| Palmerstown, U.S.A. | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Palmerstown |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Alex Haley |
| Developed by | Norman Lear |
| Starring | Jonelle Allen Bill Duke Star-Shemah Bobatoon Jermain Hodge Johnson Beeson Carroll Janice St. John Michael J. Fox Brian Godfrey Wilson Kenneth White Iris Korn (1981) |
| Composers | Al Schackman (season 1) Jerrold Immel (season 2) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 17 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Norman Lear Alex Haley Ronald Rubin |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | Haley Productions T.A.T. Communications Company |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | March 20, 1980 (1980-03-20) – June 9, 1981 (1981-06-09) |
Palmerstown, U.S.A. (shortened to Palmerstown in March 1981) is a television drama series that aired on CBS from March 20, 1980 to June 9, 1981. It was created by Norman Lear and Alex Haley, whose childhood was the basis for the series. It tells the story of two nine-year-old boys in the rural Southern community of Palmerstown who become best friends during the Great Depression, despite one being black and the other being white.
Cast
- Jonelle Allen as Bessie Freeman
- Bill Duke as Luther Freeman
- Star-Shemah Bobatoon as Diana Freeman
- Jermain Hodge Johnson as Booker T. Freeman
- Beeson Carroll as W.D. Hall
- Janice St. John as Coralee Hall
- Michael J. Fox as Willy-Joe Hall
- Brian Godfrey Wilson as David Hall
- Kenneth White as The Sheriff
- Iris Korn as Widder Brown (1981)
Episodes
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Season 1 (1980)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Palmerstown, U.S.A." | Peter Levin | Ronald Rubin | March 20, 1980 (1980-03-20) |
| 2 | 2 | ||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Lesson" | Larry Elikann | Noreen Stone | March 27, 1980 (1980-03-27) |
| 4 | 4 | "A Place for Bo" | Jeffrey Hayden | Robert Price | April 3, 1980 (1980-04-03) |
| 5 | 5 | "The Black Travelers: Part 1" | Jeffrey Hayden | Story by : Jim Tisdale Teleplay by : Ronald Rubin & Alex Haley | April 10, 1980 (1980-04-10) |
| 6 | 6 | "The Black Travelers: Part 2" | Jeffrey Hayden | Story by : Jim Tisdale Teleplay by : Ronald Rubin & Alex Haley | April 17, 1980 (1980-04-17) |
| 7 | 7 | "Kidnapped" | Gilbert Moses | Alex Haley & Ronald Rubin | April 24, 1980 (1980-04-24) |
| 8 | 8 | "The Old Sister" | Jeffrey Hayden | Story by : Saundra Sharp Teleplay by : Odie Hawkins and Ronald Rubin & Alex Haley | May 1, 1980 (1980-05-01) |
Season 2 (1981)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "Vendetta" | Ivan Dixon | Ernie Wallengren | March 17, 1981 (1981-03-17) |
| 10 | 2 | "Scandal" | Unknown | Unknown | March 24, 1981 (1981-03-24) |
| 11 | 3 | "The Hobo" | Unknown | Unknown | March 31, 1981 (1981-03-31) |
| 12 | 4 | "Future City" | Unknown | Unknown | April 7, 1981 (1981-04-07) |
| 13 | 5 | "Epidemic" | Unknown | Unknown | April 14, 1981 (1981-04-14) |
| 14 | 6 | "The Threat" | Unknown | Unknown | April 21, 1981 (1981-04-21) |
| 15 | 7 | "Roadhouse" | Unknown | Unknown | May 5, 1981 (1981-05-05) |
| 16 | 8 | "Dry Hole" | Unknown | Unknown | May 19, 1981 (1981-05-19) |
| 17 | 9 | "The Suitor" | Unknown | Unknown | June 2, 1981 (1981-06-02) |
| 18 | 10 | "Crossroads" | Unknown | Unknown | June 9, 1981 (1981-06-09) |
See also
References
- ^ Bianculli, David (2017). The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 9781101911327. page 290
- Drew, Bernard Alger (2007). 100 Most Popular African American Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies. Libraries Unlimited. p. 123. ISBN 9781591583226.
palmerstown usa.
page 123 - ^ O'Connor, John J. (17 March 1981). "TV: THE RETURN OF 'PALMERSTOWN'". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- "'Palmerstown' writer Willard Rodgers dies". The Hollywood Reporter. 13 June 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- Bogle, Donald (2015). Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9781466894457.page 255
- "The Story Behind HALEY & LEAR Television Team". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 3 April 1980. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
External links
| Norman Lear | |
|---|---|
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| Related articles | |
- Norman Lear
- 1980s American drama television series
- 1980 American television series debuts
- 1981 American television series endings
- American English-language television shows
- Television series by Sony Pictures Television
- Television shows set in Tennessee
- Television series set in the 1930s
- Television series created by Norman Lear
- CBS television dramas