This episode of the television program "The Rockford Files" shows a real Los Angeles coin dealer's store. "The Rockford Files" was a one-hour television program which ran on the NBC television network from 1975 to 1980. The series starred James Garner as Jim Rockford, a Los Angeles private investigator who lives in a Santa Monica beach trailer with his father (Noah Beery). This episode is titled "The Fourth Man" and was first broadcast on September 24, 1976.

Lori Jenivan is a Los Angeles Airport ticket agent. She sees passenger Timson Farrell and says hello as she has seen him many times at the airport.

She asks him about his recent flight to Detroit, where he claims not to have been. Lori goes out to her car and is followed by Timson, she runs and drops her purse. She calls her friend Jim Rockford who offers to watch her apartment, which she declines. Timson breaks into her apartment, she runs outside, and calls Jim. They visit the police and another Rockford friend Lieutenant Dennis Becker

Lt. Becker tells them that there is little that he can do as Lori could not identify Timson as the man in her apartment. Rockford finds out that Timson is a rare coin dealer and visits his shop in Studio City, a suburb of Los Angeles.

The American Coin Company at 12164 Ventura Blvd., Studio City was a real coin shop at the time. They placed an advertisement for coins in the November 1976 issue of Popular Science magazine. The scenes filmed in the coin shop do not show the coins clearly, but the 1970's atmosphere is there. Jim cons a mailman into showing some letters Timson mailed.

Jim enters the store and claims that a customer referred him.

Jim tells Timson that he wants to buy a coin as a birthday present for his nephew and asks him for suggestions. Jim also mentions an "1858 Flying Eagle cent." Timson calls the customer who doesn't know Jim and turns him over to an assistant. Jim and Lori get Timson's recent flight destinations and then visit the Los Angeles Library. They look for news stories from the destinations and find that in the last three cities, someone has murdered men who were going to testify against a gangster.

Jim and Lori now know that Timson, besides being a coin dealer, is a "hitman" or professional killer. Lori guesses Timson is going on another flight. Jim, Lori, and Lt. Becker head for the airport and spot Timson, who is being followed by another man. Timson runs into a repair facility followed by the three men. The other man shoots Timson, and is then captured by Jim and Lt. Becker. The shooter was a hitman hired by Timson's next intended victim, the "Fourth Man" of the title.

Jim and Lori are happy to have solved Lori's problem and Lt. Becker has stopped two killers. Jim's father is just happy that Jim has survived another case.

James Garner as Jim Rockford
Sharon Gless as Lori Jenivan
John McMartin as Timson Farrell
Joe Santos as police Lt. Dennis Becker
Noah Beery as Joseph Rockford (Jim's father)
Director: William Wiard
Writers: Roy Huggins, Stephen J. Cannell, Juanita Bartlett