#CAST OF NANCY DREW MYSTERIES SERIES#

Stratemeyer farmed out the first three “breeder” volumes of the Hardy Boys series to a young Canadian author named Leslie McFarlane, who wrote them under the name of Franklin W. Freelance writers, many ill-paid journalists, wrote the books for flat fees ranging from $50 to $200 a volume with no royalties.

Photo by Celeste Lindell Photo by Bradley P Johnsonīy 1908, he had formed his own syndicate to produce children’s books and brought in extra help. Pretty soon, Stratemeyer launched his own series of children’s books - first, the Old Glory series, then the Rover Boys and the Motor Boys. Eventually, he was chosen to complete the works of Horatio Alger Jr. Stratemeyer wrote more stories for boys’ magazines, then began writing dime novels. THE SUCCESS STORIES of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew began in 1886, when a man named Edward Stratemeyer scribbled his first story on a piece of brown wrapping paper (so so legend has it) in his brother’s tobacco shop in Newark, N.J. In the past half-century, the Nancy Drew books have sold 60 million copies and the Hardy Boys 50 million copies - more than any other juvenile books on the market. As a producer, it’s nice to know that sitting on a shelf are all those stories to go to.” But as we have more time, I think we’ll use more material from the books. “We have no restrictions against using the books, but some of them are just not that easy to transfer to the screen. “The books were written in form and a time span that would take too long to tell,” he said. Larson said few of the stories have come from the books, but he expects this may change next season. “WE TRY FOR a sense of realism,” Larson said, “but there are times when our villains don’t act realistically, because we’re in the pre-family hour. His musical abilities were put to use in one show when the boys solved a mystery of record pirating - a crime, incidentally, that did not exist when the books were written. Shaun, the younger brother of former teenage heartthrob David Cassidy, is a popular singer in his own right.Īfter filming the final show he went on to Australia for a concert tour. Parker Stevenson plays Frank Hardy and Shaun Cassidy is Joe Hardy. Larson said Martin also acts as a cliche spotter when “our writers let their male fantasies slip in.” In a football story, she nipped the characterization of the cheerleaders as vacuous stereotypes. In addition, she also drives a mean motorcycle, which has come in handy on the show. He said Pamela Sue Martin fit the image he had in mind: contemporary, wholesome without being saccharine and clever without being smart-alecky. Everyone had a preconceived of what she should be like.” “The difficulty was that with 50 years of books, you have a following of all ages. “CASTING THE role of Nancy Drew was one of the toughest things we did,” said Glen Larson, executive producer for the two shows. (Both shows are losing out to CBS’s “60 Minutes.”) They also are proving nearly as popular as the novels and are giving the venerable “ Wonderful World of Disney,” the NBC Sunday night opposition, a run in the ratings. The shows, which rotate weekly, have an affecting quaintness that reflects creation in an earlier and more innocent age, but otherwise, are up-to-date. Like Little Orphan Annie, they never age.īut ABC’s new “The Hardy Boys-Nancy Drew Mysteries” offers a contemporary setting for the indestructible mystery-solvers whose adventures have enthralled several generations of young readers. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys must be the world’s oldest teenagers. When it comes to TV’s new Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, clues to teen detectives’ appealīy Jerry Buck in Hollywood, from the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) June 4, 1977

Then, in 1979, the show was suddenly - and surprisingly - canceled mid-season. Under the original name, the show lasted for two seasons - but in season 3, the Drew part was dropped entirely to focus on Frank and Joe Hardy, and the name changed to The Hardy Boys. This television version starred Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy as the brothers Frank and Joe, and Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy. Based on the famous book series, The Hardy Boys-Nancy Drew Mysteries debuted in 1977, and alternated between Hardy Boys stories, Nancy Drew stories, and crossover episodes.

Cast of nancy drew mysteries