Cannon

Cannon
Premiere	pilot movie March 26, 1971 series September 14, 1971
Finale	March 3, 1976
Airs	Tuesdays to Saturdays at 3:05 AM on MeTV
Developed by	Edward Hume
Network/Provider	CBS
Style	60-minute crime drama
Company	Quinn Martin Productions
Distributor	Viacom Enterprises (until 1995) Paramount Domestic Television (1995–2006) CBS Paramount Television (2006–2007) CBS Television Distribution (2007–2021) CBS Media Ventures (2021– )
Seasons	5
Episodes	122 + pilot movie
Origin	USA

Cannon is a crime drama that aired on CBS.

Frank Cannon was a detective with the Los Angeles police department. However, he resigned after the deaths of his wife and son in a car accident and later became a private detective. The series begins at the point where Cannon is just beginning this new career (the pilot film picks up after Cannon has just spent 2 1/2 months overseas on an investigation). The cause of death of Cannon's wife and child was not clear through the first four seasons of the show. However, the first episode of the fifth and final season revolves around Cannon's investigation of the deaths, and he finally finds out the reason they were killed.

The noticeably overweight Frank Cannon had expensive tastes, especially in food and cars. (His primary vehicle was a silver '71 Lincoln Continental Mark III.) Cannon's investigations were mostly for clients in the Southern California area, although on occasion he was called in for investigations much farther away (e.g., New Mexico in the pilot).

Cannon occasionally would get hurt (shot or beaten) and knocked unconscious. He carried a gun for self-defense, usually a snub-nosed .38 Special revolver. He was known to subdue suspects with karate chops, judo holds, and occasionally he would thrust and knock down adversaries with his huge abdomen.

In the first two seasons Cannon was a pipe smoker. In the third season, the pipe was seen occasionally; it was subsequently dropped altogether.

Cast

Actor	Character	Duration
Billed Cast		1	2	3	4	5
William Conrad	Frank Cannon	*	*	*	*	*

Pilot

Title	Network		Airdate
Cannon	CBS		March 26, 1971

Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale				#
CBS
Season One	September 14, 1971	March 14, 1972				24
Season Two	September 13, 1972	March 21, 1973				24
Season Three	September 12, 1973	March 20, 1974				25
Season Four	September 11, 1974	April 2, 1975				24
Season Five	September 10, 1975	March 3, 1976				25

Telefilm

Title	Network		Airdate
The Return of Frank Cannon	CBS		November 1, 1980

In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series

DVD Releases

Title			Release			Discs
Season Sets  (Region 1)
Season One, Volume One			July 8, 2008	purchase		4
Season One, Volume Two			December 2, 2008	purchase		4
Season Two, Volume One			June 2, 2009	purchase		4
Season Two, Volume Two			February 16, 2010	purchase		3
Season Three			January 10, 2013	purchase		6

External Links

• opening credits for episode 1on YouTube