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Pete Chambers

kevinburtonsmith

Created by Henry Kane
Pseudonyms include Anthony McCall, Kenneth R. McKay & Mario J. Sagola
(1918-88)

PETER CHAMBERS is a swingin’ kinda guy, who started life referring to himself as a “private richard” and ended up the head gumshoe in a handful of soft porn novels. What a dick!

Originally, Pete was a man with a passion for the fashion, a man-about-Manhattan, and very much the eligible bachelor–so much so that his first short stories were published, not in some tawdry pulp but in the pages of Esquire. With an eye for the ladies and a nose for danger, he appeared in a long-running series of books and short stories that many suspect actually inspired Blake Edwards’ Peter Gunn. In fact, when the success of Blake Edwards’ Ivy League P.I. warranted the publication of a paperback tie-in, the book was penned by Kane himself.

Of course, like any dashing playboy private eye, be it Peter Gunn, Magnum P.I., or Dan Tanna, where would a guy be without his “gang”? Pete’s no exception. Number one on his list is the ever-loyal and long-suffering “secretary, amanuensis and wet-nurse” Miss Amanda Foxworth, “built like an old-fashioned icebox, but colder.” Then there’s Lieutenant Louis Parker, a Homicide bull for New York’s finest. And for some lowdown on the underworld, Pete can always rely on Alger Shaw, hot dog vendor by day and underworld denizen by night, who also comes in handy for the occasional odd job.

The series kicked off in 1947 in A Halo for Nobody, and must have been popular, spawning over thirty books, and even a short-lived radio series, Crime and Peter Chambers, in 1954.

Considered hot stuff at the time, the books were actually pretty innocent as far as sex goes, more smirk than smut. Well, until the late sixties and seventies when, in a disappointing attempt to jump start the series, the books, most of them titled The (Such-and-Such) Job, pumped up the sex, plopped a few bimbos on the photo covers, and tried to pass them off as X-rated mysteries. But it was too little, and ultimately too late. Good ol’ Pete hasn’t been heard from since.

Some folks really loved the series, and judging by the number of titles still floating around in used bookstores, they must have sold in the skedillions.  Me? I tried, but I was never too impressed. The Chambers books may have been popular in their time, but I found them too glib–and even smarmy–at times. And his prose style was full of weird syntax and tongue-in-cheek, mood-killing asides, like he was trying too hard. Far better were some of his contemporaries, almost-forgotten private eye writers, such as William Campbell Gault, Robert Martin, Delores Hitchens, Thomas Dewey and even Richard Prather (who took his not being serious seriously).

RADIO

As I mentioned, there was a radio show.  Crime and Peter Chambers made its debut on NBC, and it was pretty much Kane’s show, with him writing, directing, and producing. The 30-minute show only lasted on network radio for five months, from April to September 1954, but over over twenty episodes have survived and are in trading currency.

Dane Clark, who had had a fairly successful career in Hollywood starting in 1942, usually playing tough guys for Warners,  made a fairly convincing Chambers, while Bill Zuckert was the voice of Lt. Louis Parker. Despite its strengths, the series showed signs of being put together in a hurry (it was) and its glib dialogue and weak plots failed to attract many listeners.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author Henry Kane was a lawyer who seemed to prefer writing. In his career, wrote over 60 novels, including about 30 featuring Pete Chambers. Other short-lived series characters were PIs Marla Trent and retired NYPD detective inspector turned P.I. McGregor. He also wrote the movie adaptations for Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct‘s Cop Hater and The Mugger. And, in light of his experience with Chambers, Kane was the perfect choice to pen an original novel starring television’s Peter Gunn.

HALO?

UNDER OATH

NOVELS

SHORT STORIES

COLLECTIONS

RADIO

Report respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. Radio info contributed by Jack French, with a special thanks going out to Claudio Di Gregorio for his sharp eye, and the Digital Deli Too for program listings. And yes, we’ve been Hubinized!

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