Edward Woodward dies at 79

One show I watched religiously during the 80's was about an ex-agency operative (think the CIA) who'd had his disgusted fill of covert work and wished to atone for his sins. Living in New York City, and wanting to help everyday people with their troubles, he put an ad in the paper which read: "Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer."

Edward Woodward starred in what would become a cult hit, and it was the first time I was introduced to the British actor. In time, I learned of his work in films like "Breaker Morant" (which I have yet to see) and "The Wicker Man". But it's "The Equalizer" that I'll forever associate him with. Click on the photo to go to his obituary at latimes.com.

During the middle of the series, Woodward had a heart attack. So it was necessary to bring on Richard Jordan to help with the strenuous action oriented scenes in order to give Woodward a bit of a break. He recovered, happily, and continued on until the series ended after four seasons. I was very sad to learn of his passing yesterday and, yet again, it was Bill who told me the news with an early morning phone call. Thanks, Bill!

"The Equalizer" ran on CBS from September 1985 – August 1989, and I have every episode on VHS. It was a Wednesday night staple; put the tape in, set the timer, watch, or go to bed because I had to be at work early the next morning. The show aired from 10 to 11pm. Woodward had the right 'cool', the series had an unmistakable style, and I LOVED the theme and score by then ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland! He released the album "The Equalizer & Other Cliff Hangers" a few years later which contained not only an extended version of the main title music, but also a number of tracks that were used in the show. I was especially happy to see a DVD set of Season 1 finally released a few years ago. However, Season's 2, 3, and 4 have yet to see the light of day. I definitely want to own the entire series on DVD, that's a given!

Here is the open to "The Equalizer" starring Edward Woodward. It's hard to believe this was twenty years ago!