Harry O

After being shot in the line of duty, Harry Orwell was forced to retire from the San Diego Police Department. To supplement his police pension, Harry runs a private detective agency out of his beach house.

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama

Cast:David Janssen , Anthony Zerbe , Paul Tulley , Henry Darrow , Farrah Fawcett , Les Lannom , Margaret Avery , Tom Atkins , Bill Henderson , David Moses , Richard Stahl , G.W. Bailey , Joanna Pettet , Kathleen Lloyd , Mel Stewart , Hal Williams , Julio Medina , Lou Frizzell

0Season 1

S1.E0 ∙ Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On

Sat, Mar 10, 1973

Harry Orwell is a LA cop who is retired due to a bullet in his back. Now a Private Detective, Harry O. is hired by the man who shot him to find the other man who was involved in the shooting. Scheerer is trying to kill Garrison and also keep his heroin business alive. Harry O. wants to bring both to justice.

1Season 1

S1.E1 ∙ Gertrude

Wed, Sep 11, 1974

Harry is hired by a beautiful but wacky woman. She wants him to find her brother, who went AWOL from the navy and sent her his left shoe. Orwell's investigation uncovers a gang of smugglers.

2Season 1

S1.E2 ∙ The Admiral's Lady

Wed, Sep 18, 1974

Harry's search for a missing woman leads him to death, infidelity, and a woman in danger.

3Season 1

S1.E3 ∙ Guardian at the Gates

Wed, Sep 25, 1974

Harry is hired by his beautiful neighbor to find out who is trying to kill her curmudgeon father. Paul Sawyer is an eccentric, arrogant architect, considered to be a genius, but the list of his enemies is quite long.

4Season 1

S1.E4 ∙ Mortal Sin

Wed, Oct 2, 1974

Harry's friend is a Catholic Priest who asks for Orwell's help in finding a man who confessed to a murder. Unable to break his vow of secrecy, he can't go to the police. Soon, other bodies begin turning up dead.

5Season 1

S1.E5 ∙ Coinage of the Realm

Wed, Oct 9, 1974

A young girl is in need of a kidney transplant, and her estranged father has her rare blood-type. Harry is hired to find her father, who is in hiding from the mob, as two assassins begin following Orwell around as he investigates.

6Season 1

S1.E6 ∙ Eyewitness

Wed, Oct 16, 1974

A woman hires Orwell to help her son, who has been wrongfully arrested for murder. During his investigation, Harry locates a witness to the murder--but unfortunately the witness is blind.

7Season 1

S1.E7 ∙ Shadows at Noon

Wed, Oct 23, 1974

When Harry suspects a young woman is being held against her will in a mental asylum, he investigates and discovers a murder. He pretends to be a patient and goes undercover as a patient.

8Season 1

S1.E8 ∙ Ballinger's Choice

Wed, Oct 30, 1974

A woman hires Harry to locate her missing husband. What Orwell discovers during his investigation is a complex web of lies and deceit--even murder--resulting in his being being shot while working the case.

9Season 1

S1.E9 ∙ Second Sight

Wed, Nov 6, 1974

A blind woman writes about her psychic visions of death. When they come true, she becomes a suspect. But, also, a potential victim. Her last vision: "I'm next".

10Season 1

S1.E10 ∙ Material Witness

Wed, Nov 13, 1974

Capt. Jaklin has been trying to nail Joe Kiley for years but witnesses keep disappearing or coming to other tragic ends. Harry is asked to guard a witness against Kiley but someone seems to have betrayed them.

11Season 1

S1.E11 ∙ Forty Reasons to Kill: Part 1

Wed, Dec 4, 1974

Harry's friend George Makita is found murdered with a large amount of cocaine in his possession. The police believe he was drug dealer, but his girlfriend hires Harry to look into his death. Discovering evidence that George was framed, Harry travels to Vadero County and meets with a very pretty, very wealthy woman named Glenna Nielson, who owns a large ranch there. Glenna had sold forty acres to George just prior to his death, and Harry suspects this is connected to the murder. When a prominent businessman (Glenna's uncle) is killed, Harry is arrested for his murder.

12Season 1

S1.E12 ∙ Forty Reasons to Kill: Part 2

Wed, Dec 11, 1974

Lt. Manny Quinlan travels to Vedero County to help prove Harry's innocence and solve the murder of George Makita. Glenna Nielsen develops feelings for Orwell.

13Season 1

S1.E13 ∙ Accounts Balanced

Wed, Dec 25, 1974

Anne Virdon is an old friend of Orwell's, and she hires Harry to check on her husband, fearing he is seeing another woman. The truth is something very different, as someone fires a shot at Orwell.

14Season 1

S1.E14 ∙ The Last Heir

Wed, Jan 8, 1975

Letty owns a gold mine in the desert. Letty's two sisters, a brother, and a grand-nephew and his wife come for their annual visit. Trapped in the house in the middle of the desert, they start getting killed off, one by one.

15Season 1

S1.E15 ∙ For the Love of Money

Wed, Jan 15, 1975

Emily and her boyfriend steal $25,000 in bonds from her boss's safe. She has a change of heart and wants to return the bonds, but her boyfriend and the bonds are gone. Harry is hired to find the missing boyfriend.

