Created by L.A. Morse "When you get old, you either went soft or you got dry. Fortunately, I got dry." -- Jake, on aging.Cranky, pot-smoking 78-year old JAKE SPANNER is, as the title of his one recorded adventure puts it, an old dick, working some of the same turf as Robert Benton's similarly-themed The Late … Continue reading Jake Spanner
Tag: Old Dicks
Harry Ross (Twilight)
Created by Robert Benton and Richard Russo Looking for sparkly vampires? Keep going... Retired, and just plain tired, Hollywood gumshoe HARRY ROSS takes odd jobs (and once, a bullet, trying to rescue their jailbait daughter) for his old pal and dying movie star, Jack Ames, and his one-time sexpot actress wife, Catherine. He bides his time, … Continue reading Harry Ross (Twilight)
Talkin’ ’bout De-Generation
Dicks That Were Allowed to Grow Old For sure, there have been long-running private eye series, but very few of them have been allowed to age in any realistic manner. Oh, a Korean War vet may quietly become a Vietnam vet as a series progresses, or a rough-and-tough hard-boiled shamus may suddenly become as coy … Continue reading Talkin’ ’bout De-Generation
Harry Lipkin
Created by Barry Fantoni (1940--) This isn't the first time author BarryFantoni has taken a good-natured poke at private eyes. A long-time contributor to British satirical magazine Private Eye (just coincidence, I'm sure) and a cartoonist for the Times, he wrote a couple of spot-on spoofs of the genre back in the eighties, featuring 1940s … Continue reading Harry Lipkin
Barnaby Jones
Created by Edward Hume (1936--) Mmmmm doggies... Folksy to a fault, soft-speaking, slow-walking, elderly Los Angeles private detective BARNABY JONES, who seemed to be on television forever, was an easy mark. Even decades after it lasted aired, people still take potshots at it on shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy. And, in fact, it wasn't … Continue reading Barnaby Jones
Hand Me Down My Walking Cane…
Call it "Geezer Noir" if you must, but these old dicks ain't goin' gentle into that good night... You just can't keep a good man down... okay, I admit that the definition of "old" gets a little harder to pin down with every passing year, but all these eyes qualify for senior citizen discounts. Barnaby Jones … Continue reading Hand Me Down My Walking Cane…
Celine
Created by Peter Heller Pushing seventy, elegant, swellegant city gal and artist CELINE is pretty much set in her ways. She's carved out a niche for herself as an ace tracker of missing persons, which pays for her tiny but cozy apartment at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, and the finer things in life, like … Continue reading Celine
Joe Ready
Created by Bob Truluck "You mean you're a private detective?" "That's a little formal for what I do." -- Joe tries to keep it casual in "A Man Called Ready" JOE READY says he's not a private detective, but reckons it's "a nice payday for a guy who's been about as busy as a pickpocket at … Continue reading Joe Ready
Ira Wells (The Late Show)
Created by Robert Benton “If you lay a hand on me, I’m telling you, you’re going to pay for it in your next life.” -- Margo threatens a thug Robert Benton's The Late Show (1977) is simply a great private eye flick -- part-parody, part-tribute and a full-blown proud addition to the whole genre.back-and-forth IRA … Continue reading Ira Wells (The Late Show)