Goofy created by Walt Disney, Pinto Colvig, Tom Palmer & Art Babbitt Johnny Eyeball created by Dick Kinney Beloved Disney character GOOFY is JOHNNY EYEBALL, in "How to Be a Detective," a 1952 cartoon short. Something of a send-up of assorted private eye and noir-ish tropes (before noir was even recognized as a thing), it's … Continue reading Johnny Eyeball/Goofy (How to Be a Detective)
Author: kevinburtonsmith
Lost Montrealer Kevin Burton Smith has been involved in publishing in one form or another ever since he was four and asked his mother to staple together some of his drawings. Since then he’s worked as a paperboy, an editor, a columnist, an illustrator, an editor, a graphic designer, a critic, a cartoonist, a bookseller, a layout artist and a short story writer. He’s the founder and editor of The Thrilling Detective Web Site, the popular and long-running online encyclopedia of all things private eye, the web monkey for The Private Eye Writers of America and a contributing editor to Mystery Scene Magazine and Deadly Pleasures. He is currently living in California and working on a non-fiction book about married detective couples with his wife, mystery author D.L. Browne (aka Diana Killian, Josh Lanyon).
Colt Seavers (The Fall Guy)
Created by Glen A. Larson "It's a death defying life I lead But I'll take my chances..." Okay, you might consider it a stretch to include TV's The Fall Guy (1981-86, ABC) on this site, but under-employed stunt man COLT SEAVERS (played by a post-$6,000,00 Man and post-Farrah Lee Majors) actually did moonlight as a … Continue reading Colt Seavers (The Fall Guy)
It’s Only Words: “The Unknown Stuntman”
1981 Performed by Lee Majors (later Blake Shelton) Words and Music by Glen A. Larson, Dave Somerville, and Gail Jensen What could be cheesier (or more singalong fun) than a TV theme song? How about one that sets up (week after week) the premise of the show? Think of such classics as the themes … Continue reading It’s Only Words: “The Unknown Stuntman”
Hart Muldoon
Created by John Flagg Pseudonym of John Rex Gearon (1911-93) A former op for the O.S.S. (the early version of the C.I.A.) during World War II , HART MULDOON decides to hang around the French Riviera and Monaco after the war, setting himself up as a sort of spy-for-hire. He often claims all he's really … Continue reading Hart Muldoon
Conan Flagg
Created by M.K. Wren Pseudonym of Martha Kay Renfroe (1938-2016) CONAN FLAGG is the owner proprietor of the Holliday Beach Bookshop and Rental Library, and a sometime-private investigator (he likes to keep that on the down low) who lives in Holliday Beach, Oregon, a peaceful town on the coast. Life is good for Conan. He drives … Continue reading Conan Flagg
An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down
Eyes of the Northwest OREGON Cal Claxon by Warren C. Easley (Portland) Lennox Cooper by Lily Gardner (Portland) Conan Flagg by M.K. Wren (Oregon) Garrison Gage by Jack Nolte (Barnacle Bluffs) Dex Parios by Greg Rucka (Portland, aka "Stumptown") Myron Vale by Scott William Carter (Portland) WASHINGTON Thomas Black by Earl Emerson (Seattle) Frank Corso … Continue reading An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down
Ryo Saeba (City Hunter)
Created by Tsukasa Hojo "Mokkori!" I stumbled across City Hunter, a 1993 Jackie Chan action flick out of Hong King late one night on some streaming channel, turned my brain off, and settled in to watch Chan — as a private eye, no less! — kick the bejesus out of a bunch of bad guys. … Continue reading Ryo Saeba (City Hunter)
Vince Pope
Created by Michael A. Black Author Black riffs on Hammett's The Thin Man with a string of short stories featuring former private eye VINCE POPE and his sexy (and very wealthy) socialite wife Laura. Set in the years immediately following World War II, Vince, a returning vet, decides to shuck his gig as a "pretty … Continue reading Vince Pope
Not Brilliant AND Cancelled
Mercy Killings? Private Eye Shows That Woulda Never Been Contenders Okay, not every P.I. show that gets canned deserves tears. And Lord knows, there have been plenty of shows built around private eyes that were less than stellar. But these were so bad you have to wonder how they got on air at all. What … Continue reading Not Brilliant AND Cancelled
Steve Duncan
Drawn by Cal Massey (1926-2019) STEVE DUNCAN was a licensed investigator ("Please don't call me a private eye") who appeared in 25 issues of The Perfect Crime comic book in the early fifties-- and in every one of them, his was the kick-off story. Although he was mentioned on the cover often, none of the … Continue reading Steve Duncan