Flamingo Road is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on NBC. It premiered as a television film on May 12, 1980, and as a series on January 6, 1981, after a rebroadcast of the pilot on December 30, 1980. The show was based on a 1942 Robert Wilder novel of the same name and the 1949 movie scripted by Wilder and starring Joan Crawford.
The show was created by Lorimar Productions, who was producing CBS's Dallas and Knots Landing at the same time. Set in the present-day fictional town of Truro, Florida, Flamingo Road centered on the wealthy Weldon family, who made their fortune running the town paper mill.
Contents
Television film (1980)
The show's pilot introduces the Weldon family who reside on the ritzy Flamingo Road in Truro, Florida. Claude Weldon (Kevin McCarthy) is the patriarch, who owns the town's paper mill, who is turning the family business over to his son, Skipper (Woody Brown). Eudora (Barbara Rush) is his neglected wife, Constance Weldon (Morgan Fairchild) is his spoiled adopted daughter. Constance is engaged to Deputy Fielding "Field" Carlyle (Mark Harmon), whose every move is dominated by the corrupt Sheriff Titus Semple (Howard Duff), who virtually controls the small town.
Field develops a relationship with Lane Ballou (Cristina Raines), a singer with Coyne's Traveling Circus, who is left behind when the circus is run out of town. Titus is dismayed by this, as he wants Field to someday become a Senator and marry into the Weldon family. After Lane takes a job at the Eagle Cafe, alongside Annabelle Troy (Dianne Kay), Skipper's girlfriend, Titus plots her demise, and at the end of the first hour, Lane is falsely picked up for solicitation. After completing her sentence, Lane defiantly returns to town, taking a job with Lute-Mae Sanders (Stella Stevens), the local bordello owner and Constance's secret mother with Claude, and forming a connection with Sam Curtis (John Beck), a construction magnate. Field and Constance eventually get married with much of the town in attendance, and Eudora finds comfort in Elmo Tyson (Mason Adams), publisher of the town's newspaper. Claude reveals his financial issues to Titus, who agrees to help him in an insurance fraud scheme. The mill is set aflame, with Annabelle (who is revealed to be Titus' daughter and planning on meeting Skipper there) accidentally perishing in the fire.
Weekly series (1981–1982)
Synopsis
The series picks up where the pilot left off, with Sheriff Titus double-crossing a drug dealing couple, who take revenge by abducting newlyweds Field and Constance, who are honeymooning in the Bahamas. They are eventually saved by Sam Curtis, however the drama continues when they return to Truro. Field, who is campaigning for senator, invites Lane to a trip to Tallahassee, where they continue their affair. Constance gets wind of Field's deception and begins conspiring with Titus to get Lane sent out of town. Meanwhile, Annabelle's mother, Mary Troy (Alice Hirson), comes to town to investigate her daughter's violent death, and the possibility that the Weldon fire was arson. It is revealed that Annabelle was the product of rape, when Sheriff Titus forced himself on Mary.
As the election nears, Field falls off the wagon and turns up drunk at an important political rally. To save his campaign, Constance blabs unconfirmed information about his opponent, and in the end, Field wins the election and is made a Senator of Florida. Their marriage eventually falls apart. Skipper prepares to leave town to accept a job in New Orleans, but decides to stay after Claude is seriously injured in an accident at the mill. He then starts dating Christie Kovacs (Denise Galik), a manipulative girl living with her overbearing sister Alice (Marcia Rodd), a mill employee who is secretly in love with Claude. Christie has an affair with Field, and the two end up in a car accident together, which threatens to ruin Field's political career. Both sisters eventually leave town.
Meanwhile, Lane is tormented by an old acquaintance, for having information about a murder that occurred several years earlier. After an old friend from the circus, Beth McDonald (Sandra Kerns), turns up dead, Lane is kidnapped by the killer Slade (Michael Baseleon). Constance agrees to a divorce with Field, and has a tryst with Sam in revenge. The first season ends with most of the cast trapped in a hurricane and taking refuge at Lute-Mae's, where Lane's kidnappers are arrested. After Field comforts Lane, Constance confronts him, claiming the divorce papers she had drawn were fakes and that she and Field were still married. In a rage, Field and Constance get into an altercation, with Constance falling from the second-story staircase at Lute-Mae's place.
In season two, Constance survives her fall, but is paralyzed indefinitely from the waist down as a result. This becomes a political scandal for Field, but Constance agrees not to press charges if he continues their sham of a marriage. Eudora discovers that Lute-Mae and Claude are Constance's biological parents. Lute-Mae faces her own problems when she is raped by a delivery boy, who is the son of an influential Truro family. Titus refuses to conduct a proper investigation, however Lute-Mae works with Late to get justice.
