My Friend Tony is an American crime drama that aired on NBC starting on January 5, 1969. The last rerun episode aired on September 28, 1969.Television schedule listing, The Montgomery Advertiser, September 28, 1969, page 42 The pilot was broadcast as an episode of the anthology series The Danny Thomas Hour on March 4, 1968.After 5 Television Programs, Fort-Worth Star-Telegram, March 4, 1968, page 20

Synopsis The series features Enzo Cerusico as the title character, Tony Novello, and James Whitmore as John Woodruff, a professor of criminology who served in Italy during World War II. As a child, Novello had been a street urchin who survived as a pickpocket, with Woodruff being one of his intended victims. Woodruff kept in touch with Tony, who later became one of his students.Jingo, 'My Friend Tony' Could be Hit; Competition Keen, The Post-Crescent, January 12, 1969, Page 66

The premise of the series was that the adult (and reformed, if still rough-around-the-edges) Novello had emigrated to the United States and became a member of Professor Woodruff's criminology class. As a result of Woodruff's reputation for crime-solving and his extensive contacts within the world of police investigation, the Professor would often be consulted on current criminal cases, and he would draw on his current criminology students to give him practical assistance in unraveling his latest mystery (and to give the students some practical experience in their chosen field). Novello would usually handle the legwork and physical side of the investigations while Woodruff, in his role as a professor of criminology, conducted painstaking laboratory analysis of the most obscure clues.

From time to time, and depending on the requirements of the case, up to half-a-dozen other students were also called upon to help with investigations, whether by analyzing clues in Woodruff's university office/lab or (more rarely) looking for clues out in the field. Seen in recurring roles as these other students were: Mary Frann (then using the stage name "Jennifer Douglas") as Kathy Grey; Dan Ferrone as Jeff Pryor; Harvey Jason as David Gresham, Larry Pennell as Nat Foley; Paul Verdier as Emile Bournet; and Aly Wassil as Rama Chillunkar. Also seen in several episodes was Richard Anderson as Chief of Police Richard Orr, a friend of Woodruff's who called him in to consult on cases, even though he knew that it also meant involving Novello—whom he found irritating.

My Friend Tony was an early story editing credit for James L. Brooks, who would jump from this series straight to Room 222, then one year later, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The tone of the show mixed in elements of comedy (especially with Novello's youthful impatience, amiable brashness and unfamiliarity with some American customs) alongside the serious, near-forensic investigative procedure.

NBC slotted My Friend Tony in the 10 p.m. Eastern timeslot on Sundays, following Bonanza. The network ended production of the series after 16 episodesGoodwin, Fritz, The operation was a failure ... but the patient survived, TV Guide, May 31-June 6, 1969, pages 12-14 but continued airing reruns of the show through that summer. The program aired for the last time on September 30, 1969.

Reception Despite having the highly successful Bonanza as its lead-in, Sheldon Leonard — who developed My Friend Tony and was its executive producer — attributed the program's low ratings to its timeslot.

"First, the 10-to-11 P.M. time spot didn't take full advantage of Enzo's youthful audience, as shown by his flood of fan mail, which exceeds anything in our experience," Leonard told TV Guide. "Second, because of the one-hour length and the network's commitment to 27 new projects all demanding air time, there was no 8 or 9 o'clock spot into which to move it,"

Some critics gave a poor review to My Friend Tony, calling the series "hackneyed and confusing" ... "the kind of minimal fare that has been ground out ad nauseam" ... "mundane" and "bilge."

Others found the series enjoyable. One reviewer praised the acting of the two stars, plus the low amount of violence shown onscreen, during a time when many groups were concerned about TV violence. Another mentioned the "pleasantly convoluted plots."Gerstel, Judith, 'My Friend Tony' Is a Jolly Hour, The Minneapolis Star, February 4, 1969, page 47

Newspaper columnist Clarke Williamson reported that viewers liked the series, but found it difficult to watch regularly since it was often preempted.Williamson, Clarke, Top View, Scrantonian Tribune (Scranton, PA), June 15, 1969, page 66 (After the first five episodes aired weekly, the series was preempted nine times over the next 14 weeks.)

Episodes

Original TV tie-in novel In 1969, Lancer Books published an original novel by William Johnston, named for the series. Because it was meant to be available shortly after the show's January, 1969 debut, Johnston had to write it without having seen an episode, basing his interpretation on pre-air materials (which may have included some combination of a press kit, a show bible, a sample script and/or production photos). Subsequently, the novel is a fair approximation of the TV series, but lacks any reference to the WWII backstory that brought John Woodruff and Tony Novello together as well as Tony's Italian accent.

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