Fame Is the Name of the Game

*Fame Is the Name of the Game*
Fame Is the Name of the Game
Genre	Mystery fiction
Based on	One Woman; by Tiffany Thayer
Written by	Carol Sobieski
Screenplay by	Ranald MacDougall
Directed by	Stuart Rosenberg
Starring	Tony Franciosa; Jack Klugman; Susan St. James; Robert Duvall
Theme music composer	Benny Carter
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Ranald MacDougall
Cinematography	John F. Warren
Editor	Edward W. Williams
Running time	100 minutes
Production company	Universal TV
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	November 26, 1966 (Universal City, California);
Chronology
Followed by	The Name of the Game

Fame Is the Name of the Game is a 1966 American made-for-television drama film starring Tony Franciosa that aired on NBC and served as the pilot episode of the subsequent series The Name of the Game. It was directed by Stuart Rosenberg and was produced by Ranald MacDougall, who also wrote the teleplay, from the novel One Woman by Tiffany Thayer.^[1]

The film stars Tony Franciosa as investigative journalist Jeff Dillon and also presents the screen debut of 20-year-old Susan Saint James as Peggy Chan, Dillon's new editorial assistant. (In the series, St. James's character is renamed Peggy Maxwell, and she is the research assistant to all three of the rotating lead characters.) In the film, Jeff Dillon writes for Fame magazine, a publication of Janus Enterprises, and Glenn Howard (George Macready) is just the managing editor. In the subsequent series, Dillon writes for People magazine, a division of Howard Publications, and Glenn Howard (Gene Barry) is head of the whole company.

The telefilm also features Jill St. John, Jack Klugman, and Robert Duvall.

Plot[]

An investigative reporter looks into the murder of a call girl. His investigation unearths her diary, which has the names of many prominent people inscribed within its pages. He sets out to find her killer from among the names contained in the diary.

Cast[]

Tony Franciosa as Jeff Dillon
Jill St. John as Leona Purdy
Jack Klugman as Ben Welcome
George Macready as Glenn Howard (replaced by Gene Barry in the subsequent series)
Jack Weston as Griffin
Susan Saint James as Peggy Chan (Peggy Maxwell in the series)
Lee Bowman as Cruikshank
Robert Duvall as Eddie Franchot
Jay C. Flippen as Dizzy Shaner
Nicholas Colasanto as Lieutenant Lewis

Production[]

Advertising[]

In the weeks before the telefilm's first broadcast, NBC ran an unprecedented blitz of TV ads which erroneously billed Fame is the Name of the Game as television's first "world premiere" of a "major motion picture". The film garnered phenomenal ratings, leading to the spin-off series.

References[]

^ Marill, Alvin H. (1987). Movies Made for Television, The Telefeature and the Mini-Series 1964–1986. New York: Zoetrope. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-918-43280-3.

External links[]

Fame Is the Name of the Game at IMDb

[1] Marill, Alvin H. (1987). Movies Made for Television, The Telefeature and the Mini-Series 1964–1986. New York: Zoetrope. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-918-43280-3.

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