T.H.E. Cat

In 1966 on Friday nights I had two brand new series to look forward to as a 13 year old.The Green Hornet & T.H.E.Cat were unique among the standard TV offerings of cop shows,lawyer shows,doctor shows & sitcoms.Cat was a former circus acrobat & jewel thief who did his prison time & now was on the side of law.But instead of the standard cliché of his becoming a p.i.,he sold his services as a bodyguard & security expert.This propelled him into many exciting adventures.He generally was clad in black pants & a turtleneck.His weapons were his "Cat's Claws" knives that were hidden up each shirt sleeve.He was athletic & fast and could easily scale over high fences,up the side of any building,& over rooftops with a lithe skill.The Lalo Schifrin musical score is superb,the writing excellent as were the actors,and the show had a dark & gritty look to it.It remains a favorite of mine today even though it only lasted one season.Like The Green Hornet it deserved a long run,but both series managed to become cult classics for many fans even with their short runs.

I remember this series when I was a child. It had a cool opening. Also as I recall, a theme by Dave Grusin, which I've never seen included in any compilation of his musical works. IMDb, however, credits Lalo Schifrin, which I don't remember. (May be because it hit the scene about the same time as "The Name of the Game.") This series predated Robert Wagner's series "It Takes A Thief." I always thought T.H.E. Cat was by far the cooler. It was more working class than "Thief." Rather than the quasi spy genre set up of "Thief," "Cat" was blue collar (excuse the allusion to pet collars), and Cat had a gypsy blood brother. Contrary to what I've seen otherwise, seem to remember the initials standing for Thomas Huard (not Hewitt) Edward Cat. This series did not last long and wish they'd rerun it somewhere or make it available on VHS or DVD. Definitely one of the more interesting, though obscure shows to come out of the 60's.

T.H.E. CAT was created for television by Harry Julian Fink, who a few years later was the creator of the DIRTY HARRY character and wrote the story for the 1st film that became a legendary series starring CLINT EASTWOOD. It's just too bad that T.H.E. CAT has become a forgotten gem due to it's one season run that never went into syndication. But due to surviving 16mm prints, practically every episode is in the hands of video collectors that enable fans of 60's TV to enjoy over and over this dark and brooding show that proves why late 60's television was the most exciting and best time to be growing up.

The main review hit it on head. I was a 9 or 10 kid in Portville California watching the cool Cat Loggia. He was more gutsy ( cat-gutsy?) than anything on TV. I stole my mom's black leotards and god-awful hot black sweater then rush out into the mid day heat to scale our walnut tree as if it was a high rise condo. I always imagined rescuing Annette Funicallo from her penthouse under siege from international thievies, some guys I did time with but those dorks turned on me. Yup, it was perfect fodder for a growing pre-teen tired of the unacrobatic honey thief Winnie the Pooh.

Whenever I see post-Cat Loggia performances, I remember his earlier invincible feline incarnation, expecting him to leap tall buildings with a single grappling hook, and I wonder if he longs for his old powers, too. I had power to rally a dark macho persona in me, ready to stalk the alleys of injustice to right the woeful wrongs, accompanied Lao jazz themes,...but alas, my bedtime in 1966 was 10 pm on THE nights.

Thanks Robert. Now I'm a mystery writer in SW Florida, created equally dark yet hopeful characters who defend the undefensible and get the girl eventually. It was great to see this IMDb listing to provide reference for my cherished times watching T.H.E. at the Gato Cafe.

Best regards, Will Lloyd willmation@comcast.net

Alas, I was about 9 years old when this show aired. So I was hardly ever allowed to watch it because it was a) too 'adult' in nature and b) way past my bedtime. So my memories of it are somewhat skimpy. But I vividly remember the way Loggia would introduce himself as 'T. Hewitt Edward Cat', and the way he would scale walls and make impossible leaps. He also seemed to play for keeps. He was sleek, dangerous, and cooler than hell. But he wasn't invincible - I remember shows where things went wrong and a client or friend would get hurt or killed, and Cat would be seriously angry or stressed or worried. That added to the suspense and believability considerably.

There was a later TV series with a similar theme, featuring Robert Wagner, 'It Takes A Thief'. Nothing against Wagner, but his show couldn't hold a candle to 'T.H.E. Cat', at least the way I remember it.

I too, would love to have a chance to see (or buy) some of those old episodes.