Most people don't remember "Hawk."
Their memories of BURT REYNOLDS involve a lot of "Good ol' boy" movies, the "Cosmo" centerfold he did while high, his relationships with Sally Field, Judy Carne, Dinah Shore and Loni Anderson, and his often darkly funny appearances on "The Tonight Show" where could be insult-comic combative, clipped and humorously sarcastic, or wickedly funny with some surprising slapstick impulses. Maybe..."Deliverance."
But "Hawk." That's not likely to be on the list. He gained some fame as a Native American on "Gunsmoke," and then got his own show playing a Native American-New York detective: John Hawk. He had Brando-magnetism. He was intense. The show was, as they say, "gritty," in its depiction of New York at night, a nightscape teeming with malcontents, weasels and downright psychos.
Somehow, though I was barely a kid, and probably sneaking the late night showings of "Hawk," I thought it was one hell of a show, and I was intensely disappointed when ABC shut it down after only a handful of episodes. UNFAIR.
Using my mother's typewriter, this pipsqueak protestor wrote a letter to ABC. Not wanting to appear a pipsqueak, it was signed "The Committee to Save Hawk." There's safety in numbers. Did ABC know how BIG this committee was?? What steps we'd take if they didn't change their minds?
I have no idea what I wrote in that letter. It was just me, in the early stages of activism, feeling a sense of loss and outrage. What do you do? You write a letter!
As you see above, I actually got a response. I'm pretty sure I wrote the letter directly to ABC. They must have forwarded it, with amusement and some sympathy, along with a bunch of other letters, to Filmways Studios and Burt Reynolds.
Despite being angry, hurt, and whatever else, Burt wrote and then rexographed (purple ink, pre-xerox) a thank-you letter to fans who had written in. To The Committee to Save Hawk, he typed a personalized greeting ahead of the form letter:
"Gentlemen (and Ladies?):
"I don't know quite how to thank you for your lovely letter concerning the death of "Hawk."
"Unfortunately letters have no effect on networks because networks are not human beings and, therefore, have no heart, no soul, and for my money very often no brain.
"I on the other hand, have at least a heart and soul, and I am very touched and very grateful for our lovalty.
"I suppose I will be back on TV, if not next season then the season after, playing a character, not "Hawk" of course, but perhaps someone as interesting. When I do, I hope you will feel as strongly about this new character as you do about "Hawk."
News of the show's demise was known in early November, I guess. The letter from Burt Reynolds was written on November 8th, and the final episode of "Hawk" aired on December 29th, 1966.
What did this memorable letter teach me? It taught me a lot about Burt Reynolds. It reinforced the importance of human beings over corporations. It rewarded my activism. It was optimistic even if it was angry and a bit cynical. Yes, he did come back with a new series ("Dan August") and life goes on.
Life goes on even without Burt Reynolds, on this very sad day. He was quite an amazing man, and he had so much dignity and humor. He was down to Earth and he was also a true star who did his own stunts, had his own stunning look, and his own unique style of acting. He never hid from the gossips. He was out in the open even when he was becoming frail, and almost a ghost of himself. He lived a full life that several autobiographies and biographies couldn't keep up with.
So much of his work is timeless. And yes, that includes "Hawk."
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