Many of you just watched the late Darren McGavin as Ralphie’s father in the umpteenth rerun of 1983’s “A Christmas Story,” but we’re approaching the 50th anniversary of another iconic McGavin role.

On January 11, 1972, ABC aired “The Night Stalker” –which entered the American psyche as the highest-rated made-for-TV movie up until that time.

Granted, the film was aided by being nestled between “The Mod Squad” and “Marcus Welby, M.D.” and competing against a “crowd-pleasing” NBC documentary about Northern Ireland factions (apparently NBC’s documentary about post-...