Spenser: For Hire

The pilot film of the series is adapted from the novel "Promised Land," the fourth book in the series, in which Hawk first appears.

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In the first season, Spenser lived in an abandoned firehouse just off Charles Street. Filming was difficult, and the Boston Fire Department took the space back at the end of the season. In the second and third seasons, Spenser lived on the top floor of an old Charlestown apartment building at the foot of Bunker Hill. The interiors were shot at FilmWorks Studios in Brighton, Massachusetts.

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In the second season, Juanita Bartlett, known for her work on The Rockford Files (1974), joined the series and immediately wrote Susan Silverman out of the show, replacing her with Carolyn McCormick in the role of A. D. A. Rita Fiore, which shocked "Spenser" fans. The reaction led the producers to reconsider the cast change, and Barbara Stock returned as Susan Silverman in the third and final season.

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The Dark Country and Western Bar was the main bar area of The Channel, at the time Boston's largest nightclub. The lights were kept dim to hide the club's stage and its massive P. A. system.

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The firehouse was also used by the Boston Fire Department as the home of Engine Company 10 until 1982.

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The producers were initially against casting Robert Urich as Spenser and wanted Joe Mantegna for the role. Although Urich was big and strong enough, he looked too young to play opposite him. Mantegna would later play Spenser in future films.

CHARACTERS & CAST · SOURCED

There was considerable crossover with Avery Brooks's other main vehicle, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), among the actors: Lisa Banes, Ron Canada, Peter Crombie, Tim DeZarn, Nick Dimitri, Paul Dooley, Susan Gibney, Thomas Kopache, Caroline Lagerfelt, Stephen McHattie, Leon Russom, Mike Starr, Gail Strickland, Leigh Taylor-Young, John Towey and Rudolph Willrich; directors: Cliff Bole, Winrich Kolbe and Michael Vejar; editor: William B. Stich; and stuntman: Bruce Paul Barbour.

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Avery Brooks (Hawk) and Samuel L. Jackson (Ned/Leroy Clancy) both appeared in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1987) and A Man Called Hawk (1989).

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