The premise wasn't exactly believable. It followed a squad of four Allied soldiers (two per jeep) who conducted raids aimed at disrupting Rommel and the Germans during their operations in the Sahara. The four leads could be identified easily because they all wore different hats: Sergeant Sam Troy (Chris George) donned an Australian bush hat; Sergeant Jack Moffitt (Gary Raymond), the British member of the squad, wore a beret; Private Mark Hitchcock (Lawrence Casey) favored a Civil War cap; and Private Tully Pettigrew (Justin Tarr) usually wore a helmet.
My favorite was Chris George...and it wasn't just because he was incredibly handsome. The first year of the show was filmed in Spain and, during one of the stunts, a jeep fell over on Chris. I read about the incident in the newspaper, which mentioned the name of the hospital. I tracked down the address and wrote my first fan letter. He sent a great photo, signed in blue ballpoint (no stamped signature for Chris) and it hangs on a wall in my home to this day.
My favorite episode is from Season One and is called "The B Negative Raid." Moffitt is seriously wounded and has a rare blood type. Troy needs to find a donor. The only one he can find with the rare blood type is in bad guy Hauptmann Dietrich's desert headquarters and the guy just happens to be an American deserter. (The deserter dies in the end protecting Troy and Moffitt, so he redeems himself...just so you know what happened.)
When The Rat Patrol was over, I still followed Chris George’s career, whether he was low-budget flicks like The Day of the Animals or featured in a supporting role in a John Wayne film like El Dorado (he and the Duke were friends). Chris and his wife, Lynda Day George, also appeared regularly in made-for-TV films. Sadly, Chris George died of a heart attack in 1983 at the age of 52.
The other members of The Rat Patrol had modest careers after the show ended its two-year run in 1968. However, Hans Gudegast, who played the show's heavy, changed his name to Eric Braeden and became of one daytime television's highest-paid actors on The Young and the Restless.
Fun post, Aki! I haven't seen this show in years, but remember enjoying it as a kid. Didn't all the episode titles end in "Raid" like the one you listed (just as MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. episodes ended in "Affair")? And doesn't the Duke shoot Chris in EL DORADO? Speaking of Eric Braeden, he was in a terrific sci fi film around that same time called THE FORBIN PROJECT, in which a supercomputer takes over the world.
ReplyDeleteYes,Rick, all the episode titles had the word "Raid" in them. Yes, the Duke shoots him in a saloon. He was only in the EL DORADO for a few minutes. I had to wait quite a while just to see him and then he died! I always liked Eric Braedon. He was on the THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL too. I do remember THE FORBIDDEN PROJECT. He played Dr. Forbin who created a computer system named Colossus. It is a good movie. Oh, by the way Chris George's favorite food was Eggs Benedict. I miss Chris.
ReplyDeleteNice work, Aki, I've been looking forward to reading a post from you. I have to be honest and say I never saw "The Rat Patrol" (my late 60's life was more about rock'n'roll & less about TV...that's another story...) - but you brought to mind a couple of earlier WWII series. Both began in 1962 - "Combat!" with handsome Ric Jason and Vic Morrow and "The Gallant Men," which I don't remember much about. "Combat!" was the bigger hit, I think. It seems WWII series have faded away...and...didn't Linda Day George end up on "Mission Impossible" after Martin Landau and Barbara Bain left? This is turning into 6-degrees-of-something...thanx, Aki, enjoyed your first post...
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, Aki! I, too, am a Chris George fan. I really got to know him later in his career in such B-movie horror gems as PIECES, GRADUATION DAY, and Lucio Fulci's CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (aka GATES OF HELL). He brought sophistication to the low budget features, boosting the films in terms of quality and entertainment. Thank you for your blog. I'll be checking out THE RAT PATROL soon! If anyone has Netflix, Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available for rent.
ReplyDeleteAki The Rat Patrol was on the Tuesday Night WWII Block on the American Life Netwotk, with Combat, and 12 O Clock High. Yes Rick I know .... you don'thave ALN right? I do not know if ALN changed the line up for fall. Chris was also in a Series called The Immortal, where he , was on the run from sick rich man who wanted his blood
ReplyDeleteI remember THE IMMORTAL, too, because the pilot was on the ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK and Barry Sullivan played the rich guy. Chris was also in an unsold pilot film called ESCAPE, in which he played an escape artist/detective (this was before THE MAGICIAN). It was pretty good, but ABC never developed it into a series. I remember liking the theme, though I don't know who wrote it (probably Jerry Goldsmith, knowing my luck...). And Aki & Eve, do you remember another World War II TV series called GARRISON'S GORILLAS?
ReplyDeleteI am in awe of the extent of classic TV knowledge from cafe members. I am not nearly as knowledgable about those as about clssic film. I do remember The Rat Patrol though. I liked the British guy because of the beret and the accent. My choices were picked at teenage depth level. I also thought Rick Jason on Combat was dreamy. Nice blog, Aki.I don't know you well yet, but hope to see more articles from you.
ReplyDeleteTHE RAT PATROL was one of those television series that had my brother and his friends playing outside repeating the previous night's episode. This is what action shows are all about.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words: Rick29, ClassicBecky, Paul2, sarkoffagus, Dawn, and TheLadyEve. Paul2, I remember The Immortal and watched every episode of course. I wanted to see Chris. I recently saw Graduation Day, The Day of Animals, and I own the DVD of Grizzly. Grizzly is my favorite Chris George movie. Sarkoffagus, I haven't seen The Gates of Hell. I will look for it on Netflix. Thanks for the suggestion. I do recall Garrison's Gorillas, Rick29. I always liked Ron Harper who played Garrison. I just happened to remember that Lynda Day, Chris's wife, was in The Day of the Animals. Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune is Chris's niece.
ReplyDeleteAki, Looks like ALN has pulled it's Tuesday night WWII block so no Rat Patrol for now.
ReplyDeleteMy mother in law did an episode in Almeria Spain. I think it was 1966. She was the "Morrocan" Tea Lady in a couple of scenes. She had a great time and to this day has a photo taken from the film at home
ReplyDeleteIt has widely been stated that Chris's fatal heart attack was directly related to the injuries he suffered in the Jeep accident. Lynda stated that Chris was the only actor to appear in three pilots over the course of a season that sold...Escape was later revamped and became The Magician with Bill Bixby, The Immortal was the role he accepted, and he also appeared in Quinn Martin's first movie, The House on Greenapple Road, as homicide detective Lt. Dan August. That became the short-lived series Dan August (1970-71), which saw Burt Reynolds take over the role of August. Martin wanted Chris for the role, but he had already committed to The Immortal, but he quickly suggested Reynolds and, as it so happened, Chris had 16mm prints of Burt's previous series Hawk for the producer to review.
ReplyDeleteMark, interesting trivia about Chris's three pilots. I have never heard ESCAPE described as a pilot for THE MAGICIAN, but it makes sense.
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