16Season 1

S1.E16 ∙ The Confetti People

Wed, Jan 22, 1975

A young man who has been in an institution is tricked into shooting his brother and Harry finds it is a scam by his sister-in-law to inherit a wealthy trust fund.

17Season 1

S1.E17 ∙ Sound of Trumpets

Wed, Jan 29, 1975

Harry is attending a seaside jazz club when he hears a trumpeter playing in tune outside. Suddenly the trumpeter falls into the water - pushed in by a hit man unnoticed by anyone else. Harry, thinking the trumpeter passed out from being drunk, takes him to his beach house to sober up, and the next morning leaves to buy groceries. When Harry returns he finds a bottle of scotch broken and his car gone, stolen by the trumpeter. He also finds a young singer, Ruthie Daniels, waiting for him; Ruthie knows who the trumpeter is - her father, Arthur "Art Sully" Daniels. Daniels went to prison in 1963 for stabbing to death a mobster named Reisman and is now on parole; Daniels was gypped by his record company, led by Sid Hacktel, out of royalties, and is being pursued. Harry smokes out the hit man seeking Daniels and identifies him as Manny "Smitty" Schmicht, a former bouncer for one of Hacktel's nightclubs - and who is left-handed. When Sid Hacktel is found shot to death, Harry's car with Daniel's hat and trumpet are found abandoned in the driveway, but Harry recognizes it to be a setup since he had the hat and horn at his house that morning. Lt. Trench is stuck, since the only hard evidence he has is against Daniels even though he recognizes Daniels is being set up, since Hacktel's company is under FBI investigation for pirating recordings of jazz concerts and festivals, and an FBI agent involved in the investigation was found stabbed to death six weeks earlier. But both Harry and Trench encounter more than they bargained for when a family friend of the Daniels' is found stabbed to death and Ruthie Daniels is taken hostage by Smitty.

18Season 1

S1.E18 ∙ Silent Kill

Wed, Feb 5, 1975

Harry comes to the aid of a deaf mute man accused of setting fire to a building after he was fired from his job as the building's janitor.

19Season 1

S1.E19 ∙ Double Jeopardy

Wed, Feb 12, 1975

A young man who witnesses a woman's murder is suspected of being the murderer by the woman's family. Harry helps clear the young man and find out the truth.

20Season 1

S1.E20 ∙ Lester

Wed, Feb 19, 1975

A college student is murdered on campus and the prime suspect seems more interested in the investigation than worried about it. All clues point in one direction, but Harry digs deeper to find the truth.

21Season 1

S1.E21 ∙ Elegy for a Cop

Wed, Feb 26, 1975

Lt. Manny Quinlan drives to Los Angeles in order to help his drug addicted niece. He finds her in a seedy hotel, but it is a setup and he's shot. An envelope full of money is planted on his body to make it appear he was a 'dirty' cop. Before he dies however, he manages to mail the envelope full of money to Harry, and Orwell takes it from there, investigating his friend's murder and trying to clear his good name and reputation.

22Season 1

S1.E22 ∙ Street Games

Sat, Mar 1, 1975

When a drug addicted street waif witnesses a murder, she is forced to flee for her life. Harry is hired by her mother to find her before the killers do.

1Season 2

S2.E1 ∙ Anatomy of a Frame

Wed, Sep 10, 1975

Lt. Trench is under investigation by Internal Affairs, suspected of killing an informant.

2Season 2

S2.E2 ∙ One for the Road

Wed, Sep 17, 1975

Harry is hired by a woman who can't remember whether she was responsible for a hit-and-run that gravely injured a teenager.

3Season 2

S2.E3 ∙ Lester Two

Wed, Sep 24, 1975

After Sue is kidnapped by diamond smugglers, Harry works hard to come up with their ransom demands.

4Season 2

S2.E4 ∙ Shades

Wed, Oct 1, 1975

Harry is hired by a wealthy woman to investigate the arrest of her housekeeper for murder. The investigation leads Orwell into a world of blackmail, hidden family secrets and murder.

5Season 2

S2.E5 ∙ Portrait of a Murder

Wed, Nov 19, 1975

Harry is hired to find out if a mentally challenged 19-year-old is involved when a woman is found strangled to death under the Santa Monica Pier.

6Season 2

S2.E6 ∙ The Acolyte

Wed, Oct 15, 1975

On the trail of a missing woman, Harry finds himself investigating the leader of a religious cult and his chief disciple.

7Season 2

S2.E7 ∙ Mayday

Wed, Oct 22, 1975

Harry reads in the paper that his old Korean War buddy died in a plane crash. His widow tells Harry about him acting strangely before his fatal flight and Harry decides to find out what really happened.

8Season 2

S2.E8 ∙ Tender Killing Care

Wed, Oct 29, 1975

Spence, Harry's auto mechanic, fears his father is being mistreated at the 'old folks home'. When Spence's father dies, he hires Harry to investigate the Doctor at the home.

