Private Eyes, For Hire, on Prime Time
By Jay de Leon

In a previous article, I featured TV shows about cops, the men in blue. In this article, I am featuring the private eyes—from the heavy-drinking, hardboiled private dicks in trench coats, to the sun-tanned, pretty boys in Hawaiian shirts, to the cerebral, crime-solving sleuths using psychology, forensics and deductive reasoning to catch the miscreants.

Again, these shows were not necessarily the best shows. From the 1950’s to the present, these were simply the shows I enjoyed watching week in and week out, for varying reasons. Some were cerebral, some were eye candy, some were violent and some featured exotic locales. For whatever reason, it was pure escapism in the shadowy, ethereal world of the private eye.

Again, they are arranged chronologically, partly to discern if there was a pattern to the development of these shows, both artistically and in terms of any possible social relevance. So sit back and enjoy another stroll down memory lane.

PETER GUNN (1958-1960)
Starring Craig Stevens, Lola Albright
Theme Song: The Peter Gunn Theme, by Henry Mancini

Craig Stevens and Lola Albright in the TV series “Peter Gunn”

This series was memorable for two things, its smooth leading man and its outstanding jazz theme. Craig Stevens was the TV version of Cary Grant—handsome, suave, debonair, impeccably dressed in well-tailored suits. The other unique ingredient of the show was the music of Henry Mancini, which found itself in mainstream airtime then. The Peter Gunn theme is still played in radio nowadays, and in various modern rock versions.

Stressing style and sophistication over mystery and action, the show lasted for three seasons but more importantly, set the bar for future private detective shows such as Phillip Marlowe, Richard Diamond and others.

77 SUNSET STRIP (1958-1964)
Starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith and Edd Byrnes, Jr.
Theme Song:  77 Sunset Strip Theme, by Mack David & Jerry Livingston

Edd Byrnes poses in front of 77 Sunset Strip, the fictional location as well as the title of the TV series.

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and Roger Smith played two worldly private eyes who ran a detective agency on Sunset Strip. It became a cult hit of the 60’s, with its finger-snapping, catchy theme song, Edd “Cookie” Byrnes’s hair and a spurious connection with the beautiful people of Hollywood. Roger Smith, for example, was married in real life to actress Ann-Margret. Across the parking lot was swinging Dino’s, Dean Martin’s real life watering hole. The show lost its luster when Roger Smith left the show for health reasons.

BOURBON STREET BEAT (1959-1960)
Starring Richard Long, Grant Williams, Andrew Duggan, Arlene Howell
Theme Song: Bourbon Street Beat Theme, by Jerry Livingston & Mack David

This series involved a detective agency in New Orleans, Louisiana. I liked the locale, mostly the French Quarter and an occasional bayou, and the local characters and blues music, but it was one of several detective shows around the same time, and it did not fare well. The character of Richard Long moved to 77 Sunset Strip, and the character of Van Williams moved to Surfside 6.

HAWAIIAN EYE (1959-1963)
Starring Robert Conrad, Connie Stevens, Anthony Eisley and Poncie Pons
Theme Song: Hawaiian Eye Theme, by Jerry Livingston & Mack David

The cast of “Hawaiian Eye”

Hawaiian Eye has been called 77 Sunset Strip with Hawaiian shirts. Private eyes work out of a poolside office at the tony Hawaiian Village Hotel. Instead of a parking attendant, it had Connie Stevens, the hotel warbler and photographer, and Poncie Pons, a ukulele-playing cabbie.

Like 77 Sunset Strip, it was a hit. It had beautiful people, breathtaking scenery from Hawaii, and lightweight plots. I suppose it was pure escapism, and the fact that it happened to be a cop show was just incidental.

SURFSIDE 6  (1960-1962)
Starring Troy Donahue, Diane McBaine, Van Williams, Lee Patterson
Theme Song:  Surfside 6 Theme, by Jerry Livingston & Mack David

Troy Donahue, Lee Patterson and Van Williams (left to right) in “Surfside 6

Following the Warner Brothers formula, this show had three young private detectives operating out of a houseboat moored in Miami. You got a hold of these hunks by dialing Surfside 6. It starred and guest-starred some of the biggest celebrities and beautiful people in Hollywood at the time.

HONG KONG (1960-1961)
Starring Rod Taylor, Lloyd Bochner and Jack Kruschen

Rod Taylor with Mai Tai Sing, a series regular, in the series “Hong Kong.”

The British Crown Colonywas of course the exotic location for this series in which Rod Taylor plays Glenn Evans, a journalist who gets into all kinds of trouble in pursuit of his stories in Hong Kong. Okay, he is a newspaper guy, not a gumshoe. But this was one of my favorite shows, and I have no category to put this in.

Besides, Rod got into more fights and more trouble than half of the private dicks in this list. Rod Taylor tangled with killers, smugglers, spies, drug pushers, Red Chinese agents, and slinky women in cheongsams. Some guys just have a nose for trouble. If Rod Taylor looks vaguely familiar, he was the leading man in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, The Birds.

LONGSTREET (1971-1972)
Starring James Franciscus, Bradford Dillman and Bruce Lee

James Franciscus (right) and Bruce Lee in “Longstreet”

Longstreet starred James Franciscus as Mike Longstreet, a criminal insurance investigator blinded by an explosion (a booby-trapped Champagne bottle) that also killed his wife. Mike learns how to cope with his disability, and employs gadgets (a high-tech cane equipped with electronic sensors), animals (Pax, a white German shepherd guide dog) and loyal assistants to help him.

