Ben Jerrod premiered on NBC on 1 April 1963 alongside General Hospital.
But while the tales of the professional and personal lives of the doctors and nurses working at Port Charles General Hospital produced one of the longest-running daytime television shows in US history, Attorney Ben Jerrod (Michael Ryan) enjoyed just 13 weeks of overheated conflicts in this failed melodrama.
Jerrod teamed up in a law practice in Indian Hill, Rhode Island, with ex-judge John P Abbott (Addison Richards) and found himself retained by young socialite Janet Donelli (Regina Gleason), who had been charged with murder.
Janet had been involved in affairs with Jim O’Hara (Ken Scott) and married pharmacist Pete Morrison (Peter Hansen), who died in her home, and DA Dan Joplin (John Napier) and Lt. Choates (Lyle Talbot) were convinced she had killed Morrison.
Jerrod and his team thought O’Hara seemed a likely suspect, and even Abbott’s daughter Agnes (Jeanne Baird) searched for clues about the murder as the trial began.
Most viewers could not have cared less about the whole mess.
Ben Jerrod’s practice closed shop quickly as the series pulled in lower ratings than the show it replaced, The Mery Gnffin Show.
Ben Jerrod
Michael Ryan John P Abbott
Addison Richards Agnes Abbott
Jeanne Baird Lt. Choates
Lyle Talbot DA Dan Joplin
John Napier Janet Donelli
Regina Gleason Jim O’Hara
Ken Scott Pete Morrison
Peter Hansen Lil Morrison
Martine Bartlett
