Roll Out Explained

Genre:Sitcom
Creator:Larry Gelbart
Gene Reynolds
Director:William Wiard
Starring:Ed Begley Jr.
Garrett Morris
Rod Gist
Mel Stewart
Jimmy Lydon
Stu Gilliam
Hilly Hicks
Darrow Igus
Theme Music Composer:Dave Grusin
Composer:J. J. Johnson ("Dark Victory")
Benny Golson
Dave Grusin
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:12
Producer:Gene Reynolds
Larry Gelbart
Editor:Joseph Gluck
Neil Travis
Cinematography:Robert C. Moreno
Camera:Multi-camera
Runtime:22 - 24 minutes
Company:20th Century Fox Television
Channel:CBS

Roll Out is an American sitcom that aired Friday evenings on CBS during the 1973–1974 television season. Starring nightclub comedian Stu Gilliam and Hilly Hicks, and featuring Ed Begley Jr. and Garrett Morris, the series was set in France during World War II and was loosely based on the 1952 film Red Ball Express.

Actor Jimmy Lydon, familiar as a juvenile lead in the 1940s, was cast as an Army captain. His character's name was Henry Aldrich; the same name he used in Paramount's comedy features of the 1940s.

Synopsis

In an effort to cash in on the success of M*A*S*H, CBS decided to air another Army comedy. Instead of Army medics, Roll Out highlighted the pratfalls of the supply drivers of the fictional 5050th Quartermaster Truck Company of the U.S. Third Army's Red Ball Express, whose staff was mainly African American. The series attempted to use the World War II setting as a commentary on race relations, just as M*A*S*H's Korean War setting was also a commentary on the Vietnam War.

Roll Out aired opposite ABC's The Odd Couple. Subsequently, Roll Out failed to win its timeslot and was canceled halfway through its sole season. It was replaced on February 8, 1974, by Good Times, a spin-off of Maude starring Esther Rolle and John Amos, which would run for six seasons.

Cast

Actor Role
Corporal Carter "Sweet" Williams
Private First Class Jed Brooks
Lieutenant Robert Chapman
Wheels Dawson
Sergeant B.J. Bryant
Captain Henry Aldrich
High Strung
Rob Gist Phone Booth
Darrow Igus Jersey Hampton
Captain Rocco Calvelli
Sam Laws Sergeant Grease
Madame Delacourt
Dana Brady Dominique Delacourt

Episodes

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Roll Out".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code