Eric Bolan (The Silent Whisper)

Created by Jonathan Betuel

When the family of a San Francisco cop ERIC BOLAN (David Beecroft) discovered his wife and two young children had been targeted by the serial killer he had  been investigating, he rushed to defend them–but arrived too late, and had his throat and his vocal chords slashed. Left unable to speak, with only a whisper as a voice, he quits the police department to become a “cunning but traumatized” private eye in The Silent Whisper, a 1988 60-minute pilot for a proposed series.

Fortunately, the speechless gumshoe’s former cop partner, Nick Scott (played by Richard Lawson), was there to lend a hand to Eric as he tried to track down the man responsible for his family’s death.

The show originally aired as part of the  CBS Summer Playhouse, but failed to generate much enthusiasm. Then again, by 1988, the era of the defective TV detective had more-or-less passed.

Too bad. It would have been a hoot seeing a team-up between Longstreet and this guy. 

TELEVISION

• THE SILENT WHISPER
  (1988, CBS)
  60 minutes
  Premiere: July 26, 1988
  Aired as part of CBS Summer Playhouse
  Written by Jonathan Betuel
  Directed by Jonathan Betuel
  Produced by Gary Adelson
  Starring David Beecroft as BOLAN
  With Richard Lawson as Nick Scott
  and Claudette Nevins as Police Captain Bea Landry
  Also starring Kate Vernon, Joseph Kell, Rita Wilson, Steven Keats, James Greene , Philip Levien, David Tress, Nancy Warren, John Brandon, Annie Gagen, Robert Factor

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

• The Defective Detectives
  Handicapped Heroes

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.