Run, Buddy, Run
★ 7.5 · 1966 · 30m · Comedy
Run, Buddy, Run is an American situation comedy starring Jack Sheldon, which ran on CBS from September 12, 1966, until January 2, 1967.
Episodes
▶1. Steam Bath & Chicken LittleSyndicate boss Mr. Devere, along with Wendell, Norton and Joseph, pull up in a long, black car and go to a Turkish-bath steam room (the same kind Frank Nitti went to in the ""Untouchables"" episode # 102, ""The Speculator"" Jan. 1963). Mr. Devere says, ""This was an excellent choice, Norton, now we can relax and we can conduct our business in complete privacy."" Unbeknownst to them, Buddy Overstreet is also in the steam room; when he hears them discuss murder, Buddy hides behind some towels, it's very foggy in the steam room. Mr. Devere tells Joseph he will have to rub out McGregor. When Joseph says, ""But he's like a brother to me,"" Devere reminds him, ""He IS your brother."" (laugh track)
Devere insists McGregor is the only one alive who can link the 4 of them together-- that would be the end of the Syndicate; and McGregor had mentioned ""Chicken Little."" Devere impresses on them that ""What has been said here today must remain a secret between the 4 of us: you, you, you, me..."" (points to▶2. Wild, Wild WakeWhile Buddy is hitchhiking through Midville, Kansas (population 187), kindly Sheriff Len Rhodes tells Buddy they have laws against hitchhiking and vagrancy. When Buddy sees 2 of Mr. D.'s boys driving by, and they stop their car, Buddy asks the sheriff to arrest him. At the jailhouse, the only ""information"" the sheriff can get from Buddy is his pseudonym this week: Chester Sweet.
When Mr. D., back in New York, hears of the ""Buddy sighting"" he tells Wendell to go to Midville and get himself arrested. Wendell goes to Midville, and smashes the windshield of the sheriff's car. Wendell gets arrested-- but since the Midville jail is full (it only holds one person: Buddy), Wendell gets sent to the Center City jail. Back in New York, when he hears the news, a steaming Mr. D. sends Harry out to Center City to bail Wendell out-- and tells Harry that both he and Wendell are to stand watch outside until Buddy is released.
But Buddy stays in jail so long, Wendell has to fly back to New York to give▶3. Win, Place and DieBuddy is disguised as a Boy Scout, and even though he sticks out like a sore thumb as the tallest scout in the troop, Wendell and his henchman walk right by Buddy without recognizing him. In the parking lot, there is a pickup truck pulling a horse trailer; Buddy jumps in back with the race horse, and then the pickup truck drives away. Wendell worries, ""How are we going to explain losing him this time?"" Henchman says, ""Oh no, not 'we'. It wasn't me who called Mr. D. and guaranteed we'd nail him.""
And so Wendell has to go back to the Syndicate headquarters and face Mr. Devere. Mr. D. makes Wendell apologize to everyone in the Syndicate via closed-circuit television. Wendell has to read a cue card (which has a hyphenated word): ""I just want to say that I am truly sorry for my inexcusable stup-idity."" Wendell reads, ""I am truly sorry for my inexcusable stup. Idity."" (laugh track)
Buddy winds up in California, on a ranch that trains race horses. During the trip, Buddy has become goods frien▶4. Down on the FarmAt the Devere Enterprises skyscraper in New York, Mr. D. announces a new plan to get Buddy Overstreet. Over his closed-circuit TV broadcasts, he announces an incentive program: great prizes like a color TV and a trip to Hawaii for the employee who finds Buddy Overstreet.
Meanwhile, in Kansas, Buddy has fallen asleep on the back of a farm truck he'd snuck on. The owner of the truck and the farm, Carl Jensen, says he could use a farmhand. Buddy, seeing a sign that says ""Strawberry"" picks the pseudonym Berry Straw for this week. Livening the plot is Carl's 24-year-old granddaughter Betsy, who is a bit of a tomboy. Betsy and Buddy do the farm chores together: when they are bailing hay, Buddy's pitchfork slips out of his hands and punctures the tractor's tire; when they carry crates, Buddy isn't strong enough to lift his onto the truck, and Betsy has to do it for him; when they are chopping firewood, Buddy's axe gets stuck in the log.
The Jensen's former farmhand, Ben Pearson (about 6'▶5. Grand Mexican HotelBuddy has finally made it to Mexico. He stops at the ""Hotel de Puerto Grande""-- Puerto Grande is a small, poor town: nobody stays there, people only drive through on their way to Mexico City. Buddy is broke, but for $3 he gets a hotel room; the kindly proprietor Jose tells Buddy that for $3 he can stay until another guest needs his room-- in other words, as long as he likes. Jose's wife is just called Mama; they have a son Pepe around 12, and a very beautiful daughter Rosita in her early 20s.
Buddy suggests that they can attract tourists by putting out fliers saying they have fiestas there. Buddy writes brochures and gets them printed; Pepe distributes them all over town. By sheer coincidence, Mr. D., Junior and Wendell are driving to a business meeting in Mexico City. Like others, they are driving through Puerto Grande. But since the meeting isn't for a couple of days, Junior suggests they check into the local hotel: he just saw a flier advertising their ""famous"" fiestas.
Buddy▶6. The Death of Buddy OverstreetBuddy hops a freight to Florida. In an empty boxcar, he meets Norman Klute. Norman listens to Buddy's problems, and comes up with an idea: if Mr. D. thought Buddy was dead, he could stop running. They devise a plan: The Death of Buddy Overstreet. And so, Norman goes to Devere Enterprises in New York.
