Death Row Records

Death Row Records is a record company founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre, The D.O.C., and Suge Knight. Many west coast artists were on the label such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, The Outlawz, The Lady of Rage, MC Hammer, Young Soldierz, Sam Sneed, LBC Crew, RBX, Michel'le, Jewell, Danny Boy, DJ Quik, O.F.T.B., Nate Dogg and the rap group Tha Dogg Pound consisting of rappers Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, Soopafly, and many others. Death Row Records was also making $100 million a year and most of the aforementioned artists departed from the label after the death of Tupac (2Pac) in 1996. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and on January 15, 2009, was auctioned to entertainment development company WIDEawake Entertainment Group, Inc. for $18 million.

Origins and early formation

In the late 1980s, producer Andre "Dr. Dre" Young was a member of the gangsta rap group N.W.A, signed to fellow member Eric "Eazy-E" Wright's Ruthless Records. As head of production at the label, Dre produced a large number of Ruthless projects, many of them high-selling; feeling the pressures of having to produce so many acts, Dre became frustrated with Ruthless. After the departure of Ice Cube over financial disagreements with manager Jerry Heller, artist and friend The D.O.C. went over the books with a lawyer. Convinced that Heller was dishonest, they approached Young about forming a label with them, away from Heller and Eazy-E. Allegedly using strong-arm tactics, Knight was able to procure contracts from Eazy for The D.O.C., Dr. Dre and singer Michel'le.

Harry O

Harry O, sometimes spelled Harry-O, is an American crime drama series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen and was executive produced by Jerry Thorpe. Harry O followed the broadcast of two pilot films: Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On (airing March 11, 1973) and then the second (with noticeable retooling), Smile Jenny, You're Dead (airing February 3, 1974), both starring Janssen.

Synopsis

Janssen starred as the title character Harry Orwell, a San Diego cop forced into retirement when he is shot in the back. To support himself, he sets up a private investigation practice out of his beach house on Coronado Island, in San Diego. Henry Darrow originally starred as Lt. Manny Quinlan.

For the second half of the first season, the series was retooled, with the location of the series shifted to Los Angeles, California, due to the high production costs of filming in and around San Diego. The retooling consisted of more than just a location change: a revised theme song and incidental music were composed and new supporting characters were added, notably Lt. Trench of the Santa Monica Police Department, who became Orwell's new foil/contact. (Henry Darrow's character Lt. Manny Quinlan was killed off in a crossover episode.) Most noticeably a lighter tone for the scripts and acting was adopted. Harry would still live in a beach cottage−this time somewhere along the PCH between Santa Monica and Malibu. (This beach location was the same location used for both pilot movies.)