Ralph Manza

Profession

Actor, Soundtrack

We all know that the late ...

Question: We all know that the late George Peppard played John "Hannibal" Smith on The A-Team, but I seem to remember that there was another show that he starred in where he played an insurance investigator. I think I saw it on A&E a little while ago, but I cannot remember the name of the show. Can you help?Answer: That I can, Cliff. Peppard played Polish-American (and I specify ethnicity here because it was a big part of the show's flavor) private-eye Thomas Banacek in the series, which was called (surprise!) Banacek. In it the Boston-based detective went after vanished goods and then claimed the reward money from insurance companies when he solved the capers. Ralph Manza and Murray Matheson were also regulars on the show, and Christine Belford came on board in the second season to add a little romance.Banacek debuted as part o

Thu, Aug 4, 2005

What does the "A.E.S." stand ...

Question: What does the "A.E.S." stand for in A.E.S. Hudson Street?Answer: I suspect you already know, Terrin, and are testing me. But for the benefit of those who don't, it stood for Adult Emergency Services. And for the benefit of those who don't know what the heck we're talking about — which is probably pretty much everyone reading this, since the ABC sitcom ran for only a month beginning in March 1978, I'll explain that A.E.S. Hudson Street starred Gregory Sierra as the put-upon Dr. Tony Menzies, chief resident of an underfunded and overworked emergency room in downtown New York City. (Though it's probably tough to imagine, given how expensive every neighborhood in the city is these days, downtown Manhattan was a run-down locale — in a run-down city — in the '70s.) If the show seemed to owe a lot to the classic Barney Mille

Tue, Jul 19, 2005

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