# A Man Called Hawk

A Man Called Hawk is an American action drama series, starring Avery Brooks, that ran on ABC from January 28 to May 13, 1989. The series is a spin-off of the crime drama series Spenser: For Hire, and features the character Hawk, who first appeared in the 1976 novel Promised Land, the fourth in the series of Spenser novels by mystery writer Robert B. Parker.

## Main cast

On the air for just thirteen episodes, A Man Called Hawk starred Avery Brooks as the title character, who has relocated from Boston to his hometown, Washington, D.C. The series co-starred actor Moses Gunn, who portrayed a father figure to Hawk known only as "Old Man".

## Production

A Man Called Hawk was a spin-off of Spenser: For Hire, which aired on ABC from 1985 through 1988. Brooks co-wrote the theme music for the show with jazz legends Stanley Clarke and Butch Morris, the latter of whom also did most of the incidental music for the show.
The series was filmed in Washington D.C.
During the first three seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Brooks wore a full head of hair and shaved his goatee, as a means of distinguishing his character Benjamin Sisko from Hawk. The goatee was added to Sisko's look near the end of Season 3, and his head was shaved bald at the start of Season 4 (this was due in part to production of DS9 concurring with that of a series of Spenser: For Hire reunion films in which Brooks reprised Hawk).

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "The Master's Mirror" | Virgil W. Vogel | Stephen Hattman | January 28, 1989 (1989-01-28) | 17.6 |
| 2 | "A Time and a Place" | Winrich Kolbe | Stephen Hattman & William Robert Yates | February 4, 1989 (1989-02-04) | 16.3 |
| 3 | "Hear No Evil" | Stanley Lathan | William Robert Yates | February 11, 1989 (1989-02-11) | 15.2 |
| 4 | "Passing the Bar" | Bill Duke | Jerome Coopersmith | February 18, 1989 (1989-02-18) | 15.5 |
| 5 | "The Divided Child" | Winrich Kolbe | Carleton Eastlake | February 25, 1989 (1989-02-25) | 15.3 |
| 6 | "Vendetta" | Sigmund Neufeld | Jaison Starkes | March 4, 1989 (1989-03-04) | 14.6 |
| 7 | "Choice of Chance" | Virgil Vogel | Steve Duncan & L. Travis Clark | March 11, 1989 (1989-03-11) | 12.8 |
| 8 | "Poison" | Harry Falk | Story by : Joan Parker & Robert B. Parker Teleplay by : Robert B. Parker | March 25, 1989 (1989-03-25) | 13.7 |
| 9 | "Never My Love" | Virgil Vogel | Steve Duncan & L. Travis Clark | April 1, 1989 (1989-04-01) | 12.3 |
| 10 | "Intensive Care" | Virgil Vogel | Carleton Eastlake | April 15, 1989 (1989-04-15) | 12.2 |
| 11 | "If Memory Serves" | Mario Di Leo | Jaison Starkes | April 29, 1989 (1989-04-29) | 6.9 |
| 12 | "Beautiful Are the Stars" | Virgil W. Vogel | Story by : Calvin Hernton Teleplay by : Calvin Hernton and Steve Duncan & L. Travis Clark | May 6, 1989 (1989-05-06) | 10.1 |
| 13 | "Life after Death" | Harry Falk | Thomas Huggins & Charlotte Clay | May 13, 1989 (1989-05-13) | 7.5 |

## Notable guest stars

* Angela Bassett
* Keith David
* William Fichtner
* Samuel L. Jackson
* Delroy Lindo
* Joe Morton
* Wesley Snipes
* Wendell Pierce
* Charles S. Dutton
* Michael Wincott
* Diane Salinger
* Michelle Thomas
* Kimberly Scott
* Joseph C. Phillips
* Paul Guilfoyle
* Vondie Curtis-Hall
* Anthony LaPaglia
* Frankie Faison
* Roscoe Orman
* Joe Seneca

## Syndication

The series was re-aired in reruns on TV One in 2006. The series is currently available for streaming online on Tubi.