# Rescue 8

Rescue 8 is a syndicated American action adventure drama series about Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) Rescue Squad 8. It premiered in 1958 and originally ran for two seasons with syndicated reruns continuing for almost a decade thereafter.

## Premise, cast, and characters

Rescue 8, like 26 other rescue units with the LACFD, responded when people faced life-and-death situations. Attached to Fire House Station 8, the unit was headed by veteran rescueman Wes Cameron. Skip Johnson was his assistant.
The show starred Jim Davis as Wes Cameron and Lang Jeffries as Skip Johnson. Nancy Rennick portrayed Patty Johnson, and Mary K. Cleary portrayed Susan Johnson, the wife and daughter, respectively of Skip Johnson. Tom McKee played the chief.

## Production

Created by George Draine and Paul Frees, the series was produced by Screen Gems, with directors Dann Cahn and William Witney. Rescue 8 produced 73 half-hour episodes. The first season ran on Tuesday evenings, and the second season on Wednesdays. Bert Leonard was the producer.
Davis and Jeffries learned fire department procedures at a training school, and they did most stunts themselves.

## Selected episodes

In the series premiere, "The Ferris Wheel" (September 23, 1958), the firemen must devise a plan to retrieve a woman, who was recently released from a mental institution (Jeanne Bates), and her young daughter (Gina Gillespie) from the top of a Ferris wheel on which they are trapped. Rand Brooks guest stars in the first of his two appearances as Tom Hickey.
In "Subterranean City" (October 14, 1958), rescuers Wes and Skip search for a lost girl in the sewer tunnels and encounter three criminals hiding out underground, one of whom is Skip's nephew, Pete, played by Warren Oates. Pete breaks with his companions and joins the firemen in finding the child.
In "The Cave-In" (December 2, 1958), Will Wright played an elderly man who attempts with shovel and bucket to build a backyard swimming pool for his grandchildren with disastrous results because of the lack of proper shoring.
In "The Bells of Fear" (December 9, 1958), an elderly clockmaker who is trying to repair the chimes in a church clock is trapped inside the instrument just before Christmas Eve. Joe Flynn and Russell Johnson appear in this episode.
In "Calamity Coach" (December 30, 1958), Wes Cameron and Skip Johnson seek to rescue three actors on location when a stagecoach tumbles down a mountain, Douglas Kennedy guest stars.
In "The Secret of the Mission" (January 6, 1959), J. Pat O'Malley plays a priest who is trapped with a would-be thief named Carlos (Rafael Campos) under the roof of a collapsed church.
In "Disaster Town" (February 17, 1959), Gail Kobe plays Ellen Mason, a mother looking for her son, Jimmy, in a ghost town. Jay North, some six months before the premiere of his CBS situation comedy, Dennis the Menace, played the missing son. Craig Hill, the co-star of Whirlybirds, played the father, Chuck Mason. The rescue team is called when the woman is trapped after falling through the floor of an abandoned building.
In "A Handful of Vengeance" (February 24, 1959), Pete Brocco played Stephano, a deranged pyromaniac, who threatens the lives of a warden, his wife, and their two children and then turns on the rescuers as well.
In "International Incident" (March 17, 1959), Robert Cabal plays a foreign prince, Raj Tamal, who is trapped in an automobile accident and is also the target of an assassin, portrayed by Vito Scotti. Denver Pyle guest stars as Sergeant Frank Hogan.
In "The Third Strike" (December 2, 1959), John Beradino, a professional baseball player-turned-actor, was cast in the role of a baseball player who loses consciousness when struck by a wild pitch. He soon awakes with short-term amnesia.
On January 6, 1960, Jay Silverheels of The Lone Ranger played an American Indian fireman fighting a forest fire in the episode "Leap of Life".
In "Breakdown" (March 31, 1960), one of the last episodes of Rescue 8, Robert Redford plays Danny Tilford, a mentally-disturbed young man trapped in the wreckage of his family garage.

## Other guest stars

* Lee Aaker
* John Archer
* Malcolm Atterbury
* Roy Barcroft
* Charles Bateman
* James Best
* Patricia Blair
* Walter Burke
* John Carradine
* Wally Cassell
* Richard Chamberlain
* Virginia Christine
* Mike Connors
* Ellen Corby
* Robert Cornthwaite
* Walter Coy
* Joel Crothers
* Michael Dante
* Douglas Dick
* Don Durant
* Ross Elliott
* Bill Erwin
* Frank Ferguson
* Dabbs Greer
* James Griffith
* Gloria Henry
* Tommy Ivo
* Brad Johnson
* Robert Karnes
* Brett King
* Ruta Lee
* Suzanne Lloyd
* Ann McCrea
* Tyler McVey
* Dennis Moore
* James Philbrook
* William Phipps
* John M. Pickard
* Richard Rust
* Walter Sande
* Johnny Seven
* Hal Smith
* Harry Dean Stanton
* Naomi Stevens
* Hope Summers
* Jack Weston
* Robert Warwick
* Francine York

