Harry Johnson

[LoveAtFirstBITE]

What exactly is the point of the Harry character?

Other than being the housekeeper's son who tries to extort money from everyone, why was he introduced into the storyline?

[Craig_Slocum]

SPOILERS




I guess Harry needed a place to stay after he got out of prison, and what better place than Collinwood? After all his Mom works there. He managed to get jobs there too, and got paid by Carolyn, then Nicholas Blair. I guess the point of the Harry character was that he became a henchman for Nicholas Blair. He also catches Amy in David's room, making contact with the ghost of Quentin on an old disconnected telephone. That was a Shadows milestone. The writers left out the character of Harry too much. He should have been in Mrs. Johnson's dream, during the dream curse. There also should have been more scenes with him and Mrs. Johnson, and maybe a girlfriend, would have been nice. Also, more info about his background, and certainly a much better ending for the character, instead of just vanishing from the show. I would like to have seen more of Harry Johnson (Craig Slocum).  

[Luciaphile]

What exactly is the point of the Harry character?

Other than being the housekeeper's son who tries to extort money from everyone, why was he introduced into the storyline?

If they had a master plan, no one has ever figured it out, lol.  IIRC, Mrs. Curtis saw Slocum in a play or something and liked him.  Incidentally, I believe this is how Roger Davis ended up on the show too.  As I see it, for that alone the woman has much to atone for  

I don't think they were ever going to be able to do much with Harry in a leading man way given the casting (I say this with no disrespect to the late Slocum, but he just doesn't seem to have that quality to him).  I think he served a purpose in that he gave Carolyn some difficulty.  Did like his few scenes with Clarice Blackburn, but no, I don't think there was a general purpose to the Harry character.

Luciaphil

[VAM]

 Did like his few scenes with Clarice Blackburn...

Luciaphil

Mr. Slocum seemed to be more relaxed working opposite Miss Blackburn than with the other actors or actresses.

[Connie]

Mr. Slocum seemed to be more relaxed working opposite Miss Blackburn than with the other actors or actresses.

That's 'cause she was his mom.

-CLC  

[kuanyin]

In a soap opera, you can never underestimate the need for a henchman. And a sneaky, conniving, back-stabbing henchman is even better!  

[petofi]

I believe the character of Harry was underused and might have had value as a foil to the Willie character, the "anti-Willie" if you will.  While Willie's more conniving instincts had been suppressed by his time with Barnabas, Harry could have been handy to  reintroduce that character quality into the storyline.

Petofi

[Craig_Slocum]

IIRC, Mrs. Curtis saw Slocum in a play or something and liked him.

I would sure like to know what play it was, and what it was about him that fascinated her. I am glad she recommended him!  

[ClaudeNorth]

I have a certain fondness for Craig Slocum.  I wouldn't call him a great actor, yet I find that his weaknesses add to, rather than detract from, his appeal, probably because he seemed, IMHO, miscast playing tough guys.  I can't really imagine CS as someone who served time, but I can imagine him sporting a Nehru jacket and love beads, and partying at the hippest, hottest, 60s nightspot in town.

Does anyone remember Steve Franken as Chatsworth Osborne III on "Dobie Gillis"?  That's another sort of character I think CS would have played very well.

Regards,

John

[Craig_Slocum]

I can imagine him sporting a Nehru jacket and love beads, and partying at the hippest, hottest, 60s nightspot in town.

I can imagine him in the 70's  at the hottest disco in NYC. I was in California at the time, and the craze was really big out there too.

[doombuggy69]

>>>>>>>The writers left out the character of Harry too much. He should have been in Mrs. Johnson's dream, during the dream curse. There also should have been more scenes with him and Mrs. Johnson, and maybe a girlfriend, would have been nice.


As Dan Curtis, or Frid once said, he ((Curtis)) used to judge how popular his actors were by the amount of fan mail, and exposure they got in the teen mags.  I have a large collection of teen mags, and don't recall Craig being featured at all in "16" or Tiger Beat at the time.  He didn't have the Bobby Sherman look, but then again neither did Frid! So go figure. I have a strong feeling that Craig just never got the fan mail or attention, which led to his lack of participation as Harry in 1968.

[Bette]

Does anyone remember Steve Franken as Chatsworth Osborne III on "Dobie Gillis"?  That's another sort of character I think CS would have played very well.

Yes, I remember him very well. And now that I think about it, you are right. There is a certain similarity between Steve Franken (one of my favorites on Dobie Gillis) and Craig Slocum. Now, I am trying to picture Franken as Harry Johnson.  :-/

Bette

[doombuggy69]

Anyone need a refresher course in what Steve Franken looks like, or a biography can find it at this wonderful site for character actors.

http://www.what-a-character.com/cgi-bin/main.cgi?indexby=tvguest&title=Adam-12

[Craig_Slocum]

 He didn't have the Bobby Sherman look

Later on he did, in the late 70's, not long before he passed away. I have Craig's promo photo, and that's exactly who I thought of when I saw it, Bobby Sherman.

[jennifer]

Does anyone know why Craig was never in any of the other storylines ?Did he leave for something else?
i never liked the Harry character but would have liked to see him play another role! also could have seen him as doing the Aristede part too!

jennifer