Spencer's Pilots

Spencer's Pilots
Genre	Adventure
Created by	Larry Rosen
Starring	Gene Evans Christopher Stone Todd Susman Britt Leach Margaret Impert
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	11 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Bob Sweeney Edward H. Feldman
Producer(s)	Larry Rosen
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	48 minutes
Release
Original network	CBS
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	September 17 (1976-09-17) – November 19, 1976 (1976-11-19)

Spencer's Pilots is an American adventure series that aired on CBS from September 17 to November 19, 1976. Created by Larry Rosen, the series stars Gene Evans.

Synopsis

Evans stars as Spencer Parish, the owner of Spencer Aviation. The other series characters are Christopher Stone as Cass Garrett; Todd Susman as Stan Lewis, Margaret Impert as Linda Dann, the pilot's secretary who is herself a pilot, and Britt Leach as Mickey "Wig" Wiggins, the company mechanic. The pilots are often hired to transport criminals or to engage in more mundane activities, such as crop dusting. One episode involves being stranded in the Mojave Desert; another focuses on a pregnant hitchhiker looking for her husband who is trying to find employment in the oil fields. Still another is about a destitute pilot in need of work. Another segment focuses on the smuggling of illegal aliens. Another topic is the antics of a daredevil stunt pilot played by Bill Bixby.

Among the guest stars on the series were: Bob Crane, Shelley Fabares, Barbara Bel Geddes, Bridget Hanley, Katherine Helmond, Gerald Hiken, David Huddleston, Linda Kelsey, Cameron Mitchell, Richard Mulligan, Pamela Reed, and Pernell Roberts.

Production notes

Set in California, Spencer's Pilots was created and produced by Larry Rosen. The executive producers were Bob Sweeney and Edward H. Feldman. The series aired at 8 p.m. Eastern on Fridays opposite the variety show, The Donny and Marie Show on ABC, and Redd Foxx's situation comedy, Sanford and Son on NBC.

At mid-season Spencer's Pilots was replaced in January 1977 on the CBS schedule by Code R, another adventure series set on the beaches of southern California.

External links

• Spencer's Pilots at IMDb

• The Tuscaloosa News (via Associated Press)."Spencer's Pilots' Series Will Have Plenty Of Sky". July 6, 1976. p. 11.
• Alex McNeil, Total Television, Penguin Books, 1996, p. 779. ISBN 0-14-024916-8
• Alex McNeil, Total Television, p. 169