9Season 2

S2.E9 ∙ APB Harry Orwell

Wed, Nov 5, 1975

The victim of an elaborate frame, Harry is arrested for murder. While awaiting trial, Harry escapes and tracks down the real killer as he attempts to clear his name.

10Season 2

S2.E10 ∙ Group Terror

Wed, Nov 12, 1975

When members of a therapy group turn up murdered, the group psychiatrist suspects one of the members and hires Harry to investigate.

11Season 2

S2.E11 ∙ Reflections

Wed, Oct 8, 1975

Harry is reunited with his ex-wife over a case of blackmail and murder. Through flashbacks, we see Harry and Elizabeth fall in love before breaking up over his spending too many hours on the job.

12Season 2

S2.E12 ∙ Exercise in Fatality

Wed, Dec 3, 1975

Harry is hired to find a drug-addicted, pregnant teenage girl who ran away from her policeman father. In the midst of this case, an old girlfriend comes back into Harry's life.

13Season 2

S2.E13 ∙ The Madonna Legacy

Wed, Dec 10, 1975

An old policeman friend dies from a suspected suicide but Harry doesn't believe it. His investigation leads him to an 8-year-old murder case involving the family of a wealthy industrialist.

14Season 2

S2.E14 ∙ Mister Five and Dime

Wed, Jan 7, 1976

A young lady is arrested for passing counterfeit money and she calls her classmate Lester for help. Lester in turn enlists Harry's help and soon they discover that her grandfather had been printing fake money. But now he's been kidnapped.

15Season 2

S2.E15 ∙ Book of Changes

Wed, Jan 14, 1976

A woman who runs a gambling club is murdered and a book of hers that's filled with incriminating photos of influential people is stolen. Harry is hired to find and destroy that book and to protect a young woman who witnessed the murder.

16Season 2

S2.E16 ∙ Past Imperfect

Wed, Jan 21, 1976

An ex-con gets out of prison and looks up his old girlfriend, intent on getting his hands on his old suitcase, which he says contains $300,000. Harry is hired to find the suitcase, as well as to protect the woman in the middle of it all.

17Season 2

S2.E17 ∙ Hostage

Wed, Feb 18, 1976

When a robbery goes awry, a standoff with the police ensues and Lt. Trench offers himself as trade for one of the hostages. Harry must find the thief's girlfriend before hostages are killed.

18Season 2

S2.E18 ∙ Forbidden City

Wed, Feb 25, 1976

Answering an old friend's plea for help, Harry arrives at the meeting and soon finds out that his friend has been killed. Harry digs into the circumstances and discovers a tangled web of smuggling, threats, and murder.

19Season 2

S2.E19 ∙ Victim

Wed, Mar 3, 1976

A rape victim is turned away by the police who decline to prosecute. She turns to Harry for help finding justice.

20Season 2

S2.E20 ∙ Ruby

Wed, Mar 10, 1976

Harry goes undercover to infiltrate a ring of car thieves and drug traffickers.

21Season 2

S2.E21 ∙ The Mysterious Case of Lester and Dr. Fong

Wed, Mar 17, 1976

The fourth "Lester" episode is a pilot for what would have been a spin off "Fong and Hodges" series. (Sadly, the episode's relatively low ratings may have been the tipping point in ABC deciding to cancel "Harry O." Harry receives a note from Simon Applequist, asking Harry to come to a meeting at Applequist's palatial mansion. Applequist is a fabulously successful businessman who made more enemies than even he could count. Applequist greats Harry and introduces him to his various relatives -- one of whom is Lester Hodges. Then he fixes a baleful glare on the group and announces someone has sent him a threatening audiotape. Applequist puts the tape on and sits back as a whispered death threat plays. As the voice hisses: "Wait to die! Wait to die!" that's what Applequist does. Officially he suffered a heart attack, but Lester and his oft-mentioned mentor, Dr. Creighton Fong find that Applequist was poisoned by a venom found in the skin of an Amazon River basin alligator. At the reading of the will, Applequist's attorney reveals that Applequist has left almost everything to his brother-in-law Edward Tabor. Lester pokes around and gets everyone to whisper the same word to him, which he records. Dr. Fong finds that the word was uttered by Tabor. Lester goes to Tabor and confronts him, seeing his lab of various exotic poisons. Sure enough, Tabor has a nearly-empty vial of caimanol, the poison, in his collection. But the moment Lester points this out to Tabor, who is sipping a drink, Tabor drops dead in his tracks -- the caimanol was planted in the drink. As Harry (who is off screen for most of this episode) leaves to check out the backgrounds of the suspects, one heir after another gets a lethal dose of caimanol in various fashions, until only two suspects are left. And Lester is one of them.

22Season 2

S2.E22 ∙ Death Certificate

Wed, Apr 28, 1976

A young widow has a malpractice suit against the doctor who was treating her deceased husband, but after she is threatened by two men to drop the suit, her mother hires Harry to look into the Dr.'s past. Dead bodies begin piling up around Orwell, including Spence, his auto mechanic. The investigation leads Harry into the world of organized crime, hit-men and the safe-deposit box of the deceased husband.