# Slattery's People

Slattery's People is a 1964–65 American television series about local politics starring Richard Crenna as title character James Slattery, a state legislator, co-starring Ed Asner and Tol Avery, and featuring Carroll O'Connor and Warren Oates in a couple of episodes each. James E. Moser was executive producer. The program, telecast on CBS, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Slattery's People is mainly notable for having been one of the few American television series spotlighting the travails of local politicians, a topic that other programs of the period mainly avoided. Episodes opened with the following admonition: "Democracy is a very bad form of government. But I ask you never to forget: All the others are so much worse."
Many television critics highly praised the series. Many politicians also approved of the program. U.S. Representative James C. Corman said in a Congressional Record statement on September 30, 1964, “I am pleased that they have taken the high road to show a legislator’s life, and have not pandered to sensationalism or unreality to stimulate an audience following.” This series was a major career change for Crenna. Following more than a decade as a lead actor in two popular network comedies, Our Miss Brooks and The Real McCoys, his role as Jim Slattery opened doors for later guest appearances in several dramatic programs and feature films.
Moser's script for the pilot ("Question: What is truth?") was printed as an appendix in Teleplay; an introduction to television writing by Coles Trapnell.
Television composer Nathan Scott wrote the theme music for Slattery's People.

## Guest stars

* Philip Abbott in "Question: What is Honor? What is Death?"
* Joan Blackman as Pat Allison in "Question: Remember the Dark Sins of Youth?"
* Russ Conway in "Question: Bill Bailey, Why Did You Come Home?"
* Don Keefer as George Farnum in "Question: What Did You Do All Day, Mr. Slattery?"
* Joyce Meadows as Gert in the episode "Question: Is Laura the Name of the Game?"
* John M. Pickard as Vance Durant in "Question: How Long Is the Shadow of a Man?"
* Judson Pratt as Harry Daniels in "Question: How Impregnable Is a Magic Tower?"
* Robert F. Simon in "Question: What Did You Do All Day, Mr. Slattery?"
* Joan Tompkins as Dorothy Ralston in "Question: What Time Is the Next Bandwagon?"
* Arthur Hill as Dr. George Allison and Michael Constantine as Paul Hungerford in "Question: Remember the Dark Sins of Youth?"
* Ed Wynn as Ezra Tallicott on "What Ever Happened to Ezra?"
* Tommy Sands in "Question: Why the Lonely, Why the Misbegotten?"
* Ricardo Montalbán (credited as Ricardo Montalban) as Rodriguez in "Question: What Became of the White Tortilla?"
* Claude Akins as Dr. Roy Kirk and Barbara Eden as Lucrezia Kirk in "Question: When Do We Hang the Good Samaritan?"
* Forrest Tucker as Bill Bailey in "Question: Bill Bailey, Why Did You Come Home?"