Norman goes to Mr. D'.s office, where he is met by Mr. D., Junior, Wendell and Harry. When Norman says he knows where Buddy Overstreet is, Mr. D. has him relax in an upholstered chair; but then clamps snap over his wrists, a light comes down to his head to give him the 3rd degree, and Wendell and Harry hold guns to his head. After they question him, Mr. D. turns him loose. Norman will kill Buddy, (he says). Mr. D. gives his word to pay him $3,000 C.O.D. -- Cash On Demise.
Norman Klute meets with Buddy in Florida. They make a film of Buddy's death, and Norman takes Buddy's wristwatch as proof. Then Norman goes back to New York, to meet with Mr. D. and his associates. In Mr. D.'s▶7. Bank HoldupAt Devere Enterprises they are having a meeting; order of business: Buddy Overstreet. Mr. D. grouses, ""At this rate, Overstreet's gonna die of old age!"" Junior announces that, based on his research, Buddy must be in the San Francisco area. Just then Mr. D. gets a call: there was an ""Overstreet sighting"" in Ridgedale, Connecticut. Mr. D. sends Wendell and Harry, and tells them: don't return without killing Overstreet.
In Ridgedale, Buddy is having coffee at a diner. Wendell and Harry are outside in their limo. But another car with crooks pulls up; the inept driver Harold, the getaway man, bumps into other cars as he tries to park. When he goes into the diner to get sandwiches, the 2 thugs in the back-seat, Max and Lou, say they need a better driver. When Buddy comes out of the diner, Wendell and Harry chase him; Buddy gets into Harold's car and speeds away. There is a zany, high-speed car chase with Buddy driving like crazy with Wendell and Harry in pursuit; Buddy gets away. B▶8. I Want a Piece of That BoyMr. D., Junior and Wendell are at the boxing matches; Frankie Phillips TKOs his opponent. Later, in Mr. D.'s office, Wendell asks, ""Profitable night, Mr. D.?"" To which Mr. D. replies, ""Extremely so, I had 10 grand on Phillips."" It turns out Phillips was the underdog, but Mr. D. owns both fighters-- he advises Junior, ""It's okay to bet, but never gamble."" (laugh track) The hotline rings; it's an Overstreet sighting, in Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. D. sends Wendell and Harry.
But by the time they are getting there, Buddy is already on a road 55 miles south of Louisville, hitchhiking to Mexico; Wendell and Harry drive right by him!* Frankie Phillips and his manager Marty Mason are driving to Memphis, Tennessee, for a fight; Phillips says he will need a sparring partner-- by coincidence, they pick up hitchhiker Buddy. (They have no idea who Buddy is.) Meantime, back in New York, Mr. D. and Junior decide to watch Phillips' next fight in Memphis; Junior tells dad it's 1,122 miles to Memph▶9. Buddy Overstreet, Forgive MeBuddy is in a factory, working as a welder. He makes the mistake of telling coworker Stan that Devere Enterprises has put a price on his head. Stan double-crosses Buddy, and phones Mr. D.'s office long-distance. Meanwhile, in New York, healthy Mr. D. and his sickly son Junior are getting their annual physical. But ambitious Mr. W. is double-crossing his boss Mr. D. -- in private, Mr. W. tells the doctor to tell Mr. D. he only has 3 months to live. When Mr. D. and Junior wonder why the doc is taking so long in his private office, Mr. D. quips to Junior, ""He's probably having a little trouble finding your blood in the test tube.""
The doctor comes out and asks Junior to leave; and then he tells Mr. D. the bad news: he only has 3 months before he dies. Mr. D. thinks he's talking about sickly Junior. When the doc says it's him, Mr. D. does a double-take: ""before *I* die?!""
Later, Woodrow and Harry are paying Stan $2,500 for his tip. Stan tells Buddy he is has a phone call, from the▶10. Mr. D's RevengeMr. D. has been foiled repeatedly in his attempts to rub out Buddy Overstreet. So Mr. D. sets up an elaborate plan to trap Buddy. But due to an identity mix-up, the tables are turned, and it is Wendell who falls victim to Mr. D's Revenge.▶11. Good-bye, WendellEverytime Wendell goofs up and lets Buddy Overstreet slip through his fingers, Mr. D. says, ""Good-bye, Wendell"" -- and Wendell has to jump out of a speeding car, or jump off the 12th floor balcony of the Devere Enterprises building. But when Wendell seems to disappear for good, the search is on to find Wendell. In an ironic twist of events, it is now Buddy Overstreet who must try to find Wendell, instead of the other way around.▶12. The Sky is FallingIn the steambath, Buddy had overheard the code words ""Chicken Little,"" which indicated the first part of a master scheme Devere Enterprises had. But now, phase 2 of the plan is in effect: ""The Sky is Falling."" Once again, Buddy is in the wrong place at the wrong time-- when he overhears those words, Mr. D. and his boys come gunning for Buddy again.▶13. Buddy Overstreet, Please Come HomeAfter Mr. D. had been chasing Buddy all season, he finds himself being chased: by tax auditors. Devere Enterprises may have to shut down their illegal operations and go legit. Wendell and Harry get regular jobs. Since McGregor had turned state's witness against Norton and Joseph, the secret of ""Chicken Little"" is out; so Mr. D. is no longer hunting for Buddy. So now, when he reads a missing persons ad: ""Buddy Overstreet, Please Come Home"" he can finally go home to his family.▶14. The Runaway Kid▶15. Goodbye, Wendell▶16. Buddy Overstreet, Forgive Me▶17. Buddy Overstreet, Please Come Home
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