I got to thinking about that filming of the series pilot and started wondering if there was footage posted on the Net and, lo and behold, someone posted the entire episode to YouTube:
In a grim reminder of the ravages of age, my memory of the zip line was flawed; the stunt was actually a tightrope walk between the two buildings. In viewing the footage, I was also reminded there were no nets, safety wires or air bags under the stunt man, something you wouldn't see in a shoot today; as I said OSHA wasn't really around back then. The stunt sequence start at about 2:50 into the episode...
When you see Loggia in this pilot, you get the sense if he had been at that age and with those looks as an actor today, he really might have gotten more of the hero/leading man roles rather the the heavy he usually played. He really is quite good in this pilot and it seems it was a case of him and the show being ahead of its time...
BTW, dig the really cool 60s style program intro to the show right after the stunt sequence...
<O>
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