'Griff' is a 13-episode ABC crime drama starring Lorne Greene and Ben Murphy, which aired from September 29, 1973, to January 5, 1974. Nine months after the expiration of his nearly 14-year role as Ponderosa Ranch patriarch Ben Cartwright on NBC's Bonanza western series, the Canadian native Greene portrayed Wade "Griff" Griffin, a former police officer who becomes a private detective. Murphy, an Arkansas native who grew up near Chicago, Illinois, previously portrayed Kid Curry on ABC's Alias Smith and Jones western series. In Griff he played Greene's 31-year-old partner, S. Michael "Mike" Murdock. Vic Tayback, later the operator of the fictitious Mel's Diner of CBS's Alice sitcom, portrays Captain Barney Marcus of the Los Angeles Police Department, Griff's continuing contact with the police. Patricia Stich appeared as Gracie Newcombe, the secretary for the two detectives.
One of the Griff executive producers was Steven Bochco, later of ABC's N.Y.P.D. Blue. The three other executive producers were David Victor, Peter S. Fischer, and Robert F. O'Neill.[ ]
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