Mr. Lucky

Mr. Lucky is a 1959 CBS adventure drama built around a reworked version of Blake Edwards' Willie Dante character. The show stars John Vivyan as the title figure, with Ross Martin as Andamo and Tom Brown as Lieut. Rovacs, and it aired from October 24, 1959 through June 18, 1960, with reruns that summer. Blake Edwards developed the series, co-wrote and directed the first episode, and his name appeared as supervising producer on the early installments. The stories follow the lead and his associates as they get involved in episodic adventures, blending crime, tension, and character interplay rather than serialized twists.

When it debuted Edwards was the creative force, directing and co-writing episode one, while Jack Arnold produced the series and directed fifteen of the thirty-four episodes. The program ran for one season on CBS.

The show didn’t pick up major industry awards during its run, and it isn’t associated with significant Emmy or Golden Globe wins. Its single-season life and limited contemporary attention meant it escaped the awards circuit that recognized longer-running series.

Mr. Lucky made a definite mark through its music. Henry Mancini’s smooth theme reached Number 21 on the US singles chart, and Mancini issued two popular LPs tied to the series, Mr. Lucky and Mr. Lucky Goes Latin, which extended the show’s presence beyond television airings.

Critical and audience response was modest, reflected in a small number of viewer votes that average to about 6.4 out of 10. Reviews at the time tended to note the show’s stylish production and episodic plots, and modern viewers often point to the cast chemistry and Mancini’s score as the most enduring elements rather than the program’s short run or narrative ambition.