Created by Marion Mainwaring (1922-2015) "You're so wonderful, Spike," she muttered, "All those ugly scars....your broken nose...and the ear that's chopped off...How could they do it, Spike? How could anyone bear to hurt you?" "The ones who did it are dead," I told her. "People who cross me usually end up that way." Murder in … Continue reading Spike Bludgeon
Tag: Humour
Archy McNally
Created by Lawrence Sanders (1920-98) The one-man publishing industry that was Lawrence Sanders (No, really! in the 70s and 80s, he was everywhere!), created more than one interesting private eye. Laidback bon vivant ARCHIBALD "ARCHY" MCNALLY was the last, but he was also probably the most fun. Droll, detached upper class twit Archy works as a … Continue reading Archy McNally
Sam Diamond, Dick and Dora Charleston, Inspector Milo Perrier, Inspector Sidney Wang & Jessica Marbles (Murder by Death)
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)
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)
Charlie Willis
Created by Lee Goldberg Down, down, down. CHARLIE WILLIS is a Beverly Hills cop who lands a plum security gig for a major Hollywood studio, after being shot in the stomach by one of their most beloved stars, in this wicked spoof by Lee Goldberg, a TV scriptwriter and producer (Spenser: For Hire, Monk, Diagnosis Murder, … Continue reading Charlie Willis
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
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
Danny O’Brien (Silver City)
Created by John Sayles Silver City was a 2004 indie flick by John Sayles rushed out in an attempt to derail the re-election of George W. Bush and the Republicans in that year's American presidential election. It didn’t work. Sure, on the political level, it's easy to see it as just another over-exuberant bit of … Continue reading Danny O’Brien (Silver City)
Gil Yates
Created by Alistair Boyle (Pseudonym) (1952--) GIL YATES is a real find: a private investigator from--get this!--California! What're the odds? But actually, Gil does carve a bit of a cockeyed niche for himself, as a sort of high-tech, big business, high-priced, Los Angeles contingency expert. But it's all a delicious blend of mid-life crisis and … Continue reading Gil Yates
Kane Keen, Private Eye
Created by Harvey Kurtzman (script) and Jack Davis (art) A lot of people (and most of the internet) seem to think that KANE KEEN, the eponymous hero of MAD Magazine spoof "Kane Keen, Private Eye," which appeared in the June-July 1953 issue, was a roasting of the then-popular Martin Kane, Private Eye television show. But they'd be wrong. Because if the seven-page … Continue reading Kane Keen, Private Eye