Created by Neil Simon Lionel Twain, an eccentric millionaire (played with some kind of awkwardly mad brilliance by Truman Capote) invites five of the "world's greatest detectives" to his secluded castle for the weekend, and offers $1 million to the one who can solve a murder, in Neil Simon's 1976 at-times delightful send-up of the … Continue reading Sam Diamond, Dick and Dora Charleston, Inspector Milo Perrier, Inspector Sidney Wang & Jessica Marbles (Murder by Death)
Tag: Comedy
Lou Peckinpaugh (The Cheap Detective)
Created by Neil Simon "Being a private eye may not be much, but we do have a code of honor. It's all right to fool around with your partner's wife, but once he's dead it makes it all so dirty. That's the way it is, angel. You marry yourself a nice guy, have a couple … Continue reading Lou Peckinpaugh (The Cheap Detective)
Butch Patterson
Created by Greg Lawrence "Do you think I'd look good in a hat?" How’d I miss this one? A 30-minute Canadian TV comedy lampooning the whole Shamus Game? That lasted three seasons? And I had no clue it even existed? Turns out Butch Patterson, Private Dick ran from 1999-2001 on The Comedy Network, a Canadian channel … Continue reading Butch Patterson
Daryl Zero (Zero Effect)
Created by Jake Kasdan "Now, a few words on looking for things. When you go looking for something specific, your chances of finding it are very bad. Because of all the things in the world, you're only looking for one of them. When you go looking for anything at all, your chances of finding it … Continue reading Daryl Zero (Zero Effect)
Nick Danger
Created by The Firesign Theatre "Well, now, the gum's on the other shoe." -- Nick Danger, on a sudden plot shift, in The Case of the Missing Yolks .Even more than the literature, the classic radio eyes of the forties and fifties thrived on first person. And they did it in present tense, as in … Continue reading Nick Danger
Sam Valenti Jr. (The Ferret)
Created by Blake Edwards Pseudonyms include Sam O. Brown (1922-2010) In this comedy, Robert Loggia played legendary anti-terrorist UN Special Agent SAM “THE FERRET” VALENTI, whose disappearance sets off an global crime wave. It falls to his son SAM VALENTI JR. (Steve Guttenberg), a bumbling, accident-prone jazz musician and amateur inventor (and possibly a part-time private eye), operating under … Continue reading Sam Valenti Jr. (The Ferret)
Lester March (It’s Only Money)
Created by John Fenton Murray “Nay, hence, and get outta there.” — Lester speaks Somebody make it stop! While there have been any number of miscast or just surprising actors slotted to play private eyes, their performances careening wildly from inspired to simply head-scratching, surely one of the most painful to watch is uber-dweeb Jerry Lewis … Continue reading Lester March (It’s Only Money)
Mitch Weaver (Dirty Work)
Created by Norm MacDonald and Frank Sebastiano "Note to self...Learn how to fight." -- Mitch to his pocket recorder, after getting the crap kicked out of him in a bar fight This 1998 vehicle for Saturday Night Live refugee Norm MacDonald would have played out as a spoof of TV's Vengeance Unlimited, except that they were … Continue reading Mitch Weaver (Dirty Work)
Guy Johnson (It’s a Wonderful World)
Created by Herman J. Mankiewicz "I never met a dame who wasn't a nitwit or a lumphead." -- Guy's take on women. When his boozing millionaire client, Willie Heyward, is framed for murder, money-grubbing New York city private eye GUY JOHNSON (played by Jimmy Stewart at his befuddled, doofus best) hides him away so he can catch … Continue reading Guy Johnson (It’s a Wonderful World)
Last Night I Shot a Private Eye in My Pajamas…
Groucho Marx, P.I.? Created by Mr. and Mrs. Marx Okay, I'll confess. I'm a big Marx Brothers fan. I remember stumbling into class Monday mornings in high school, all bleary eyed, for what seemed like an entire semester, because CBC-Montreal insisted on running Marx Brothers flicks on the late show every Sunday night. And to … Continue reading Last Night I Shot a Private Eye in My Pajamas…