What Might've Been: The Adventures of Hiram Holliday (1956)

A newspaper proofreader prevents a punctuation error from seeing print, and saves his employers from a libel suit. His reward? A world tour, which turns him into a globetrotting, unassuming, plain-clothed crime buster who was far more formidible than his slight appearance would suggest.

The Adventures of Hiram Holliday began as a novel, published in 1939, and written by the acclaimed author, Paul Gallico, who posited Holliday as an Everyman hero who was skilled in a number of different talents, including martial arts. Fittingly, Wally Cox, fresh from Mr. Peepers, was cast as Holliday. In real life, Cox was a perfect match for Holliday, his slight appearance hiding a muscular frame. One wonders if Cox was not only drawn to Holliday, but also the animated superhero whom he's also famously associated with, Underdog.

However, NBC pulled the plug a wee bit early, leaving 3 episodes unaired, although the entire series was shown in England on the BBC. Aside from Underdog, Cox never headlined another series, although he would make a number of guest appearances on shows as diverse as Beverly Hillbillies and It Takes A Thief, and became a regular panelist on the original Hollywood Squares until his passing in the early 70's.

Gilmore Box uploaded the open:



In my own opinion, the sitcom format killed the show. Had it been played more as a drama, playing to Cox's physical strength more than his comic strength, he would've escaped the typecasting that came out of Peepers.

Rating: C.