## Episode list
### Season 1 (1964–65)

All episodes in black-and-white
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | 1 | "Question: What is the Truth?" | Lamont Johnson | James E. Moser | September 21, 1964 (1964-09-21) |
| 2 | 2 | "Question: Why the Lonely, Why the Misbegotten?" | Unknown | Barry Trivers | September 28, 1964 (1964-09-28) |
| 3 | 3 | "Question: Remember the Dark Sins of Youth?" | Robert Gist | Dean Riesner | October 5, 1964 (1964-10-05) |
| 4 | 4 | "Question: Whatever Happened to Ezra?" | Unknown | Unknown | October 12, 1964 (1964-10-12) |
| 5 | 5 | "Question: What Are You Doing Out There, Waldo?" | Unknown | Unknown | October 19, 1964 (1964-10-19) |
| 6 | 6 | "Question: What Became of the White Tortilla?" | Sydney Pollack | Jack Guss & William P. McGivern | October 26, 1964 (1964-10-26) |
| 7 | 7 | "Question: Where Vanished the Tragic Piper? (aka Children of Calamity)" | Lamont Johnson | Anthony Lawrence | November 2, 1964 (1964-11-02) |
| 8 | 8 | "Question: Is Laura the Name of the Game?" | Unknown | Norman Katkov | November 9, 1964 (1964-11-09) |
| 9 | 9 | "Question: What is a Genius Worth This Week?" | Unknown | Jack Guss | November 16, 1964 (1964-11-16) |
| 10 | 10 | "Question: What is Honor, What is Death?" | Unknown | William P. McGivern | November 23, 1964 (1964-11-23) |
| 11 | 11 | "Question: Do the Ignorant Sleep in Pure White Beds?" | Unknown | Unknown | November 30, 1964 (1964-11-30) |
| 12 | 12 | "Question: Which One Has the Privilege?" | Unknown | Norman Katkov | December 7, 1964 (1964-12-07) |
| 13 | 13 | "Question: How Long is the Shadow of a Man?" | Unknown | Bob & Wanda Duncan | January 1, 1965 (1965-01-01) |
| 14 | 14 | "Question: What is a Requiem for a Loser?" | Unknown | Jack Guss | January 8, 1965 (1965-01-08) |
| 15 | 15 | "Question: What Did You Do All Day, Mr. Slattery?" | Unknown | William P. McGivern | January 15, 1965 (1965-01-15) |
| 16 | 16 | "Question: How Do You Fall in Love with a Town?" | Unknown | Unknown | January 22, 1965 (1965-01-22) |
| 17 | 17 | "Question: Does Nero Still at Ringside Sit?" | Unknown | Dean Riesner | February 5, 1965 (1965-02-05) |
| 18 | 18 | "Question: How Do You Catch a Cool Bird of Paradise?" | Mark Rydell | Michael Zagor | February 12, 1965 (1965-02-12) |
| 19 | 19 | "Question: When Do We Hang the Good Samaritan?" | Unknown | Bob & Wanda Duncan | February 19, 1965 (1965-02-19) |
| 20 | 20 | "Question: Is Democracy Too Expensive?" | Robert Gist | S. Lee Pogostin | February 26, 1965 (1965-02-26) |
| 21 | 21 | "Question: Did He Who Made the Lamb Make Thee?" | Richard C. Sarafian | William P. McGivern | March 5, 1965 (1965-03-05) |
| 22 | 22 | "Question: Who You Takin' to the Main Event, Eddie?" | Unknown | Unknown | March 12, 1965 (1965-03-12) |
| 23 | 23 | "Question: What's New in Timbuctoo?" | Unknown | Unknown | March 19, 1965 (1965-03-19) |
| 24 | 24 | "Question: Bill Bailey, Why Did You Come Home?" | Unknown | Stanford Whitmore | April 2, 1965 (1965-04-02) |
| 25 | 25 | "Question: What Time is the Next Bandwagon?" | Unknown | Preston Wood | April 9, 1965 (1965-04-09) |
| 26 | 26 | "Question: What's a Swan Song for a Sparrow?" | Robert Gist | Jack Guss | April 16, 1965 (1965-04-16) |

### Season 2 (1965)

All episodes in black-and-white
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 27 | 1 | "A Sitting Duck Named Slattery" | Unknown | Preston Wood | September 17, 1965 (1965-09-17) |
| 28 | 2 | "He Who Has Ears, Let Him Bug Someone Else" | Unknown | David Rintels | September 24, 1965 (1965-09-24) |
| 29 | 3 | "How Impregnable is a Magic Tower?" | Unknown | Sheldon Stark | October 1, 1965 (1965-10-01) |
| 30 | 4 | "The Unborn" | Unknown | Pat Fielder | October 8, 1965 (1965-10-08) |
| 31 | 5 | "Rally Round Your Own Flag, Mister" | Unknown | David Karp | October 15, 1965 (1965-10-15) |
| 32 | 6 | "What Can You Do with a Wounded Tiger?" | Unknown | Bob & Wanda Duncan | October 22, 1965 (1965-10-22) |
| 33 | 7 | "The Hero" | Unknown | Preston Wood | November 5, 1965 (1965-11-05) |
| 34 | 8 | "Of Damon, Pythias and Sleeping Dogs" | Unknown | Unknown | November 12, 1965 (1965-11-12) |
| 35 | 9 | "The Last Commuter" | Marc Daniels | David Karp | November 19, 1965 (1965-11-19) |
| 36 | 10 | "Color Him Red" | Unknown | Pat Fielder | November 26, 1965 (1965-11-26) |