Roll Out

{{Other uses|Rollout (disambiguation){{!}}Rollout}}

{{Infobox television

| image = Stu Gilliam Hilly Hicks Roll Out 1973.JPG

| image_size = 220

| caption = Stu Gilliam (top) and Hilly Hicks.

| genre = Sitcom

| creator = Larry Gelbart
Gene Reynolds

| writer = Gene Reynolds
Don Weis
Richard Kinon
William Wiard

| director = William Wiard

| starring = Ed Begley Jr.
Garrett Morris
Rod Gist
Mel Stewart
Jimmy Lydon
Stu Gilliam
Hilly Hicks
Darrow Igus

| theme_music_composer = Dave Grusin

| opentheme =

| composer = J. J. Johnson ("Dark Victory")
Benny Golson
Dave Grusin

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 1

| num_episodes = 12

| producer = Gene Reynolds
Larry Gelbart

| editor = Joseph Gluck
Neil Travis

| cinematography = Robert C. Moreno

| camera = Multi-camera

| runtime = 22–24 minutes

| company = 20th Century Fox Television

| channel = CBS

| first_aired = {{Start date|1973|10|05}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1974|01|04}}

}}

Roll Out is an American sitcom that aired Friday evenings on CBS during the 1973–1974 television season. Starring nightclub comedian Stu Gilliam and Hilly Hicks, and featuring Ed Begley Jr. and Garrett Morris, the series was set in France during World War II and was loosely based on the 1952 film Red Ball Express.

Actor Jimmy Lydon, familiar as a juvenile lead in the 1940s, was cast as an Army captain. His character's name was Henry Aldrich; the same name he used in Paramount's comedy features of the 1940s.

Synopsis

In an effort to cash in on the success of M*A*S*H, CBS decided to air another Army comedy. Instead of Army medics, Roll Out highlighted the pratfalls of the supply drivers of the fictional 5050th Quartermaster Truck Company of the U.S. Third Army's Red Ball Express, whose staff was mainly African American. The series attempted to use the World War II setting as a commentary on race relations, just as M*A*S*H{{'}}s Korean War setting was also a commentary on the Vietnam War.

Roll Out aired opposite ABC's The Odd Couple. Subsequently, Roll Out failed to win its timeslot and was canceled halfway through its sole season. It was replaced on February 8, 1974, by Good Times, a spin-off of Maude starring Esther Rolle and John Amos, which would run for six seasons.

Cast

class="wikitable" ! Actor !! Role
Stu Gilliam	Corporal Carter "Sweet" Williams
Hilly Hicks	Private First Class Jed Brooks
Ed Begley Jr.	Lieutenant Robert Chapman
Garrett Morris	Wheels Dawson
Mel Stewart	Sergeant B.J. Bryant
Jimmy Lydon	Captain Henry Aldrich
Teddy Wilson	High Strung
Rob Gist	Phone Booth
Darrow Igus	Jersey Hampton
Val Bisoglio	Captain Rocco Calvelli
Sam Laws	Sergeant Grease
Penny Santon	Madame Delacourt
Dana Brady	Dominique Delacourt

Episodes

class=wikitable style="background:#FFFFFF"

style="color:#FFFFFF"

! style="background:#006400;" width:20px"| No.

! style="background:#006400;"| Title

! style="background:#006400;"| Directed by

! style="background:#006400;"| Written by

! style="background:#006400; width:130px"| Original air date

! style="background:#006400;"| Prod.
code

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 1

| Title = Pilot

| DirectedBy = Gene Reynolds

| WrittenBy = Larry Gelbart

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1973|10|5}}

| ProdCode =

| ShortSummary = We meet the troops of the "Red Ball Express," a mostly black Army transportation unit based in France during World War II. In the premiere episode we see how Sweet honors a fellow driver's last wish by organizing a New Orleans-style funeral.

| LineColor = 006400

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 2

| Title = Sunday, Sweet Sunday

| DirectedBy = William Wiard

| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|s= Gene Reynolds |t= Larry Gelbart & Sheldon Keller}}

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1973|10|12}}

| ProdCode =

| ShortSummary = Sweet accepts Jed's invitation to a Sunday drive to church, but Sweet does not plan to go to church.

| LineColor = 006400

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 3

| Title = Dark Victory

| DirectedBy = Hugh A. Robertson

| WrittenBy = Peter Meyerson

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1973|10|19}}

| ProdCode =

| ShortSummary = Sweet and Jed accept a volunteer mission, and stand a good chance to return as heroes if they survive.

| LineColor = 006400

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 4

| Title = Strange Bedfellows

| DirectedBy = William Wiard

| WrittenBy = John Boni & Thad Mumford

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1973|10|26}}

| ProdCode =

| ShortSummary = As part of a contest, Sweet gets a chance to travel to Paris.

| LineColor = 006400

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 5

| Title = Dear Rocco

| DirectedBy = Robert Butler

| WrittenBy = Rick Mittleman

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1973|11|2}}

| ProdCode =

| ShortSummary = When the mail truck explodes, Captain Calvelli receives only half of a "Dear John" letter, but that is enough to make him crazy.

| LineColor = 006400

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 6

| Title = Sweet Millions

| DirectedBy = Bruce Bilson

| WrittenBy = Howard Merrill

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1973|11|16}}

| ProdCode =

| ShortSummary = Sweet finds a bag of $100 bills inside a hollow tree, and everyone else is miffed by his new affluent attitude.

| LineColor = 006400

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 7

| Title = Members of the Wedding

| DirectedBy = Richard Kinon

| WrittenBy = David P. Lewis and Booker Bradshaw

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1973|11|23}}

| ProdCode =

| ShortSummary = The drivers are tasked with delivering a gift to a general's wedding, but the job is tougher than they expected.

| LineColor = 006400

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 8

| Title = The Paper Caper

| DirectedBy = E.W. Swackhamer

| WrittenBy = Simon Muntner

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1973|11|30}}

| ProdCode =

| ShortSummary = Sweet and the boys become unlikely safe crackers.

| LineColor = 006400

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 9

| Title = No Wages – All Fear

| DirectedBy = Don Weis

| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|s=Larry Gelbart & Gene Reynolds|t=Larry Gelbart & Sheldon Keller}}

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1973|12|14}}

| ProdCode =

| ShortSummary = Sweet's "high-living, always-jiving" attitude drives Jed crazy.

| LineColor = 006400

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 10

| Title = Christmas the '44

| DirectedBy = Michael Schultz

| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|s=Sid Dorfman|t= Larry Gelbart & Sheldon Keller}}

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1973|12|21}}

| ProdCode = K-715

| ShortSummary = The company's Christmas looks pretty gloomy until a bunch of orphans come into their lives.

| LineColor = 006400

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 11

| Title = Honor Truck

| DirectedBy = Hollingsworth Morse

| WrittenBy = Larry Gelbart & Sheldon Keller

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1973|12|28}}

| ProdCode =

| ShortSummary = When Sweet realizes that the winner of "honor truck" will win a pass to Paris, nothing—including fair play—will stop him from winning.

| LineColor = 006400

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 12

| Title = Didn't He Ramble?

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy = Sid Dorfman

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1974|1|4}}

| ProdCode =

| ShortSummary = Sweet gets an honorable discharge after he sprains his ankle.

| LineColor = 006400

}}