Sunday Showcase Season 1 Episode 2

Larry Blyden played ambitious heel Sammy Glick in “What Makes Sammy Run?” Sammy Glick uses everyone as he climbs the Hollywood ladder. The cast also included John Forsythe as a reporter and Barbara Rush as a decent young woman unlucky enough to be in love with Sammy. Dina Merrill gave a standout performance as a beautiful woman whose father owns a Hollywood studio. Dina sexually manipulates and dominates Sammy and then double crosses him-similar to the way Sammy treats everyone else. I never really saw Dina use the sex card in any of her other performances, but she really turned me on in this show. “What Makes Sammy Run?” was beautifully written by Budd Schulberg (“On the Waterfront” and “A Face in the Crowd”), along with his brother. The Schulbergs’ father ran a Hollywood studio, so they probably knew what they were talking about from bitter experience. Larry Blyden was an enormous talent, equally terrific in comedy or drama (or even as a game show host). He could have been a great star. All he needed were a few more roles as rich as Sammy Glick.