Beacon Hill (TV series)

Beacon Hill is a prime time drama series shown on CBS in 1975.

Premise

Set after World War I in Boston's fashionable Beacon Hill area, the show focused on the wealthy Lassiter family in contrast to their Irish immigrant servants, who reside together on Louisburg Square. It was considered to be an Americanized version of the popular British series Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–75), which shared the same premise.

It was produced by Jacqueline Babbin and Beryl Vertue, the latter of whom was a former literary agent of Jean Marsh who had been instrumental in getting Upstairs, Downstairs on television.

Cast and characters

The show starred Stephen Elliott as patriarch Ben Lassiter, who worked as the "grey eminence" at Boston City Hall, and Nancy Marchand as his wife Mary, who was wealthy in her own right before marrying him. Othe family members included Maeve McGuire as Maude Lassiter Palmer, the oldest daughter; Edward Herrmann as Maude's husband, Richard Palmer, a yachtsman who was pleasant, but very boring company; DeAnn Mears as Emily Lassiter Bullock, the emotionally reserved (and somewhat snobbish) middle daughter; Roy Cooper as Trevor Bullock, Emily's husband who was a stockbroker; Linda Purl as Betsy Bullock, Trevor and Emily's daughter; Kitty Winn as Rosamond Lassiter, the "Plain Jane" daughter who resented being in the shadow of her more beautiful sisters but proved herself to be a whiz at the family businesses; Kathryn Walker as Fawn Lassiter, the maverick, independent, and artistic youngest daughter; Michael Nouri as Giorgio Bellonci, Fawn's music teacher; and David Dukes as the only son, Robert Lassiter, who was wounded (losing an arm) in World War I and was still traumatized by his injuries.