The Gangster Chronicles

The Gangster Chronicles
Written by David Assael
Art Eisenson
Stephen McPherson
Mark Rodgers
Directed by Richard C. Sarafian
Starring Michael Nouri
Joe Penny
Jon Polito
Madeleine Stowe
Markie Post
Robert Davi
Brian Benben
Louis Giambalvo
E.G. Marshall
Karen Kondazian
Theme music composer Billy Goldenberg
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 13
Production
Executive producer(s) Matthew Rapf
Production location(s) Capitola, California
Santa Cruz, California
Running time
  • 60 minutes per episode
  • 780 minutes total
Release
Original network NBC
Original release February 2 – May 8, 1981

The Gangster Chronicles is an NBC American television crime drama miniseries starring Michael Nouri, Joe Penny, Jon Polito, Louis Giambalvo, Kathleen Lloyd, Madeleine Stowe, Chad Redding, Markie Post, Allan Arbus, James Andronica, Robert Davi, Joseph Mascolo,[1][2][3] and narrated by E.G. Marshall.[4][5][6][3]

Overview

A historically-based crime drama about the lives of gangsters Bugsy Siegel, Lucky Luciano and Al Capone.

There were 13 60-minute episodes. The series was narrated by E. G. Marshall.

Cast

Gangster Wars

Gangster Wars
Directed by Richard C. Sarafian
Produced by Stuart Cohen
Written by Richard DeKoker
Starring Michael Nouri
Joe Penny
Brian Benben
Kathleen Lloyd
Madeleine Stowe
Markie Post
Allan Arbus
Louis Giambalvo
James Andronica
Robert Davi
Joseph Mascolo
Kenneth Tigar
Richard S. Castellano
Jon Polito
Jonathan Banks
George DiCenzo
Robert F. Lyons
Richard Foronjy
Karen Kondazian
Music by John Cacavas
Distributed by CIC
Release date
 April 9, 1981
Running time
 121 min.
Language English

Gangster Wars is a 1981 crime film directed by Richard C. Sarafian and based on the original Gangster Chronicles telecast. The film tells the story of three teenagers, based on real life gangsters Charles "Lucky" Luciano (Michael Nouri), Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (Joe Penny) and Michael Lasker (Brian Benben) (a fictional character who was most likely modeled after Meyer Lansky), growing up in New York's ghettos during the early 1900s to their rise through organized crime.

This movie was a three-hour opener for the subsequent miniseries. In addition to the characters above Brian Benben's character is a fictional composite of several mobsters (here named "Michael Lasker"). While the miniseries covered nearly four decades, the opener takes us from 1907 to the Prohibition era of the 1920s. After its initial run, the entire Gangster Chronicles saga was boiled down to 121 minutes and released to videocassette as Gangster Wars.

References

  1. ↑ Stone, Natalie (December 9, 2016). "Joseph Mascolo, Days of Our LivesActor, Dies at 87". People. United States: Time Inc. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  2. ↑ Brooks & Marsh 2007, p. 517.
  3. 1 2 Terrace 2013, p. 161.
  4. ↑ New York Times
  5. ↑ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2010). "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present". Random House. New York City. ISBN 9780307483157.
  6. ↑ "The Gangster Chronicles". TV.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 3 September 2015.

Sources

  • Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 378. ISBN 978-0786464777.
  • Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. New York City: Ballantine Books. p. 517. ISBN 978-0345497734.
  • Terrace, Vincent (2013). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials. New York City: McFarland & Company. p. 161. ISBN 978-0786474455.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.