Sable

1 9 8 7 – 1 9 8 8 (USA)
7 x 60 minute episodes

By day Nicholas Flemming (Lewis Van Bergen) was a successful business-suited author of children’s books about leprechauns, but by night he became Sable – a black-clad crime-fighter with stripes of black greasepaint on his face.

Sable was unusual among TV heroes in that he worried a great deal. A trauma in his past (he had once killed a man and was wanted for murder) left him with an aversion to violence and a perpetual scowl (Van Bergen – not the best of actors – delivered his lines out of the side of his mouth). Mostly he was seen being attacked by others, clinging to window ledges, etc.

Rene Russo – as his supportive girlfriend and literary agent, Eden – was the highlight of the show and arguably the owner of the best legs on 80s television.

A blind computer hacker called “Cheesecake” (Ken Page) was Sable’s main source of information and the only other person who knew his true identity. Myke (Holly Fulger) was the illustrator of Flemming’s stories, and Cynthia (Marge Kotlisky) his secretary.

The series was filmed on location in Chicago.

Jon Sable/Nicholas Flemming
Lewis Van Bergen
Eden Kendall
Rene Russo
Joe “Cheesecake” Tyson
Ken Page
Myke Blackmon
Holly Fulger
Cynthia
Marge Kotlisky