On Wings of Eagles (miniseries)
1986 American TV series or program
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On Wings of Eagles (also known as Teheran) is a 1986 American television miniseries starring Burt Lancaster and Richard Crenna, and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. It was adapted from Ken Follett's 1983 book of the same name.
| On Wings of Eagles | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Based on | On Wings of Eagles by Ken Follett |
| Screenplay by | Ken Follett and Sam Rolfe |
| Directed by | Andrew V. McLaglen |
| Starring | Burt Lancaster Richard Crenna Paul Le Mat |
| Theme music composer | Laurence Rosenthal |
| Countries of origin | United States Mexico |
| Original languages | English Persian |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Edgar J. Scherick |
| Producer | Lynn Raynor |
| Production locations | Mexico City Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico |
| Cinematography | Robert Steadman |
| Editor | Alan Strachan |
| Running time | 241 minutes |
| Production companies | Edgar J. Scherick Associates Taft Entertainment Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | May 18 – May 19, 1986 |
Synopsis
The story is set during the Iranian Revolution (1978–1979). As Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi is overthrown by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in the takeover of Iran, two executives of Electronic Data Systems are arrested on false charges and then imprisoned. The head of the company, H. Ross Perot (Richard Crenna), travels to Tehran to negotiate for their release. Meanwhile, a retired US Army Special Forces Colonel, Arthur D. "Bull" Simons (Burt Lancaster), is hired by Perot to formulate a rescue plan at any cost.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Burt Lancaster | Colonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons |
| Richard Crenna | H. Ross Perot |
| Paul Le Mat | Jay Coburn |
| Louis Giambalvo | Paul Chiapparone |
| Jim Metzler | Bill Gaylord |
| Lawrence Pressman | Bill Gayden |
| Esai Morales | Rashid |
| Martin Doyle | Jim Schwebach |
| Robert Wightman | Keane Taylor |
| Cyril O'Reilly | Pat Scully |
| Bob Delegall | Ron Davis |
| William Bumiller | Rich Gallagher |
| James Sutorius | Joe Poche |
| Richard Anthony Crenna | Ross Perot Jr. |
| Constance Towers | Margot Perot |
| Karen Carlson | Ruth Chiapparone |
| Patrick Collins | John Howell |
| Roger Cudney | General Jerome O'Malley |
| Patty McCormack | Liz Coburn |
| Zevi Wolmark | Ted Maxwell |
| Kabir Bedi | Mohammad |
| Parviz Sayyad | Hossein Dadgar |
| Ellis Levinson | Henry Kissinger (voice) |
Production
Edgar Scherick sold the mini series to NBC. He said the paid nearly $1 million for Burt Lancaster, recalling "Burt had just had a bipass operation. I had to pay a big premium for insurance for him. We finished the picture on a mountain near Mexico City and I was concerned about the thinness of the air. I brought an ambulance and doctor in on a 24-hour basis. And he was fine."[1]
Awards
The miniseries was nominated for Outstanding Miniseries at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards.