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THE BASICS

                                                                    IN THE MEDIA

Rod Taylor and Sam Elliot played Travis inDarker Than AmberandThe Empty Copper Sea. Neither actor succeeded.

Why?

For one reason Travis is 6’4”, and having a shorter actor just does not make it . ( As this is being written there is a strong rumor that Leonardo DiCaprio will be filming a Travis story. But rumors like this surface every couple of years it seems. Don't pop the corn just yet.

If he were alive and at a right age Sterling Hayden would have fit the bill perfectly. He was 6’5” and had a strong sailing background, and a look at early Hollywood "stills" of him showed he had the looks as well.

Read Hayden's book: The Wanderer and you know what the water meant to him. Very much JDM and Travis.

Oh yeah, one more thing: (from Wikipedia) 

Hayden, as OSS agentJ ohn Hamilton:hisWorld War II service included running guns through German lines to the Yugoslav partisans and parachuting into fascist Croatia. Hayden, who also participated in the Naples-Foggia campaign and established air crew rescue teams in enemy-occupied territory, became a first lieutenant on September 13, 1944, and a captain on February 14, 1945. He won the Silver Star(for gallantry in action in the Balkans and Mediterranean;"Lt. Hamilton displayed great courage in making hazardous sea voyages in enemy-infested waters and reconnaissance through enemy-held areas"), a Bronze Arrowhead devicefor parachuting behind enemy lines, and a commendation from Yugoslavia'sMarshal Tito. He left active duty on December 24, 1945.[9]

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FROM IDMB: TV AND JDM:

Linda(TV Movie) (novella "Linda")

1991Cape Fear(novel "The Executioners")

1985Tales from the Darkside(TV Series) (story - 1 episode)

-Ring Around the Redhead(1985) ... (story)

1984American Playhouse(TV Series) (novel - 1 episode)

-A Flash of Green(1984) ... (novel)

1983Travis McGee(TV Movie) (novel "The Empty Copper Sea")

1981The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite(TV Movie) (characters)

1980Condominium(TV Movie) (novel)

1980The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything(TV Movie) (novel)

1973Linda(TV Movie) (novel)

1970Darker Than Amber(novel "Darker Than Amber")

1968Kona Coast(story "Bimini Gal")

1967-1968Run for Your Life(TV Series) (novel - 3 episodes)

-Beware My Love(1968) ... (novel)

-Cry Hard, Cry Fast: Part 2(1967) ... (novel)

-Cry Hard, Cry Fast: Part 1(1967) ... (novel)

1967ABC Stage 67(TV Series) (story - 1 episode)

-The Trap of Solid Gold(1967) ... (story)

1964Kraft Suspense Theatre(TV Series) (novel - 1 episode)

-The Deep End(1964) ... (novel)

1962The Alfred Hitchcock Hour(TV Series) (short story - SEASON ONE: EPISODE 12)

-Hangover(1962) ... (short story) TONY RANDALL AND JAYNE MANSFIELD

RANDALL DESERVED ANY AWARD FOR HIS PERFORMANCE:

1962Cape Fear(novel "The Executioners")

1961Man-Trap(novel "Taint of the Tiger")

1960Thriller(TV Series) (story - 1 episode)

-The Fatal Impulse(1960) ... (story)

1958Studio 57(TV Series) (story "The Homesick Buick" - 1 episode)

-Getaway Car(1958) ... (story "The Homesick Buick")

1957Studio One in Hollywood(TV Series) (story - 1 episode)

-First Prize for Murder(1957) ... (story)

1956Chevron Hall of Stars(TV Series) (story - 1 episode)

-In a Small Motel(1956) ... (story)

1951-1952Tales of Tomorrow(TV Series) (story - 2 episodes)

-A Child Is Crying(1952) ... (story)

-A Child Is Crying(1951) ... (story - as John MacDonald)

1951Out There(TV Series) (story - 1 episode)

-Susceptibility(1951) ... (story)

