Washington: Behind Closed Doors

Washington: Behind Closed Doors
3-disc DVD cover
Genre	Drama
Created by	David W. Rintels
Based on	The Company by John Ehrlichman
Written by	Eric Bercovici John Ehrlichman David W. Rintels
Directed by	Gary Nelson
Starring	Cliff Robertson Jason Robards Stefanie Powers
Theme music composer	Dominic Frontiere (5 episodes) Richard Markowitz (1 episode)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	6
Production
Producers	Eric Bercovici Frank Cardea Stanley Kallis Norman S. Powell David W. Rintels
Cinematography	Joseph F. Biroc (6 episodes) Jack Swain (5 episodes)
Editors	Gerard Wilson (6 episodes) Harry Kaye (3 episodes) Arthur Hilton
Running time	750 minutes
Production company	Paramount Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 6 (1977-09-06) – September 11, 1977 (1977-09-11)

Washington: Behind Closed Doors is a 1977 American television miniseries produced by Paramount Television, that was broadcast in six parts, airing across six consecutive nights on ABC, between September 6 to September 11, 1977.^[1]

The fictional story is loosely based on John Ehrlichman's 1976 book The Company, a novel inspired by the author's tenure as a top aide in the Nixon administration.

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Transcription

Plot

The film is a lavish fictionalized re-telling of the Watergate story (loosely based on ex-Nixon aide John Ehrlichman's novel The Company) mixing political intrigue and personal drama and centering on the rise of a power-hungry American president and the men with whom he surrounds himself in order to keep his grip on his office. The story builds from a soap-opera start into a trenchant study of power that corrupts.^[2]^[3]

Primary cast

Cliff Robertson as William Martin (Richard Helms, Director of Central Intelligence)
Jason Robards as President Richard Monckton (Richard M. Nixon, 37th President)
Stefanie Powers as Sally Whalen
Robert Vaughn as Frank Flaherty (Harry R. Haldeman, White House Chief of Staff)
Lois Nettleton as Linda Martin
Barry Nelson as Bob Bailey
Harold Gould as Carl Tessler (Henry Kissinger, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs)
Tony Bill as Adam Gardiner (Jeb Stuart Magruder, Special Assistant to the President)
Andy Griffith as President Esker Scott Anderson (Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President)
John Houseman as Myron Dunn
David Selby as Roger Castle
Meg Foster as Jenny Jamison
Peter Coffield as Eli McGinn
Frances Lee McCain as Paula Stoner Gardiner
Barry Primus as Joe Wisnovsky
Diana Ewing as Kathy Ferris
Lara Parker as Wanda Elliott
John Lehne as Tucker Tallford (John Ehrlichman, Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs)
Alan Oppenheimer as Simon Cappell
Nicholas Pryor as Hank Ferris (Ronald L. Ziegler, White House Press Secretary)
Frank Marth as Lawrence Allison
Thayer David as Elmer Morse (John Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation)
George Gaynes as Brewster Perry
Linden Chiles as Jack Atherton
Skip Homeier as Lars Haglund
John Randolph as Bennett Lowman
Bonnie Bartlett as Joan Bailey

Release

The 12 ½‐hour television miniseries was broadcast in 6 parts, airing across six consecutive nights on ABC from September 6 to September 11, 1977.^[1] The DVD was released on June 5, 2012.^[4]

The show did well in the Nielsen ratings. The last segment (Sunday September 11) was the third-highest rated prime time program of the week (23.6 rating, 17.2 million homes); the Thursday episode was fourth (23 rating, 16.7 million); and the debut Tuesday episode ranked eighth (22 rating, or 16 million). Other parts finished 16th (Friday), 17th (Wednesday), and 25th (Saturday; typically a low viewership night) for the same week.^[5]

Awards and nominations

Robert Vaughn received an Emmy Award for his performance as the President's Chief of Staff, with other nominations going to the show itself as Outstanding Series, to Jason Robards for his portrayal of President Richard Monckton with its overt Nixonian images, director Gary Nelson, cinematographers Joseph Biroc and Jack Swain, art directors Jack DeShields and Jamie Claytor and set decorator Barbara Kreiger.^[2]

