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The Paper Chase was a:
Written by John Jay Osborn, Jr., a 1970 graduate of Harvard Law School, the book tells the story of Hart, a first-year law student at Harvard, and his experiences with Professor Kingsfield, the brilliant, demanding contracts instructor whom he both idolizes and is incredibly intimidated by.
The 1973 movie, based "almost word for word" on the novel according to Osborn, starred John Houseman as Kingsfield and Timothy Bottoms as Hart.
The CBS television network aired a one-hour drama series in the 1978-1979 season based on the movie. John Houseman reprised his movie role, and James Stephens played Hart. Canceled after one year, PBS subsequently rebroadcast all of the episodes. In 1983, pay-cable network Showtime brought back the show with both Houseman and Stephens. At the end of three seasons on Showtime, Hart finally graduated law school.