Seeing Red

Red West and Elvis Presley in 1971

The late Red West (1936 - 2017) wore many hats throughout his long career.  Aside from being a founding member of Elvis Presley's inner circle known as the "Memphis Mafia" (and Elvis' personal bodyguard), he was a talented songwriter, an author, a karate instructor, stuntman, boxer and a prolific character actor who made unforgettable appearances on several classic Sci-Fi shows.  He made three appearances (playing different characters) on The Greatest American Hero and also appeared on Battlestar Galactica, Knight Rider, The Six Million Dollar Man, The "New" Twilight Zone and many other shows.  Here are some highlights from his genre appearances.

Red West guest-stars on
  The "New" Twilight Zone
("The Once and Future King")
- he plays Elvis Presley's boss in
this time-travel themed episode

Red West guest-stars on
Battlestar Galactica
("The Lost Warrior")

Red West guest-stars on
The Greatest American Hero
("Here's Looking at You, Kid")

Red West guest-stars on
The Greatest American Hero
("It's All Downhill From Here")

Red West guest-stars on
The Greatest American Hero
("Desperado")

All photos and quoted dialogue are used for illustrative purposes only and are copyright (c) the respective copyright holders.

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

Battlestar Galactica, Voyagers!, The Greatest American Hero, Beauty and the Beast and Forever Knight - these wonderful, short-lived TV series always bring a smile to my face.  They are classics for the Ages...!  :-)

Battlestar Galactica (1978 - 79) - 24 episodes

Voyagers! (1982 - 83) - 20 episodes

The Greatest American Hero (1981 - 83) - 45 episodes

Beauty and the Beast (1987 - 90) - 56 episodes

Forever Knight (1992 - 96) - 70 episodes

The Stand-In

One of the best episodes of The Greatest American Hero (1981 - 83) is "The Resurrection of Carlini" (11/19/82).  The next time you watch this 3rd Season episode on DVD, be sure to take a close look at an interesting scene at the 38:38 mark.  Robert Culp must not have been available for this pick-up shot where Ralph, Pam and Robert Culp's STAND-IN (dressed in a pirate costume with a mustache) enter a room.  I suspect that most viewers didn't catch this during the initial broadcast (the stand-in is only seen for about 1 second), but he really stands out on the crystal-clear DVD image.

Have a look for yourself in the following four screencaps taken from the DVD set.

The Greatest American Hero:
"The Resurrection of Carlini"

The Stand-In enters the room

The Stand-In (zoomed for close-up)

Robert Culp as Bill Maxwell

The Greatest American Hero is copyright (c) Stephen J. Cannell Productions.  All photos are used for illustrative purposes only.