It's Good to Be Alive

(CBS, 2/22/1974, 120 mins). Biographical movie detailing the struggles of former Brooklyn Dodger catcher and Hall-of-Famer Roy Campanella to adapt to life in a wheelchair following his crippling automobile accident in 1958. Paul Winfield starred and Michael Landon directed. Cinematographer Ted Voigtlander was Emmy nominated.

Production Companies Larry Harmon Pictures, Metromedia Producers Corp. Director Michael Landon. Executive Producers Charles Fries, Larry Harmon. Producer Gerald I Isenberg. Teleplay Steven Gethers. Based on the Autobiography by Roy Campanella. Photography Ted Voigtlander. Music Michel Legrand. Editor John A. Martinelli. Art Director Rodger Maus. Associate Producer Richard Marx.

Cast Paul Winfield (Roy Campanella), Louis Gossett Jr. (Sam Brockington), Ruby Dee (Ruthe Campanella), Ramon Bieri (Walter O’Malley), Joe DeSantis (Campanella’s father), Ty Henderson (David Campanella), Lloyd Gough (Surgeon), Eric Woods (Roy Campanella as a boy), Ketty Lester (Mother), Julian Burton (Dr. Rusk), Len Lesser (Man at accident), Stymie Beard (Garage attendant), Paul Savior (Attendant), Stanley Clay (Boy), Joe E. Tata (Pee Wee Reese), Nina Roman (Nurse), Stuart Nisbet (Reporter), Buck Young (Reporter), Richard Hurst (Patient), Gene Tyburn (Policeman), Willie McIntyre Jr. (Preacher in chapel), Azalie Nickleberry, James Cahill, Roxie Campanella, Joni Campanella, Tony Campanella, Routh Campanella.