Broderick Crawford Starring in Highway Patrol

Update on my review 4/4/21: I now see that the authors of this book have posted two 5-star "reviews" of their own book here, which is unethical at minimum. I didn't know authors were allowed to post reviews of their own books and boost the overall ratings, and this may be a violation of review policy? In any case, authors need to accept the fact that not everyone is going to think their book is great, and it's unfortunate they felt they had to post reviews to criticize customers who ordered their book and didn't like it.Here is my original review:I read the prior review by Robert Badgley from December 2020 but took a chance and ordered the book anyway. It was a mistake, and Mr. Badgeley's review of the book was accurate. I agree with what he wrote, but have some additional comments:This is a 310 page paperback book that costs $39.95. It has a nice cover picture and title that would indicate the book is about the 1950s TV series "Highway Patrol" and Broderick Crawford's participation in the show. The cover also states it is a complete history and episode guide.Not really. Unfortunately, a huge part of this expensive book is about the author, who as Mr. Badgely mentioned, is a "super fan" of the Highway Patrol series. It's actually good that there are super fans of actors and shows when they share interesting information they learn with other fans.But there are also "super fans" who accumulate materials and information and gravitate into it becoming all about them and their pursuits. Such is the case here. The author obviously loves the show but this book is evidence it became an obsession. He bought and restored a 1955 Buick to duplicate the car used in the early seasons of Highway Patrol, and has impersonated Broderick Crawford at various events. The book is filled with information about him, and it not only gets in the way of the information about the Highway Patrol show, it overwhelms it. I really don't care to read about the author's personal story and his public appearances. And I'm not interested in reading about his other non-Highway Patrol interests, such as being a fan of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Nor am I interested in reading about strange conspiracy theories about Glenn Miller.To me, the author's focus on his being a super fan at some point begins to feel "creepy" too.What I was interested in was finding a good "Highway Patrol" TV series companion book, focusing just on information about the show, the stars, with lots of pictures from the episodes, and detailed episode information. This book may be 310 pages, but not doing a detailed analysis, would guess that only about 100 pages really covers "Highway Patrol". And there seems to be a lot of wasted space, some pages have a picture at the top and nothing beneath.I was also disappointed in the "episode guide". There is a section of all the shows with brief synopses and production numbers, but no information at all as far as dates the episodes were aired or released, and no breakdown of cast information. Better episode guides can be found online.Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book to other Highway Patrol fans, especially not for $39.95 (or more).

i have been a fan of the show since it first aired back in the late fifties. Living outside of Chicago one of the local stations carries it but like 5:00 AM. So I have to record it and watch them when I get a chance. I always have about 4-5 to catch up on. As soon as I get a few bucks ahead, I plan on buying some of the DVD's that are available.

I am obsessed with Highway Patrol! What a great book filled with insight into this iconic 50's TV classic. Here, more than 60 years later, is a book filled with facts about all facets of this TV classic! Love it!

Well written insight into this 50s tv series....very enjoyable...

Anyone could do some research on the show and write a book like the one these critics are referring too. No one could do the book we did unless they were me! There are things in this book that only I could’ve shared as they were told to me by the folks closest to the show’s production and Broderick.It is a personal account of the personal relationships and friendships I formed with these people over a 25 year period. I don’t believe any of the books I’ve ever read on my favorite TV shows included this kind of detail.Again, we were making an entertaining book not a PhD thesis. If we do a revised version of the book I’d like to add color photos and include the face sheets from Ziv on each episode. This of course would make the book much longer and even more expensive which is something authors don’t control. It’s up to the publisher.The book for me was a labor of love and includes many tidbits, first hand stories, and the most thorough collection of memorabilia on this series imaginable!BTW, that was a jet stream not a UFO in EP #149 Killer on the Run! Typical of Ziv to leave things in.

I am Ralph Schiller, the co-author with Gary Goltz, of the book "Broderick Crawford Starring In Highway Patrol". It is a complete history of the television series , and its juggernaut impact on American and International broadcasting! It includes a complete episode guide for all 156 episodes of Highway Patrol, their production numbers, ploy synopsis, episode titles, with writing and directing credits, plus major casts including documented highlights of any cast member, who was famed before, during, or after the series, just to name a few like Ted Knight, Leonard Nimoy, Barbara Eden, Robert Conrad, Dyan Cannon, Joe Flynn, Stuart Whitman, Guy Williams, Bobby Jordan, Clint Eastwood, Paul Burke, and many others. Readers will learn the history and demise of ZIV Television, Inc., which was the studio that successfully produced Highway Patrol and many other hits like Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges and Bat Masterson with Gene Barry. True my co-author Gary Goltz is like many others of his generation (myself included) a fan of Highway Patrol, which became an unpaid baby sitter for post-war 'Boomers'! However Mr. Goltz preserved everything he could find about the series, and tracked down the surviving producers, directors and actors from the series like Herbert Strock, and William Boyett for extensive interviews. He also had access to the ZIV Television archives. Broderick Crawford's life and illustrious Oscar-winning, for Best Actor, film career, is also covered. One negative reviewer whined that the book failed to mention if the series was filmed in 35MM or 16MM. ZIV Television shot only one series in 16MM, The Cisco Kid in color with Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo, which we document that in the book.This book was dedicated to Broderick Crawford and his loving son Kelly Crawford who unfortunately died before this book and my previous book, The Complete Films Of Broderick Crawford were published. His generosity and kindness inspired us.On the Glenn Miller controversy, I read Hunton Downs' first-rate and meticulously researched book, The Glenn Miller Conspiracy, and wrote the short chapter about because it makes for absolutely fascinating reading. Broderick Crawford, then a sergeant in the U.S. Army, worked with and became friends with Captain Glenn Miller and loved him like a big brother. If, as the negative reviewer swears, that the star-crossed Miller's death, which was a major blow to American morale at the time, was merely caused by pilot error, engine trouble, or bad weather, then why was Major Glenn Miller posthumously awarded the U.S. Army's Bronze Star for Valor? Army regulations prohibit awarding it for non-combat, tragic accidents or plane crashes. Readers of this book will discover a still-standing, haunted Hollywood landmark near the ZIV studio lot location hat was often visited by the ill-fated Black Dahlia!By the way, I have all 156 episodes of Highway Patrol on DVD, and so far haven't seen a single flying saucer! Then again maybe TV signals of the Highway Patrol series reached Mars and the Martians invaded Hollywood to see their favorite show!