## Comparisons

The real Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 8 is at 7643 West Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. The real Station 8 was also depicted as "Station 10" in the opening scenes of the pilot movie for Emergency! in 1972.
The Rescue 8 truck depicted in the series was a 1958 GMC Suburban equipped with classic, front-bumper General Motors "dagmars". According to several Internet sources, the real Rescue 8 squad that existed during the 1958–60 timeframe of the series employed the use of a 1956 Chevrolet panel-van truck (a somewhat less robust version of the nearly identical GMC truck).
Rescue 8 shows more physically oriented rescues than seen 14 years later in the debut of the television series Emergency! (1972–77), which also featured the Los Angeles County Fire Department's rescue squads. The latter show had physically oriented rescues, but also included emergency medical rescues. This is because rescue firemen were not then trained as paramedics until 12 years after the premier of Rescue 8, acquiring this expanded role with the passage of the Wedsworth-Townsend Pilot Paramedic Act in 1970. The creation of Paramedic Act itself was the main plot theme of the pilot movie of Emergency!.

## Episodes
### Season 1 (1958–59)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 1 | 1 | "The Ferris Wheel" | Robert G. Walker | Story by : George Draine Teleplay by : Gene L. Coon & Stirling Silliphant | September 23, 1958 (1958-09-23) |
| 2 | 2 | "102 to Bakersfield" | Robert G. Walker | Stirling Silliphant | September 30, 1958 (1958-09-30) |
| 3 | 3 | "The Cliff" | Robert G. Walker | Howard J. Green | October 7, 1958 (1958-10-07) |
| 4 | 4 | "The Subterranean City" | Robert G. Walker | Jesse L. Lasky Jr. | October 14, 1958 (1958-10-14) |
| 5 | 5 | "The Cage" | Robert G. Walker | Jesse L. Lasky Jr. | October 21, 1958 (1958-10-21) |
| 6 | 6 | "The Crackup" | Robert G. Walker | Story by : Arthur W. Rowe Teleplay by : Wilton Schiller & Jack Laird | October 28, 1958 (1958-10-28) |
| 7 | 7 | "The Ammonia Trap" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | November 4, 1958 (1958-11-04) |
| 8 | 8 | "The Chasm" | William J. Hole Jr. | Jack Gariss | November 11, 1958 (1958-11-11) |
| 9 | 9 | "The Steel Mountain" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | November 18, 1958 (1958-11-18) |
| 10 | 10 | "Find That Bomb!" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | November 25, 1958 (1958-11-25) |
| 11 | 11 | "The Cave-In" | Robert G. Walker | Jerry Thomas & Howard J. Green | December 2, 1958 (1958-12-02) |
| 12 | 12 | "The Bells of Fear" | Robert G. Walker | Story by : George Draine Teleplay by : Jesse L. Lasky Jr. | December 9, 1958 (1958-12-09) |
| 13 | 13 | "Danger! 20,000 Volts" | Robert G. Walker | Jerry Thomas | December 16, 1958 (1958-12-16) |
| 14 | 14 | "The Scrap Iron Jungle" | Robert G. Walker | Jesse L. Lasky Jr. | December 23, 1958 (1958-12-23) |
| 15 | 15 | "Calamity Coach" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | December 30, 1958 (1958-12-30) |
| 16 | 16 | "Secret of the Mission" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | January 6, 1959 (1959-01-06) |
| 17 | 17 | "Trial by Fire" | William Beaudine | Story by : Teleplay by : | January 13, 1959 (1959-01-13) |
| 18 | 18 | "High Hazard" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | January 20, 1959 (1959-01-20) |
| 19 | 19 | "Rubber Gold" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | January 27, 1959 (1959-01-27) |
| 20 | 20 | "Flash Flood" | Lew Landers | Jesse L. Lasky Jr. | February 3, 1959 (1959-02-03) |
| 21 | 21 | "Initiation to Danger" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | February 10, 1959 (1959-02-10) |
| 22 | 22 | "Disaster Town" | William Beaudine | Story by : Gene Feldman Teleplay by : Jesse L. Lasky Jr. & Jerry Thomas | February 17, 1959 (1959-02-17) |
| 23 | 23 | "A Handful of Vengeance" | Robert G. Walker | Jesse L. Lasky Jr. | February 24, 1959 (1959-02-24) |
| 24 | 24 | "Forty Five Fathoms, Dead or Alive" | Robert G. Walker | Cy Chermak | March 3, 1959 (1959-03-03) |
| 25 | 25 | "Children of the Sun" | Robert G. Walker | Story by : Stanley H. Silverman Teleplay by : Jerry Thomas | March 10, 1959 (1959-03-10) |
| 26 | 26 | "International Incident" | Unknown | Jerry Thomas | March 17, 1959 (1959-03-17) |
| 27 | 27 | "Nine Minutes to Live" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | March 24, 1959 (1959-03-24) |
| 28 | 28 | "No Trespassing" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | March 31, 1959 (1959-03-31) |
| 29 | 29 | "Three Men in a Vault" | Unknown | Jesse L. Lasky Jr. | April 7, 1959 (1959-04-07) |
| 30 | 30 | "The Walking Death" | William Beaudine | Story by : Teleplay by : | April 14, 1959 (1959-04-14) |
| 31 | 31 | "Tower of Hate" | Unknown | Arthur Rowe | April 21, 1959 (1959-04-21) |
| 32 | 32 | "Danger in Paradise" | Unknown | Jesse L. Lasky Jr. | April 28, 1959 (1959-04-28) |
| 33 | 33 | "Hour of Rage" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | May 5, 1959 (1959-05-05) |
| 34 | 34 | "If the Bough Breaks" | William Beaudine | Jesse L. Lasky Jr. | May 12, 1959 (1959-05-12) |
| 35 | 35 | "High Pressure" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | May 19, 1959 (1959-05-19) |
| 36 | 36 | "One More Step" | Robert G. Walker | Jerry Thomas | May 26, 1959 (1959-05-26) |
| 37 | 37 | "Left Hook to Hades" | Robert G. Walker | Jerry Thomas | June 2, 1959 (1959-06-02) |
| 38 | 38 | "The Trap" | William J. Hole Jr. | Jack Gariss | June 9, 1959 (1959-06-09) |
| 39 | 39 | "Death for Hire" | William Beaudine | Arthur Rowe | June 16, 1959 (1959-06-16) |

