I Led 3 Lives

I recall the series very well and always tried to watch it. The series portrayed Mr. Hoover and his bureau as a professional, passionate, serious operation. I was a believer then. However, after Hoover's death, quite a bit was focused on how his bureau was run during the '50's and '60's, and his own hatred for Communists. A PBS program even depicted him as a power-hungry tyrant and a homosexual. Taking my own limited knowledge of the 1950 decade while growing up as a child, this TV series was very good. And, as far as Hoover is concerned, he knew how to handle the bunch of politicians in Washington probably better than anyone else. It would seem that this series is on some form of blacklist, as it never appears on cable, satellite, or independent TV channels running old shows. Why this is, I don't know. But, maybe after Mr. Khruschev's speech at the UN in 1960; "We Will Bury You", the country is in the form of being buried!

"I Led 3 Lives" Was Lee Harvey Oswald's favorite TV show when he is young boy Living in Forth Worth, Texas. This was confirmed by his older brother during his interview on "Frontline" Lee was immersed in the series during the 1952 Season. After his older brother left to the Marine Corps. Lee was intrigued by the idea of a man creating a new and separate identity. The early Black and White Espionage Television show was based on the true-life exploits of Herbert Philbrick, an FBI agent who worked undercover as a communist sympathizer infiltrating communist cells and suspected subversive groups. His love for the show was also noted in the Warren Commission Report.

Supposedly Lee Harvey Oswald's favorite show, which raises many interesting questions not the least of which is : Was Oswald living out the main character of the show for real? Another question: If so, was that how Oswald was set up as a patsy on 11/22/1963, as he maintained on TV (recording still exists - search YouTube) while being dragged down a hallway of the Dallas police station past TV and print reporters?

"I Led 3 Lives" needs to live another life--on dvd. Preferably as a complete box set, but I'd be happy with a multi-volume Alpha Video release a la "The Adventures of Fu Manchu." This is a great show that is entertaining today not only for it's bizzaro camp appeal, but also because it is a great look into the paranoid world view of the super-paranoid, mindlessly anti-communist mindset that ruled American life from the end of WWII to the fall of the Berlin Wall. This was serious stuff back in the day! And that's what makes this deadly earnest show all the more hilarious.

Hey those in charge: We Need this Show on DVD!

"I Led 3 Lives" was a sincere and authentic expose of the activities of the Communist Party USA. I was impressed by it as a child and I think the plot lines remain very interesting. Although rather cheaply done it had good workmanlike production values. It still provides good insight into the motivations and activities of fanatical subversives which are still valid to this day. I think Richard Carlson did a good, serious job with his role and he was always one of my favorite actors of the '50's. My father, who was a USMC officer at the time with a great interest in the psychology of communism, followed the show regularly. All in all this was one of the more important television productions to ever come along. Unfortunately it would not be touched with a 10 foot pole by the establishment media producers today!