Series Description

The Cannon TV show was a 60 minute drama series on CBS about a really fat former Los Angeles police officer who had resigned from the LAPD to become a private detective. Despite his weight, he was fantastic at his job and, therefore, demanded high fees for his serivices. Frank Cannon himself was more than a bit too large to get involved in many fist fights but there were plenty of fights among other characters plus gun battles, car chases, and all the other action you'd expect to see on a series featuring a private investigator.

Cannon Cast

William Conrad .... Frank Cannon
Barry Sullivan .... Calhoun
Vera Miles .... Diana Langston
Lynda Day George .... Christie Redfield
J.D.Cannon .... Lieutenant Kelly Redfield
Keenan Wynn .... Eddie
Earl Holliman .... Deputy Sheriff
Murray Hamilton .... Virgil Holly
John Fiedler .... Jake
Ross Hagen .... Red Dunleavy
Pamela Dunlap .... Roberta
Lawrence Pressman .... Herb Mayer

Cannon Trivia:

Cannon couldn't have had a better time slot for its first season on the air! It was on immediately following the hit crime series, "Hawaii Five-0"!

Cannon was nominated for an Emmy in 1973 for "Outstanding Drama Series". It also got a Golden Globe nomination in 1974 for "Best Drama TV Show". "The Waltons" won both of those awards. William Conrad was nominated for Golden Globes in both 1972 and 1973 for "Best TV Actor". Robert Young won in 1972 for "Marcus Welby, M.D." and Peter Falk won in 1973 for "Columbo". Conrad was also nominated for Emmys in 1973 and 1974. In 1973 Richard Thomas won for "The Waltons" and in 1974 Telly Savalas won for "Kojak".

Cannon needed a large vehicle to accomodate his large body so he drove a Lincoln Continental.

William Conrad began his show business career in radio in the late 1930s. His deep baritone voice that was so valuable in radio would serve him well later as a prolific narrator of TV shows. When World War II struck, Conrad joined the Army Air Corps and served as a fighter pilot! He returned to radio when the war ended. Conrad was definitely one of the kings of Old Time Radio! When asked, Conrad once estimated that he had performed in more than 7,000 radio episodes on dozens of different shows! The role he is best known for is that as "Marshall Matt Dillon" on the "Gunsmoke Radio Show". Unfortunately, when the "Gunsmoke TV Show" hit the airwaves in 1955, the producers felt that Conrad's weight would make it impossible for the viewers to accept him as the invincible Marshall Dillon so they offered the role to John Wayne! He didn't want it because he wanted to remain in the movies but he recommended a young, relatively unknown guy that he thought would be perfect ... James Arness and the rest is TV history! In 1997, William Conrad was inducted into the "Radio Hall of Fame".

Gunsmoke was one of the last radio shows to leave the air (in 1961) but Conrad had also been working his way into movie roles and TV guest-starring roles by then. His wonderful voice was also beginning to get him some Narrator roles, the first well-known one being on the children's cartoon series, "Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Friends". His narration credits are way too long to list here but the other best known series he narrated were "The Fugitive (1963)", "Tales of the Unexpected", and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century". In 1981, Conrad got another starring role on the 1981 version of the "Nero Wolfe TV Show" and in 1987 he landed the lead role on "Jake and the Fatman".

Cannon was produced by "Quinn Martin Productions". They produced numerous shows in the 1960s and 70s including "12 O'Clock High", "Barnaby Jones", "The F.B.I.", "The Fugitive", "The Invaders", and "The Streets of San Francisco"! Cannon was the first Quinn Martin series that did not air on ABC. Cannon and Barnaby Jones would often "crossover" by featuring each others regular Cast as guest-stars.