Simply A Masterpiece

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

I was only seven at the time the series was on, but I remember I had to leave the room when the Mancini music would start (after all, they were gambling) My main memory of the show from that time was the "launch" pulling up to the Fortuna against the black background. To me, finding the Fortuna rusting and forgotten would be like finding the Batmobile in a junk yard. It (to me) is one of the great Television props of all time. I have always wondered what could have happened to it. Kinda sad to hear that it will eventually fade into history along with the memory of the one great season of a great show. I sure would love to see a picture of it. At least they released a few episodes for us to remember....10/10/2008 I've done more research on the show recently. It has actually become an obsession for me. I was able to locate the complete series on DVD so I have been able to study them carefully. I have contacted all the marinas in the Eureka / Woodley Island area where the gentleman reported finding the Fortuna. I can find no evidence that the Fortuna is mothballed in the area. There appears to be a suitable ship visible via "Google Earth" but the harbor master assures that it is not the famous boat. I have also contacted Suzanne Lloyd who is a charming actress that guest stared on an episode titled "A Business Measure". She informed me that all of her scenes were shot on a sound stage. As she had several scenes on and around the "boat", I am suspicious that there was only a model boat used for long distance and daylight shots. I would love to be proved wrong, so fire away with any additional info you may have come up with. I suspect the only definitive authority would be Blake Edwards, and as of yet I have been unable to find a contact for him. Aside from Mr.Edwards there are only a handful of surviving actors / actresses, all of them only one time guest stars.04/11/2012 OK, here it is. After many years and tons of dough...The definitive story of the real "Fortuna II" She was a real yacht. A magnificent one to be sure. She was built in Camdon NJ in 1932 by the Mathis Shipyards as the Yacht "ALAMO" for a Mr. Wm F. Ladd, a New York stock broker. Considering it was the height of the great depression, he must have been a pretty good one. She had several prestigious owners besides Mr Ladd. One in particular was a Mrs. Eleanor Widener Dixon, daughter of the chairman of the White Star Line, owners of the Titanic (the wreck of which she survived). Mrs Dixon donated the yacht to the Navy in 1941 for war service, as did many rich patriots. She was called the USS Alabaster. After the war she was sold as surplus to a private citizen. She was restored to it's original majesty and cruised the west coast until it was leased to Spartan Productions for use in the Mr Lucky series. After the series was canceled she was sold to Enriche Braun, who took her to Acapluco for service as a luxury bay tour boat. In 1980, after being retired from service, she was basically abandoned and left to deteriorate. She sank in Acapluco Bay just off the Yacht Club in a severe storm in 1982. To this day she sits upside down, in a murky current in just under 100ft of water.I have pictures and documentation for the whole story. If anyone out there wants to see any of it, you may contact me at bencronk@dcwis.com and I will be happy to share all of it. Use subject "Mr Lucky"

This TV series, very loosely based on the movie by the same title, is about a suave gambler, Mr. Lucky (John Vivyan), his faithful sidekick, Andamo (Ross Martin), and various guest stars (such as Frank Gorshin) who undergo their adventures on Lucky's yacht, the Fortuna II (Fortuna I sank in episode 1). Anchored beyond L.A.'s twelve-mile limit, the yacht is a center of gambling, classy dining, and intrigue. Lucky and Andamo get themselves into all kinds of danger, but always manage to get themselves out by the time the closing credits roll. While the setting is creative, the magic of this series is created by Hank Mancini's fabulous musical score. The theme "Mr. Lucky" plays throughout, as does Mancini's "Chime Time" and other lovely numbers (e.g., "Blue Satin").Sadly, this series lasted just one season. Even sadder is the fact that these few episodes have not been reissued in DVD. Just a handful have been released in VHS mode. Maybe this will change. I certainly hope so.

I was nine-years old (and living in New York) when this show premiered, and it quickly became my favorite series. Friday nights meant "77-Sunset-Strip" and then staying up to watch "Mr. Lucky" with a big bottle of Coke and a bag of Fritos. I can still remember the car he drove -- a black 1959 Chrysler Imperial. To me, Mr. Lucky was the epitome of "class."

"Mr. Lucky" was a half-hour television series attempting to cash in on "Peter Gunn"'s success. Based on an old '40's feature film that had starred Cary Grant, the t.v. "Mr. Lucky" starred John Vivyan as the title character, Ross Martin as his partner Andamo, Pippa Scott as Mr. Lucky's girlfriend, Maggie, and Tom Brown as Lt. Rovaks of the police department, Lucky's sometimes friend, sometimes adversary. Mr. Lucky was the owner of the ship Fortuna, a floating gambling casino moored off of the California coast's 12 mile limit. Each week Lucky and Andamo would become entangled with an assortment of con-men, gamblers, fugitives, even entertainers working for Lucky aboard the gambling casino. Inevitably it would appear that Lucky was either involved in some type of illegal activity or at the least aiding those involved with the activities. This was all done to a modern jazz musical score supplied by "Peter Gunn"'s Henry Mancini.The series ran one season (during the '59-'60 season) and is probably best remembered for spawning two hit record albums from Henry Mancini, "Theme from Mr. Lucky" and "Mr Lucky Goes Latin".