1950Lights Out(TV Series) (story - 1 episode)

-A Child Is Crying(1950) ... (story)

Edit

Movies resulting from a JDM novel or short story:

“Cape Fear” (1962)

Based on the novelThe Executioners

Starring Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum

“Cape Fear” (1991)

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Starring Robert DeNiro, Nick Nolte

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“Darker Than Amber” (1970)

Starring Rod Taylor as Travis McGee

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“A Flash of Green “ (1984)

Starring Ed Harris

( arguably the best adaptation)

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“Kona Coast” (1968)

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TV

Based on the story "Bimini Gall"

Starring Richard Boone

“Man-Trap” (1961 AKA Deadlock, Restless)

Based on the story "Taint of the Tiger"

Starring Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen

“Condominium” (1980)

Starring Barbara Eden, Steve Forrest, Ana Alicia, Richard Anderson

“The Empty Copper Sea,”  (1983 AKA Travis McGee: The Empty Copper Sea)

Starring Sam Elliot as Travis McGee

The Girl, The Gold Watch and Everything,” (1980)

Starring Robert Hays, Pam Dawber

“Linda” (1973)

Based on “Linda,” a story by John D. MacDonald

Starring Stella Stevens, Ed Nelson

“Linda” (1993 AKA Lust for Murder)

Starring Virginia Madsen, Ted McGinley

“Hangover,” Alfred Hitcock Presents (Series 8) with Tony Randall

Note: there may have been some tv shows in the 1950’s, but it is hard to determine them, if at all.

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AND FROM A FAN:

Dear CBranche,

I just watched a rather fine episode of the old television series "Thriller" from the 1960's. Broadcast today, 8 PM, on ME TV in Chicago.

Story was about a bomber who lefta bomb in a purse of a woman who is leaving a building and the police try to find the woman. It stars Robert Lansing as the policeman. It was a good episode and I looked to see who the writer was and it is based on a short story by MacDonald.

I think he might have written the screenplay too.

You might want to look it up and add it

to the television credits of J.D. MacDonald at yours site as it was quite a good script.

It impressed me enough to look up the writerand I found your website. Was pleased to discover it and thought you might like the info on anotherMacdonald TV script.

All Best,

Robert Kameczura

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There are two songs which have been written on JDM and Travis:

"Thank You John MacDonald For McGee," by Mario Fig, and it is available on CD.

"McGee"s Waltz" by Bev Seinberg. Bev has this song on a cassette titled "Lost and Found." Contact me for ordering info.

And we can add the references to Travis in Jimmy Buffett’s song:“Incommunicado”:

By: Jimmy Buffett, Deborah McColl, M.L. Benoit1980

For the Duke and Travis McGeeTravis McGee's still in Cedar KeyThat's what ol' John MacDonald saidMy rendezvous's so long overdueWith all of the things I've sung and I've readThey still apply to meThey all make sense in time

Chorus:But now I'm incommunicadoDrivin' by myself down the road with a hole in itSongs with no vibratoTakin' the long way home

Now on the day that John Wayne diedI found myself on the continental divideTell me where do I go from hereThink I'll ride into Leadville and have a few beersI think of "Red River" or "Liberty Valance"Can't believe the old man's gone

Chorus:But now he's incommunicadoLeavin' such a hole in a world that believedThat a life with such bravadoWas takin' the right way home

So when I finished that last lineI put the book by itself on the shelf with my heart in itNever wastin' time takin' the right way homeI know I'm never wastin' time findin' the right way home

Chorus:Still I am incommunicadoLivin' next door to a leg with a pin in itLife with such bravadoIs takin' the right way home

Tryin' to make itTryin' to fake itTryin' to take it home

Tryin' to make itTryin' to fake itTryin' to take it home

I know I'm...Tryin' to make itSometimes I fake itTryin' to take it home

All I'm doing is...Tryin' to make itTryin' to fake itTryin' to take it home

But now I'm incommunicado...