Waterfront (1955 TV series)

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Waterfront is a syndicated half-hour American television drama series that starred Preston Foster as the captain of the harbor tug Cheryl Ann.^[1] The series was filmed 1954–1955 by Roland Reed Productions, Inc., for the Ziv Company, in part on location at the Port of Los Angeles. Although Foster had been a Broadway, Vaudeville, and Hollywood actor since his 20s, he grew up in coastal cities in New Jersey, worked as a clerk for a shipping company when he was 20, and was an officer in the United States Coast Guard during World War II. He was quoted as insisting on authenticity where possible in the production.^{[citation needed]}

Production

Preston Foster portrayed Captain John Herrick, a tugboat captain at Los Angeles Harbor, operating from Berth 14 in San Pedro, in 78 episodes, production of which concluded in 1955. It also starred Douglas Dick, Lois Moran, Willie Best^[2] and Harry Lauter. Moran portrayed Herrick's wife. Lauter and Dick played his sons, and Billy Chapin portrayed his grandson. Best was seen as the tugboat's cook. Others in the cast were Pinky Tomlin as deckhand Tip Hubbard and Eddy Waller as lighthouse keeper Jonathan Beal.^[1]

Foster said, “On Waterfront, I insisted that we use the real locale. We went down to Los Angeles harbor and got a lot of good background shots. The Coast Guard supplied the equipment we needed, and I even learned how to handle the tugboat myself.”^[3]

The actor left the program to make the pilot for a new program, “Test Pilot,” which, ultimately, did not make it into series production. Foster explained that the end of Waterfront was a financial decision.

“We’ve made 78 of them,” he said. “That’s enough for two years, including 26 weeks of reruns. The show is still riding high, and we could probably make more."^[3]

“But the profit is in the second runs. It’s important to sell them in the second-run market while the show’s popularity is high; you get a better price for them."^[3]

“Now is when the producers cash in on the investment. So far they haven’t made a profit. I’m the only one who has - because I was under salary.”^[3]

Episodes

Season 1 (1954)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"The Skipper's Day"	John Brahm	Story by : Teleplay by : M. Bernard Fox and Jesse L. Lasky Jr.	August 21, 1954 (1954-08-21)
2	2	"Sunken Treasure Of San Pedro"	Phil Karlson	Story by : Teleplay by : Warren Wilson	August 28, 1954 (1954-08-28)
3	3	"Lighthouse"	Phil Karlson	Story by : Teleplay by : Robert J. Shaw	September 5, 1954 (1954-09-05)
4	4	"A New Whistle For The Cheryl Ann"	Hollingsworth Morse	Story by : Teleplay by : Warren Wilson	September 12, 1954 (1954-09-12)
5	5	"Cap'n Long John"	Hollingsworth Morse	Story by : Warren Wilson Teleplay by : Marjorie Hunt Pierson	September 19, 1954 (1954-09-19)
6	6	"Term Paper"	John Brahm	Story by : Teleplay by : M. Bernard Fox and Robert J. Shaw	September 26, 1954 (1954-09-26)
7	7	"Cap'n John's Dilemma"	Phil Karlson	Story by : Teleplay by : Arthur Hoerl	October 3, 1954 (1954-10-03)
8	8	"Family Problems"	Phil Karlson	Story by : Teleplay by : M. Bernard Fox, Eugene Ling, and Robert J. Shaw	October 10, 1954 (1954-10-10)
9	9	"Sea Bells"	John Brahm	Story by : Teleplay by : Norman Reilly Raine	1954 (1954)
10	10	"Tug O'War"	Phil Karlson	Story by : Teleplay by : Charles Belden	1954 (1954)
11	11	"Tailor-Made Trouble"	Hollingsworth Morse	Story by : Teleplay by : Burt Sims and Arthur Hoerl	1954 (1954)
12	12	"Troubled Waters"	Phil Karlson	Story by : Teleplay by : Frank L. Moss and Lee Berg	1954 (1954)
13	13	"The Rift"	Phil Karlson	Story by : Teleplay by : Lillie Hayward	1954 (1954)
14	14	"First Mate"	Ted Post	Story by : Robert C. Dennis Teleplay by : Arthur Hoerl and Louis Vittes	1954 (1954)
15	15	"Warehouse Incident"	Phil Karlson	Story by : Teleplay by : David Dortort	1954 (1954)
16	16	"High Water"	Ted Post	Story by : Charles Belden Teleplay by : Charles Belden and Louis Vittes	1954 (1954)
17	17	"Floating Mine"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Sidney Biddell and Frederic M. Frank	1954 (1954)
18	18	"Fog Bound"	Phil Karlson	Story by : Teleplay by : Frank L. Moss and Lee Berg	1954 (1954)
19	19	"Live Cargo"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : David Dortort	1954 (1954)
20	20	"Cap'n Christopher"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : James O'Hanlon	1954 (1954)
21	21	"Tension"	Ted Post	Story by : Adrian Spies Teleplay by : Arthur Hoerl and Louis Vittes	1954 (1954)
22	22	"Back Wash"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Lillie Hayward	1954 (1954)
23	23	"Diamonds In The Rough"	Ted Post	Story by : John Tucker Battle Teleplay by : John Tucker Battle, Louis Vittes, and Warren Wilson	1954 (1954)
24	24	"The Long Beach Pier"	Ted Post	Story by : John Tucker Battle Teleplay by : John Tucker Battle, Louis Vittes, and Warren Wilson	1954 (1954)
25	25	"Portia Of The Sea"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Frank L. Moss and Lee Berg	1954 (1954)
26	26	"Anchors Of The Past"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Eugene Vale and Frank L. Moss	1954 (1954)
27	27	"Driftwood"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Frank L. Moss and Lee Berg	1954 (1954)
28	28	"Drawbridge Incident"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Sidney Biddell and Frederic M. Frank	1954 (1954)
29	29	"Tuna Clipper"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Frederic M. Frank	1954 (1954)
30	30	"The White Ducks"	Phil Karlson	Story by : Teleplay by : David Dortort	1954 (1954)
31	31	"Star Bright"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Frank L. Moss	1954 (1954)
32	32	"Harbor Piracy"	Phil Karlson	Story by : Teleplay by : David Lang	1954 (1954)
33	33	"The Sea And Captain Taggart"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Bernie Giler	1954 (1954)
34	34	"Ghost Tug"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Elizabeth Wilson	1954 (1954)
35	35	"F.O.B. Vera Cruz"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Robert J. Shaw	1954 (1954)
36	36	"Night At The Lighthouse"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : James O'Hanlon	1954 (1954)
37	37	"Live Bait"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Jack Laird	1954 (1954)
38	38	"Oil Island"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Douglas Morrow	1954 (1954)
39	39	"Christmas In San Pedro"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Eugene Ling	1954 (1954)

