Disability Happens ™

by Joe Posner

The 1970s, on TV, was a kinder, gentler era. The TV producers and creators of the era seemed interested in presenting sympathetic, if not entirely realistic, portrayals of the disabled.

Case in point: “Longstreet.” Created by Sterling Silliphant, it starred James
Franciscus, Peter Mark Richman, Marlyn Mason, and Ann Doran. It was the first TV series featuring a blind character in a leading role.

In the pilot movie, which aired on ABC on February 23, 1971, a bomb explosion killed the wife of insurance investigator Mike Longstreet (Franciscus), rendering him blind. Longstreet/Franciscus spent the rest of the movie tracking down the killers, proving to the world, and himself, that he was still quite capable despite his disability.

Franciscus, an actor of limited range but much intensity, did some serious preparation when he agreed to take on the role of a blind insurance investigator. He went to the Guide Dog Foundation in San Raphael, California and the Foundation for the Junior Blind in Los Angeles, taking classes at both.

Rather that simply rely on dark glasses to portray a blind person, Franciscus, who was also a producer on the series, varied his approach, sometimes using a guide dog, other times a radar-equipped cane. Dark glasses were also used at times.

Great pains were taken to show that Longstreet/Franciscus wasn’t automatically vulnerable just because he was blind. Four episodes featured guest star Bruce Lee as martial arts instructor (and antique dealer) Li Tsung, who gave Longstreet self defense lessons. In another, Longstreet learned how to (accurately) fire a gun.

Despite good efforts in front of and behind the camera, “Longstreet” only lasted one season, failing to find a large audience. The series ran from September 16, 1971 to August 10, 1972.

During the short run of “Longstreet,” the pilot movie for “Kung Fu” debuted on February 22 1972, also on ABC. Written by Ed Spielman & Howard Friedlander and directed by Jerry Thorpe, it starred David Carradine, Philip Ahn, Keye Luke and Radames Pera.

The pilot movie depicted the Shaolin monastery training, in the martial art Kung Fu, of priest Kwai Chang Caine (Carradine), a half American, half Chinese orphan in the late 1800s in China. One of his instructors was blind Master Po (Keye Luke).

At their first meeting, the boy Caine (Radames Pera) tells Po/Luke, “Of all things, to live in darkness must be the worst.” Master Po replies, “Fear is the only darkness.” The blind Po, who helps train Caine in body, mind and spirit, was played by Keye Luke.

When Po is killed by the Emperor’s nephew, Caine kills the nephew, fleeing to the American West, where he gets involved with the plight of Chinese railroad workers.

“Kung Fu,” the series, ran from October 1972 to March 1975, almost single-handedly launching the martial arts craze of the ’70s. With a price on his head for his murder in China, Caine/Carradine wandered the Old West, looking for his half-brother and defending himself, as well as fighting injustice, when necessary. Master Po frequently turned up to offer Caine life lessons, in flashbacks.

Keye Luke’s early career was playing “Number One Son” opposite several non-Asian lead actors in “Charlie Chan” movies. Twenty years later, assisted by improved acting skills, much better material and white contact lenses, Luke brought a tremendous, quiet strength to the role of master Po, earning him a permanent place in television’s Hall of Memorable Characters.

Category : Disability in Entertainment, Television