I've been watching the third season of Mannix on DVD. I liked this show as a kid, I was especially fond of Mannix' secretary Peggy played by Gail Fisher. Some of the episodes are quite effective, many are boiler plate TV drama of the era, but one thing that struck me was the superb cinematography with unusual camera angles and inventive setups.

Funny how Gail Fisher virtually disappeared from TV after Mannix was cancelled in 1975.

She won an Emmy for the role and was nominated four times, she was nominated for a Golden Globe four times and won twice and she couldn't get another TV gig?

She developed a troubled personal life including problems with drugs, no doubt fueled by the industry's lack of interest. She made headlines in 1978 when she was busted for possession of pot and coke and for using an illegal phone device.

She was an actress with grace and style at a time when you could count on one hand the number of black women who had ever been regulars on a network TV show. Gail Fisher died in 2000 of kidney failure.

No doubt about it, the Mannix theme song is one of the most exciting in TV history.

Here's Gail Fisher in happier times, when she was a guest on Match Game '74.