ORDINARY HEROES
Feature Movie Released to ABC Television
Airdate: October 19, 1986
Role: Tony Kaiser
Cast:
Richard Dean Anderson as Tony Kaiser
Valerie Bertinelli as Maria Pezzo
Doris Roberts as Edith Burnside
Jesse D. Goins as Ken Bryant
Matthew Laurance as Dr. Farber
Richard Baxter as Steve Burnside
Emily Love as Tina Burnside
Liz Torres as Miss Cortez
Screenplay by: Ira R. Barmak
Directed by: Peter H. Cooper
Produced by: Ira R. Barmak
Art Director: Dian Perryman
Director of Photography: Hal Trussell
Film Editor: Mark Rosenbaum
Music Composed & Performed by: Perry Botkin
An Ira Barmak/Peter Cooper Film
Crow Productions
© 1986
Filmed April, 1985 in Salt Lake City, Utah
Airdate: October 19, 1986 on ABC Television
A deepening love affair between Tony (Richard Dean Anderson) and his fiancée Maria (Valerie Bertinelli) is abruptly put on hold when Tony is drafted to fight in Vietnam. In an act of heroism, Tony is blinded. He returns home feeling certain that his future with Maria is a shattered dream, while Maria must now face the most challenging experience of her life. A powerful story about the true meaning of love and courage.
This adaptation is a remake of the 1945 movie Pride of the Marines, the true story of World War II hero Al Schmid, who lost his sight in the attack at Guadalcanal. It was shot as a feature film in 1985 and intended for release that fall, however, due to distribution problems, it was instead released directly to ABC television the following year. It marked Richard Dean Anderson's first leading movie role.