Reception
Though the show was initially popular, it soon succumbed to being scheduled against ABC's mystery romance Hart to Hart. NBC pulled the plug on the show in Spring 1982 with its cliffhanger left unresolved, though reruns aired in the timeslot until mid summer of that year. As the 1981–82 season ranked No. 68 out of 105 shows, NBC executives planned a half-hour daytime version of the series to debut in September 1982, but this never came to pass despite the fact a bible for a third season had been drafted by producer Jeff Freilich.
Several of its stars later became better known for other soap opera appearances, with Morgan Fairchild starring on the short-lived soap Paper Dolls before reuniting with David Selby on Falcon Crest and later appearing on ABC's The City. John Beck went onto appear on Dallas, while Howard Duff had recurring roles on both Dallas and Knots Landing. The character of Constance Weldon ranked at #16 on E!'s list of The 50 Most Wicked Women in Primetime.
Cast and characters
Main characters
Sam Curtis (John Beck, 1980–1982; 38 episodes)
A wealthy playboy construction magnate and owner of Sam Curtis Construction. During the course of the series, he becomes Field's campaign manager, has a brief romance with Constance, before settling down and becoming a devoted husband to Lane. He is loosely based on Dan Reynolds as played by David Brian in the 1949 film.
Skipper Weldon (Woody Brown, 1980–1982; 38 episodes)
The handsome son of Claude and Eudora Weldon. He initially works for his father's business before joining the town newspaper. During the series, he becomes romantically involved with Annabelle Troy (Dianne Kay), before she perishes in the fire at the mill, Christie Kovacs and Alicia Sanchez. He is blinded in an explosion at the paper, orchestrated by Sheriff Titus, and eventually elopes with Alicia.
Sheriff Titus Semple (Howard Duff, 1980–1982; 38 episodes)
The corrupt sheriff of Truro County. During the series, he is responsible for numerous dirty deeds, such as setting Lane Ballou up as a prostitute and getting her arrested, orchestrating the Weldon Mill fire for insurance fraud, getting Field and Constance abducted by drug dealers, and causing an explosion at the newspaper. He is also revealed to be the father of Annabelle Troy, having raped her mother Mary (Alice Hirson). Titus is based on the character played by Sydney Greenstreet in the 1949 film and was originally pitched as the long-lost father of Lane, however this plotline was dropped before the series made it to air.
Constance Weldon Carlyle (Morgan Fairchild, 1980–1982; 38 episodes)
The spoiled adopted daughter of Claude and Eudora Weldon. She marries her high school sweetheart Fielding Carlyle in the pilot, however during the course of series, has sex with nearly every other male character. She is loosely based on Annabelle Weldon as played by Virginia Huston in the 1949 film.
Fielding "Field" Carlyle (Mark Harmon, 1980–1982; 38 episodes)
Recurring characters
Jasper (Glenn Robards, 1981–1982; 38 episodes)
The trusted butler at the Welden family mansion.
Deputy Tyler (John Shearin, 1981; 7 episodes)
The town deputy who replaces Field as Titus' right-hand man when he runs for Senator.
Phil (Charlie Robinson, 1981; 7 episodes)
The bartender at Lute-Mae's bordello.
Slade (Michael Baseleon, 1981; 6 episodes)
A mysterious man from Lane's past, who is stalking her and murdering her friends from the circus. He is arrested in the finale of the first season.
Christie Kovacs (Denise Galik, 1981; 5 episodes)
Skipper's devious girlfriend with a sordid past, who ends up in bed with Fielding and leaves town after surviving a car accident with him.
Alice Kovacs (Marcia Rodd, 1981; 4 episodes)
Christie's stern older sister who is secretly in love with Claude Weldon. She leaves town not long after her sister does.
Tony (Joel Bailey, 1981–1982; 9 episodes)
Christie's boyfriend, who later is romantically involved with Lute-Mae, becoming the bar's handyman. He ends up stealing from her to cover his gambling losses, and they break up when he tries to blackmail her.
Julio Sanchez (Fernando Allende, 1981–1982; 15 episodes)
Episodes
International broadcasts
The show aired in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1983 on BBC1. It also was rerun in the United States on the Goodlife TV Network from June 2003 to September 2004.
In France, the show was shown on the channel La Cinq, then owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
The show was aired in Turkey on the state-owned network TRT from 1981 to 1982. Its popularity ended up with many establishments, particularly patisseries, to be named "Flamingo Yolu" (Turkish literal translation) after the series, and even some municipalities throughout Turkey named parks and promenades as that.