### Season 2 (1959–60)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| 40 | 1 | "Suitcase Fireman" | Robert G. Walker | Story by : Teleplay by : | September 23, 1959 (1959-09-23) |
| 41 | 2 | "The Rock Prison" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | September 30, 1959 (1959-09-30) |
| 42 | 3 | "Fool's Gold" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | October 7, 1959 (1959-10-07) |
| 43 | 4 | "Paid in Full" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | October 14, 1959 (1959-10-14) |
| 44 | 5 | "Dangerous Salvage" | Robert G. Walker | Story by : Teleplay by : | October 21, 1959 (1959-10-21) |
| 45 | 6 | "3 Mile Bomb" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | October 28, 1959 (1959-10-28) |
| 46 | 7 | "Not for Glory" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | November 4, 1959 (1959-11-04) |
| 47 | 8 | "Forced Landing" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | November 11, 1959 (1959-11-11) |
| 48 | 9 | "Smashout" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | November 18, 1959 (1959-11-18) |
| 49 | 10 | "Runaway" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | November 25, 1959 (1959-11-25) |
| 50 | 11 | "The Third Strike" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | December 2, 1959 (1959-12-02) |
| 51 | 12 | "Pitfall" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | December 9, 1959 (1959-12-09) |
| 52 | 13 | "Heat Wave" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | December 16, 1959 (1959-12-16) |
| 53 | 14 | "The Birdman" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | December 23, 1959 (1959-12-23) |
| 54 | 15 | "The Collision" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | December 30, 1959 (1959-12-30) |
| 55 | 16 | "Leap of Life" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | January 6, 1960 (1960-01-06) |
| 56 | 17 | "The Squatters" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | January 13, 1960 (1960-01-13) |
| 57 | 18 | "Backfire" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | January 20, 1960 (1960-01-20) |
| 58 | 19 | "High Explosive" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | January 27, 1960 (1960-01-27) |
| 59 | 20 | "Add a Pinch of Death" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | February 3, 1960 (1960-02-03) |
| 60 | 21 | "Ten Minutes to Doomsday" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | February 10, 1960 (1960-02-10) |
| 61 | 22 | "Square Triangle" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | February 17, 1960 (1960-02-17) |
| 62 | 23 | "Ti-Ling" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | February 24, 1960 (1960-02-24) |
| 63 | 24 | "Lifeline" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | March 3, 1960 (1960-03-03) |
| 64 | 25 | "High Lonely" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | March 10, 1960 (1960-03-10) |
| 65 | 26 | "Comeback" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | March 17, 1960 (1960-03-17) |
| 66 | 27 | "Quicksand" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | March 24, 1960 (1960-03-24) |
| 67 | 28 | "Breakdown" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | March 31, 1960 (1960-03-31) |
| 68 | 29 | "School for Violence" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | April 7, 1960 (1960-04-07) |
| 69 | 30 | "The Devil's Cavern" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | April 14, 1960 (1960-04-14) |
| 70 | 31 | "13 Stories Up" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | April 21, 1960 (1960-04-21) |
| 71 | 32 | "Deep Danger" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | April 28, 1960 (1960-04-28) |
| 72 | 33 | "I Don't Remember" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | May 5, 1960 (1960-05-05) |
| 73 | 34 | "Second Team" | Unknown | Story by : Teleplay by : | May 12, 1960 (1960-05-12) |