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series - Robert Vaughn (won)
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries (nominated)
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie - Jason Robards (nominated)

References

^ ^a ^b O'Connor, John J. (6 September 1977), "TV: Opening Washington Doors", The New York Times
^ ^a ^b "Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977)", Turner Classic Moves, archived from the original on 24 August 2012
^ "Washington: Behind Closed Doors, Season 1, Episode Guide", TV Guide
^ "Washington: Behind Closed Doors, box set", Amazon.com, 5 August 2012
^ (14 September 1977). First weeks' ratings battle goes to ABC, San Bernardino Sun-Telegram, p. C-6 (Associated Press story)

External links

Washington: Behind Closed Doors at IMDb

Films directed by Gary Nelson

Molly and Lawless John (1972)
Santee (1973)
The Girl on the Late, Late Show (1974)
The Boy Who Talked to Badgers (1975)
Freaky Friday (1976)
Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977, TV miniseries)
The Black Hole (1979)
The Pride of Jesse Hallam (1981)
Jimmy the Kid (1982)
Murder in Coweta County (1983)
Murder Me, Murder You (1983)
More Than Murder (1984)
The Baron and the Kid (1984)
Murder in Three Acts (1986)
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986)
Noble House (1988)
Shooter (1988)
Get Smart, Again! (1989)
The Lookalike (1990)
Melanie Darrow (1997)

Richard Nixon

37th President of the United States (1969–1974)
36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961)
U.S. Senator from California (1950–1953)
U.S. Representative for CA–12 (1947–1950)

Pre-presidency

Presidency
(timeline)

Foreign policy	International trips Nixon Doctrine Vietnam War Cambodian bombing Paris Peace Accords "Peace with Honor" Vietnamization Cold War period Linkage policy Tar Baby Option 1972 visit to China Shanghai Communiqué 1973 Chilean coup d'état Détente 1972 Moscow Summit Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty SALT I Treaty Prevention of Nuclear War Agreement Threshold Test Ban Treaty Operation CHAOS Space exploration
Domestic policy	Family Assistance Plan Revised Philadelphia Plan Minority Business Development Agency Native American policy Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Education Amendments of 1972 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants Title IX Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 National Cancer Act of 1971 End Stage Renal Disease Program Supplemental Security Income Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act Shafer Commission War on Drugs Drug Enforcement Administration Cannabis policy Federal Contested Elections Act Federal Election Campaign Act 1970 VRA Amendments District of Columbia Home Rule Act Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 Congressional Research Service
Economic policy	Bank Secrecy Act Fair Credit Reporting Act National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1970 Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973 Nixon shock Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 Smithsonian Agreement Occupational Safety and Health Act National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Occupational Safety and Health Administration Permissible exposure limit U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Consumer Product Safety Act Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act Securities Investor Protection Act Securities Investor Protection Corporation Tax Reform Act of 1969 Alternative minimum tax Revenue Act of 1971 Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 Agricultural Act of 1970 Farm Credit Act of 1971 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1972 Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 Federal Energy Administration Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act
Environmental policy	Council on Environmental Quality Environmental Quality Improvement Act National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Amendments of 1970 Clean Water Act Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act National Ambient Air Quality Standards National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants New Source Performance Standards Noise Control Act Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1970 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Zone Management Act Coastal Zone Management Program Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement Marine Mammal Protection Act Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 Endangered Species Act of 1969 Endangered Species Act of 1973 Oil Pollution Act of 1973 Water Resources Development Act of 1974
Watergate	Timeline Operation Sandwedge Operation Gemstone Saturday Night Massacre CRP White House Plumbers Watergate Seven Enemies List list of opponents White House tapes United States v. Nixon (1974) Senate Watergate Committee impeachment process "I am not a crook" Resignation Pardon

Life and
politics

Books

Elections

U.S. House	1946 1948
U.S. Senate	1950
Vice Presidential	1952 campaign selection convention election transition 1956 campaign convention election
Presidential	1960 campaign primaries running mate selection convention debates election Kennedy transition 1968 campaign primaries running mate selection convention election 1972 campaign primaries convention election
Gubernatorial	1962