes after the train taking him to the death house crashes.

Kimble travels around the country searching for the mysterious one-armed man who actually killed his wife.

Each week, William Conrad, a fabulous actor who later starred in the Seventies detective show Cannon, recited the opening and closing narrative in his singular voice.

Kimble would “toil at many jobs…and run before the relentless pursuit of” Lt. Girard, portray by Barry Morse, who was obsessed with Kimble’s capture.

The program aired for four seasons and it was the first show in television history that actually ended, instead of just disappearing from the airwaves.

That may sound a little odd today, when TV programs like The Sopranos, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and so many others all wrapped up their respective stories.

But TV was a different place back then and critics credit The Fugitive with opening the door for other programs to officially call it a day.

I was 10 years old at the time and we were on vacation at this wonderful resort in the Poconos.

We normally didn’t watch any TV when we were on vacation, which is still hard for me to believe, given how much we loved “the idiot box” as my father called it.

But there was just so much to do in the country.

We went hiking in the woods behind our rented house; swimming and sunbathing in the pool, driving the backroads looking for deer, and getting together with the other guests at night around the pool to shoot the breeze. It was a great time in my childhood.

But The Fugitive finale was different. This was history in the making and even though I don’t believe we were regular fans of the show, we still wanted to be in on the climax.

It’s important to note that this final chapter nearly didn’t happen. TV executive Leonard Goldberg said he had to fight with ABC executives to get the program made.

'Repreieved by Fate'

The front office just wanted to let the show end with no conclusion, but Goldberg argued that people really cared about the character they had been watching for so many years.

“We have to resolve the series,” Goldberg told the network brass. “We’ve got to come to a conclusion.”

Series creator Roy Huggins had written in his original pitch that the series “will be brought to a planned conclusion…being Richard Kimble’s release from his predicament and the ultimate salvation of justice.”

“The Judgement” was shown in two parts, with the final chapter airing on August 29, 1967.

Mr. and Mrs. Burns, our friends and fellow guests, rented a television from the Merrills, who owned the resort, and invited us over to their house to watch.

I have few memories of that evening and yet it’s still so meaningful to me, as I recall this sense of belonging and being part of something very special.

Before the show came on, Mr. Burns had to get up and fiddle around with the TV’s antennae to get a better picture.

“That’s perfect,” his wife said, as he got behind the TV.

“Well, I can’t stand here all night!” Mr. Burns replied.

Fortunately, he got the image squared away and we all got to watch Richard Kimble finally catch up with the one-armed man.

When David Janssen walked out of the courthouse after being cleared of murder, William Conrad spoke his final line of the series.

“Tuesday, August 29,” he said. “The day the running stopped.”

When the episode aired, it had the highest rating ever, pulling in 30 million viewers, and it held the top spot until 1980 when 80 million tuned into to Dallas to find out who shot JR.

Now The Fugitive is back in my life, thanks to MeTV, a cable station that shows classic programs.

Just like the audiences back in the Sixties, I tune in each week to watch Kimble evade Lt. Gerard as he looks to clear his name.

The station's website has a trivia page dedicated to the show and one factoid notes that the final line had to be altered for Canadian viewers who saw the show a week later on September 5.

I’m amazed at the number of fine actors who appear in each episode including Bruce Dern, Wiliam Shatner, Suzanne Pleshette, Richard Anderson and a very young Kurt Russell.

And I can’t help but think of the magical night in the Poconos when we all gathered together in front of the idiot box and watched history being made.