MONTY NASH

Full Name:	Montgomery 'Monty' Nash
Nationality:	American
Organization:	Department of Counter Intelligence
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	Richard Telfair
Time Span:	1959 - 1971

ABOUT THE SERIES

Monty Nash is a top agent for Department of Counter Intelligence.

The D.C.I. is a very covert member of the Intelligence community dedicated to what Nash calls "Offensive Intelligence", taking the war to those who would make war on the U.S. Assigned to the European Section, he is the "Fox Head of a first squad", which apparently makes him a very valuable man. A former lawyer, engaged to a sexy blonde in Cleveland, he left the legal profession to better serve his country in the back alleys of the gray world of espionage fighting. When asked why, he would likely shrug, feeling the idea of patriotism being too corny for such a cynic such as he. He has been doing so for the past five years when the series begins.

In his mid 30's as the series begins, he is darned good with a gun, hand-to-hand fighting, and a knife. He is also an opinionated, argumentative, "got up on the wrong side of the bed" irritant to his superiors. But he gets the job done so they grimace and let his tirades slide. Usually.

A former Marine, Nash enjoys the job he has as leader of team but he is even more comfortable on his own, relying on no one but his own abilities. He thinks at times of getting out but the thought of trying to restart his law practice melds into the difficulty of telling his overworked boss that he was leaving. Though Nash knows there are at least 30 other teams in the D.C.I., he know he leads their best.

The adventures he gets involved with are generally low-keyed, more like detective noir than international intrigue, and that definitely fits the character.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	5
First Appearance:	1959
Last Appearance:	1961


1			The Bloody Medallion Written by Richard Telfair Copyright: 1959 His partner, thought to be on a fishing vacation in Scotland, ends up dead elsewhere in Europe and Monty Nash will let nothing stop him from getting revenge.

2			The Corpse That Talked Written by Richard Telfair Copyright: 1959 Someone is setting up sites around the world hiding small nuclear weapons, apparently intent on causing massive radiation deaths everywhere. Monty Nash is asked to stop it but no one is sure which side is behind the scheme.

3			Scream Bloody Murder Written by Richard Telfair Copyright: 1960 Someone has an impressive smuggling operations, moving vital materials out of the country and illegal drugs into it. Monty Nash is sent to plug the leak.

4			The Slavers Written by Richard Telfair Copyright: 1961 The beautiful daughter of a king of an Arab country has been kidnapped by slavers and both the U.S. and the Soviet Union are rushing to free her, with that nation's allegiance the prize.

5			Good Luck, Sucker Written by Richard Telfair Copyright: 1961 Helping an old friend, Monty Nash goes undercover to root out a traitor and comes up against three women, each willing to do anything to help the other side.

TELEVISION


Number of Episodes:	14
First Appearance:	1971
Last Appearance:	1971
Network:	Syndication

REGULAR CAST
Harry Guardino	Monty Nash [ 1 ]

For one short season (14 episodes) running in the 1971-72 television season, veteran character actor Harry Guardino played Mony Nash in a half-hour drama series. The FCC had directed that a half hour of what had been prime time be returned to the local markets to give them a chance to air programming of their choosing, intending that it be of local or educational content. Most channels, however, opted to fill that time with any show available for syndication. This gave low-budget fare like the Monty Nash show a chance it likely would not have otherwise. Unfortunately, since budgets were extremely low, the production values of the episodes was hardly on par with national broadcast dramas and the show never picked up any momentum.

The character was a good decade younger than the actor playing him but the brusk, no-nonsense, 'tact-is-for-sissies' nature of Nash was perfect for Gurardino.


1	The Long Ride Episode 1-01, first aired 09/17/1971 Director: Nicholas Colasanto Writer: - Guest Stars: Lew Gallo as Ritchie, Don Gordon as Sy, Debbie Muller as Waitress A former colleague of Nash is having mental problems and causing a lot of trouble for Nash in the process.

2	Hunting Licence Episode 1-02, first aired 09/24/1971 Director: Nicholas Colasanto Writer: - Guest Stars: Burr DeBenning as White, Leslie Nielsen as [unknown], Serena Sande as Doctor When a crime boss goes on trial, the key witness against him is put into danger and Nash is ordered in for protection.

3	The Death Squad Episode 1-03, first aired 10/01/1971 Director: John Peyser Writer: - Guest Stars: Carmen Argenziano as Benny, Frank Baxter as Lieutenant, Willard Sage as Chief Webber The leader of a group of hippies in important to the government and Nash is sent in to keep him alive.

