The Shortest Eyes
These eyes may be small on stature, but they get the job done…
- Inch High, Private Eye
The hero of this 1972 Hanna Barbera cartoon for kids was a towering one inch high. Suffice it to say Inch’s height was played for laughs… - Mongo by George Chesboro
The best known short eye, Mongo is a former circus dwarf turned professor of criminology and sometime investigator who has appeared in a long-running series that manages to straddle the boundaries of supernatural and detective fiction. - Big John Novak by Harlan Ellison
One of the shortest (three-foot-two) and certainly one of the earliest attempta to create a mystery story featuring “a little person as a protagonist,” Big John appeared in 1956. - Hank Dingo by David Capperd
The ill-tempered hero of Comedy Central’s Knee High P.I., which promised “49 inches of hot private dick action!” Oh, the hilarity. - Arthur Boyle by Peter Hyams
Another dwarf who, with his partner, regular-sized Frank Hogan, appeared in the well-received 1972 television movie, Goodnight My Love. - Johnny Havoc by John Jakes
A refreshing change. He’s not an inch-high cartoon or a dwarf. He’s just short, measuring a mere 5’1″, but he sure gets around. He appeared in four zany novels in the sixties. Recommended if you like Prather’s Shell Scott. - Ben Bryn by Russell Gray (Bruno Fischer)
A childhood bout with polio left this pulp eye with a pair of whithered and almost useless legs. But that didn’t stop the 5’2″ gumshoe from developing an extremely powerful upper torso, grim determination and a razor-sharp mind. Oh, and a little bit of sensitivity when confronted by tall women. Played more for pathos than laughs. - Joshua Bigg by Lawrence Sanders
“My name is Joshua Bigg,” says the diminutive NYC dick, “A joke life played on me, as I am quite small. Five feet, three and three-eighths inches, to be precise. In a world of giants, those eighths are precious to a midget.”
Respectfully compiled by Kevin Burton Smith. Further additions welcome.
