Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries - Hero: Richard Mulligan as Sam Garret

The Hero ran from September 1966 until January 1967 on NBC.

The real world and the make-believe world of television are 2 completely different things. That was the message of this unusual tv satire. Sam Garret( Richard Mulligan), was a hugely popular tv star with his own ( fictional), western series Jed Clayton-U.S. Marshal. The real Sam differed somehat from the cooly imperturbable hero of the tv screen, however. To his wife Ruth ( Mariette Hartley), and his son Paul ( Bobby Horan), as well as to their neighbors,The Gilmans ( Victor French as Fred and Joey Baio as his son Burton), Sam was a nice guy who among other things, was afraid of horses, allergic to sagebrush, and all thumbs when it came to any activity requiring coordination.

A Short Article from Time Magazine

Friday, Sep. 16, 1966

The brightest, slickest comedy of the opening week was The Hero (NBC), out of the same shop and mold as last season's hit, Get Smart. Richard Mulligan is cast as an actor who is cast as an actor in a TV western series. In real life he is a suburban dude and a sort of all-round schlemiel. Between (and sometimes during) takes, he is horse-shy, allergic to sagebrush, and as rugged as Mr. Peepers. But the sight gags are inventive, and the dialogue is literate. The only other situation comedy worth a twirl is That Girl (ABC), a sort of My Sister Eileen, starring Danny Thomas' saucy daughter Mario. She is much snappier than her material, and at 26 is unmistakably a hot new talent.

For a biography of Richard Mulligan go to http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800058386/bio

For a biography of Mariette Hartley go to http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800010918/bio