A QUESTION OF LUCK

Too bad the character’s good fortune didn’t extend into the CBS executive suite.

Mr. Lucky by Albert Conroy, aka Marvin H. Albert, has nice wraparound art, and the back cover, featuring an unlucky black cat, completes an excellent illustration by Mort Engle. This was actually the novelization of a 1959 Blake Edwards television series of the same name about a gambler who runs a casino on his yacht the Fortuna II, which is anchored off Los Angeles, but beyond the three-mile limit in international waters. In the book he’s framed for murder; in the series he and his sidekick Andamo have assorted wacky adventures, both on the boat and on land, often involving mobsters. The show starred John Vinyan and Ross Martin, and ran for thirty-four episodes—just one season. It was actually quite popular with viewers, but CBS cancelled it anyway. Vinyan said he thought it was done as a favor to Jack Benny to free the time slot for Checkmate, which was made by Benny’s production company. After the axe fell Blake Edwards tried to develop Mr. Lucky as a movie, and it’s possible Conroy’s 1960 novel had something to do with that. That part of the story is murky, but we’ll see if we can dig up a bit more.

Los Angeles, CBS, Albert Conroy, Marvin H. Albert, Mort Engle, John Vinyan, Ross Martin, Blake Edwards, Jack Benny, cover art, literature, television

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September 12

1994—White House Hit by Airplane

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1973—Allende Ousted in Chile

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September 11

2001—New York and Washington D.C. Attacked

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1935—Huey Long Assassinated

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September 9

1956—Elvis Shakes Up Ed Sullivan

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