Rona Barrett's Hollywood, November 1972

James Franciscus:  You Can't Cancel Him Out!
by Bill Royce

Even though Longstreet reached a dead end, Jim still has the most 
important thing going for him -- his wife!  

[Excerpt only]

. . . When writer-producer Stirling Silliphant later suggested the 
pilot of Longstreet to him as a possible starring vehicle, Jim 
consented-possibly grateful to work once again with humans instead 
of orangutan "apes," etc. At any rate, Jim returned to television 
as Michael Longstreet, a blind insurance investigator combated 
both crooks and his blindness with the help of (1) "confidante" 
secretary Nikki (Marlyn Mason) and of (2) shifty sidekick (Duke 
Peter Mark Richman).

Jim prefers to think of the show as ". . . a 26-chapter book, 
showing my growth as a human being. The crime aspect of it is 
peripheral. In the usual series, you get bored with the character. 
This one's ahead of me.

"Ostensibly, the show was about a blind investigator, but actually 
it was about a blind person who's trying to cope."

To cope with the grind of a series, Jim reportedly was paid 
$15,000 an episode. In addition, he had it written into his 
contract that his work day be no longer than 101/2 hours long.

"I see no reason for 12 to 14 hour working days," he says simply. 
"That's what I used to do on Novak and that's dumb. An actor has 
shot his wad after five anyway, and he has nothing to give you 
after that." . . .