4	The Man In The Embassy Episode 1-04, first aired 10/08/1971 Director: John Peyser Writer: - Guest Stars: Carmen Argenziano as Tomas, Ron Castro as Luis, Victor Izay as Mendez, Felice Orlandi as Jose Gorman A fellow American is being held being enemy lines and it is Monty Nash's job to get him out.

5	Tension In A Troubled Town Episode 1-05, first aired 10/14/1971 Director: John Peyser Writer: - Guest Stars: Edward Bach as Scott Stoker, Kevin Hagen as Sheriff Mannings, Lee Pulford as Ann Turner, Tom Simcox as Ed Stanley The theft of a large amount of explosives in a small town is tied somehow to racial strife there.

6	Code Name Diana Episode 1-06, first aired 10/22/1971 Director: Ted Post Writer: Harold Stone Guest Stars: Robert Gibbons as Grant, Eddie Ryder as Conroy, George Sawaya as Fitzgerald, Lana Wood as Diana As he uncovers evidence of a major tax swindle by a large corporation, their leaders offer a lot of money or a lot of pain to get him to forget it.

7	The Ambassador's Daughter Episode 1-07, first aired 10/29/1971 Director: Ted Post Writer: - Guest Stars: Katherine Cannon as Gail, Regis Cordic as Ambassador, Perry Lopez as Carlos, Earl Parker as Dave Somehow the interracial romance is connected with the kidnapping of a governmental official.

8	The Visitor Episode 1-08, first aired 11/02/1971 Director: Richard Chambers Writer: - Guest Stars: Jack Bannon as Henderson, Fred Draper as Doctor, Gilbert Green as Sir David, Eddie Guardino as Biff The homosexual activity led to blackmail and that led to suicide and Monty Nash must get the truth.

9	The Friendliest Town In The South Episode 1-09, first aired 11/05/1971 Director: John Peyser Writer: - Guest Stars: Morris Buchanan as Larry James, Thom Carney as Sheriff, Myrna Fahey as Roxanne, Herbert Jefferson Jr. as Stark When a black leader tries to organize a protest march in a small Southern town, old memories get heated up.

10	The Time Of The Eagle Episode 1-10, first aired 11/09/1971 Director: Edward J. Lakso Writer: - Guest Stars: Armand Alzamora as Little Fox, John Kellogg as Sheriff, Charles McGraw as Jeffers, Fred Porter as Ed Chino Politics and murder play a major role in the lives of two American Indian brothers.

11	Where Have All The Children Gone? Episode 1-11, first aired 11/16/1971 Director: Ivan Dixon Writer: - Guest Stars: Mary Carver as Mrs. Miller, Darin Chambers as Claire, Bruce Kirby as Miller, Ryan MacDonald as Neville Two things disappear at the same time: a nerve agent experiment the government was conduction and two dozen teenagers.

12	The Dead We Left Behind Episode 1-12, first aired 11/23/1971 Director: Ivan Dixon Writer: Shirl Hendryx Guest Stars: Edward Bach as Samuelson, Timothy Burns as Brokaw, Cliff Carnell as Pete, Martin Golar as Klinger A Marine is accused of killing innocent Vietnamese women and children while serving there.

13	Brother Zachary Episode 1-13, first aired 12/07/1971 Director: Richard Chambers Writer: - Guest Stars: Patricia Barry as Molly, Joshua Bryant as Brother Zachary, Kathleen Larkin as Sister Laurie A biker gang does not like an outreach minister helping their clientele get off drugs.

14	A Killer Among Us Episode 1-14, first aired 12/14/1971 Director: James Hogan Writer: - Guest Stars: Armand Alzamora as Silverio, John Kellogg as George Torrance, Charles McGraw as Tom McGraw, Fred Porter as Manuel When a Latino union rep is killed, racial tensions take an explosive turn.

MY COMMENTS

I know I would never like Monty Nash if he was an acquaintance and he most definitely would not like me. If you aren't with him all the way, you are against him and that means he can shoot you. Well, beat you up at least. There is a lot of Sam Spade and Mike Hammer in this hard-boiled detective-cum-secret agent. If you are a friend, you are a friend for life. If you are an enemy, you are not around long.

If they had ever made a movie of one of his assignments, I think James Cagney would have played him. Perhaps he did! As mentioned above, on television he was played by Harry Guardino and that accomplished actor could certainly bring off gruff and irrascible.

GRADE

My Grade: B

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