Season 2 (1954-1955)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
40	1	"Fisherman's Fiesta"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Elizabeth Wilson	1954 (1954)
41	2	"Yellow Flag"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Charles Belden and Frank L. Moss	1954 (1954)
42	3	"Floating Bottle"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Endre Bohem and Louis Vittes	1954 (1954)
43	4	"The Reluctant Guest"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Douglas Morrow	1955 (1955)
44	5	"Homing Flight"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Endre Bohem and Louis Vittes	1955 (1955)
45	6	"Farnum's Folly"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Bernie Giler, Endre Bohem, and Louis Vittes	1955 (1955)
46	7	"Trial By Fire"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : David Dortort	1955 (1955)
47	8	"Shipper, Beware"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Bernie Giler	1955 (1955)
48	9	"Captain Without a Ship"	Frederick Stephani	Story by : Teleplay by : Frank L. Moss	1955 (1955)
49	10	"The Man"	Ted Post	Story by : Curt Siodmak Teleplay by : John A. Kneubuhl	1955 (1955)
50	11	"The Skipper and The Padre"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : James and Jean O'Hanlon	1955 (1955)
51	12	"The Sea Rustler"	Frederick Stephani	Story by : Teleplay by : David Lang and Stan Jones	1955 (1955)
52	13	"Shakedown Cruise"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : John Kneubuhl	1955 (1955)
53	14	"Trestle Point"	Frederick Stephani	Story by : Teleplay by : David Dortort	1955 (1955)
54	15	"The Search"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Douglas Morrow	1955 (1955)
55	16	"The Artful Horse"	Paul Landres	Story by : Teleplay by : Endre Bohem and Louis Vittes	1955 (1955)
56	17	"Tuna Bound"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Lee Perenchio and Violet Atkins	1955 (1955)
57	18	"The Semi-Private Room"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Douglas Morrow	1955 (1955)
58	19	"Beyond The Line"	Frederick Stephani	Story by : Teleplay by : Frank L. Moss	1955 (1955)
59	20	"The Angel Louise"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Violet Atkins and Lee Perenchio	1955 (1955)
60	21	"Stand By All Stations"	Paul Landres	Story by : Stan Jones Teleplay by : David Dortort	1955 (1955)
61	22	"Ferry Boat Ride"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : John Kneubuhl	1955 (1955)
62	23	"The Seal"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Douglas Morrow	1955 (1955)
63	24	"Safe Harbor"	Paul Landres	Story by : Teleplay by : James and Jean O'Hanlon	1955 (1955)
64	25	"The Race"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Douglas Morrow	1955 (1955)
65	26	"The Rescue"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Douglas Morrow	1955 (1955)
66	27	"Double Exposure"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Bernie Giler	1955 (1955)
67	28	"Mike"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : John Kneubuhl	1955 (1955)
68	29	"The Hideout"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Douglas Morrow	1955 (1955)
69	30	"Captain For A Day"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Endre Bohem and Louis Vittes	1955 (1955)
70	31	"Catalina Swim"	Paul Landres	Story by : Teleplay by : Lee Perenchio and Violet Atkins	1955 (1955)
71	32	"Beached"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Bernie Giler	1955 (1955)
72	33	"Red Label Cargo"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : John Kneubuhl	1955 (1955)
73	34	"Sea Explorers"	Paul Guielfoyle	Story by : Teleplay by : Bernie Giler	1955 (1955)
74	35	"Bait Cruise"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Violet Atkins and Lee Perenchio	1955 (1955)
75	36	"The Yacht Race"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Douglas Morrow	1955 (1955)
76	37	"Trouble Ship"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : David Dortort and Douglas Morrow	1955 (1955)
77	38	"The Rivals"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : Douglas Morrow	1955 (1955)
78	39	"Harbor Bound"	Ted Post	Story by : Teleplay by : David Dortort	1955 (1955)

References

^ ^a ^b "'Waterfront' Returns to KSLA Sept. 8". The Shreveport Times. September 4, 1955. p. 12-C. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 732–733. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Thomas, Bob (January 22, 1956). "Foster Turns In Tug for Jet". The San Bernardino County Sun. Associated Press. p. 4. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

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