When an Asian antique dealer named Li Tsung (Bruce Lee) who also happens to be a skilled martial artist saves him from a beating, he hires Li Tsung to teach him his self-defense system, which turns out to be jeet kune do. All right, I watched this series because of Bruce Lee. In reality, Bruce Lee appeared in only four episodes. A recent Bochco cop show called “Blind Justice” features a detective blinded in a shooting who tries to go back to work with the help of a guide dog and his female partner. Bochco forgot the Bruce Lee part.

HARRY-O (1974-1976)
Starring David Janssen, Henry Darrow and Anthony Zerbe

David Janssen in “Harry-O.”

Harry-O stood for the name of the main character, Harry Orwell, portrayed by David Janssen, whose work I had grown to like in series like Richard Diamond and The Fugitive. Harry-O personified the angst-ridden, world-weary, disillusioned, anti-hero private eye. He was a former San Diego cop who retired because of a bullet in his back. He had a few quirks, like riding the bus when he owned a car, and having clients work their fee off by working on his boat “The Answer.”

While the series had respectable ratings and even garnered Anthony Zerbe an Emmy award for Best Supporting Actor for the 1975-1976 season, it was cancelled after two years. It is rumored that Harry Orwell, upon hearing news of the cancellation, just shrugged his shoulders and did not seem to mind.

ELLERY QUEEN (1975)
Starring Timothy Hutton, David Wayne
Theme Song: The Ellery Queen Theme, by Elmer Bernstein

Timothy Hutton (left) and David Wayne in “Ellery Queen.”

This series was set in the 1940’s, and Timothy Hutton played the cerebral Ellery Queen, a mystery writer who assisted his father (played by David Wayne), a detective with the New York Police Department, in solving murders. Queen’s method was more intellectual rather than action oriented, and he always beat his father at arriving at the correct solution by purely deductive reasoning.

Near the end of each show, Ellery would turn to the camera and ask the audience if they could deduce who the guilty party was. After the commercial break, he would then reveal who the culprit was, explaining how the clues lead to his conclusion . I had read many Ellery Queen mystery novels way before this series came out. I remember enjoying the TV series and not being disappointed.

VEGA$ (1978)
Starring Robert Urich, Phyllis Davis, Tony Curtis, Greg Morris
Theme song: The Vegas Theme

Robert Urich in “Vega$”

Robert Urich was patrolling the streets of Las Vegas in the TV series Vega$ long before James Caan (Las Vegas) and William Petersen (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation). This show had a high cool factor then, helped by the glitz of Las Vegas and its theme music, and it made a star out of Robert Urich.

Memorable facts about the show included Urich’s character Dan Tanna being able to drive his car into his living room, Tony Curtis as his boss and Greg Morris from Mission Impossible as a Las Vegas police lieutenant. Years later, Robert Urich starred in yet another private eye series, Spenser: For Hire, which I thought was much grittier. Unfortunately, Robert Urich was diagnosed with cancer, fought back and did more screen work, but finally succumbed to the disease in 1998.

MIKE HAMMER (1984-1987, 1997-1998))
Starring Stacy Keach, Lindsay Bloom, Don Stroud
Theme Song: Harlem Nocturne, by Earle Hagen

Stacy Keach in “Mike Hammer”

In a previous article, I featured the redoubtable Mickey Spillaine, the creator of Mike Hammer, the epitome of the hard-drinking, two-fisted private eye. In this series, Stacy Keach looked hard-boiled enough for the part, with the obligatory trenchcoat, hat jammed down low on his forehead, his cannon of a .45 strapped on for action and his sexy secretary Velda at the ready at the office for support.

The TV series was actually three separate ones but all starred Stacy Keach, who was returning to American television after a British prison term for possession of narcotics. That could account for the brooding, hard-boiled demeanor.

THE EQUALIZER (1985-1989)
Starring Edward Woodward, Robert Lansing

Edward Woodward in “The Equalizer.”

British actor Edward Woodward played Robert McCall, a retired spy who ran a daily ad in the New York Times offering his services to people in trouble. His ad read, “Got a problem? Odds against you? Call the Equalizer.” In a world of burgeoning crime, this series of course was a paranoiac fantasy.

MONK (2002-2006)
Starring Tony Shaloub and Bitty Scham

Tony Shaloub (left) and Bitty Scham in “Monk”

Tony Shaloub plays Adrian Monk, a phobic ex-detective turned consultant who the police call in when they get stymied with a baffling case. To call him quirky is a disservice to the real quirky private eyes out there, like Harry-O, Rockford or even Hercule Poirot. Monk is simply a neurotic mess. I know, it is hard to imagine somebody so messed up and neurotic play cops and robbers, but his supporting cast provide enough foil for his handicap and the plots are just intricate enough that you sail through the episodes.

In this series, it is not the crimes themselves that hold our attention, but rather, how Monk solves them, in spite of all his neuroses. After a while, his handicap becomes even endearing. Some people think so, because Tony Shaloub won an Emmy in 2002 for Monk.

It appears the cop shows were definitely edgier and more realistic than the sleuth shows. But realism should not be the litmus test for either a cop show or a private eye show, for after all, it is only a TV show .

Sometimes we just want to be entertained. I say Angie Dickinson is as realistic as it gets. Farrah Fawcett is pushing it a little bit. Whether you liked Tom Selleck or Rod Taylor, whether you enjoyed Charlie’s Angels or Mike Hammer, the private eye show has become a staple in American screen entertainment. To Angie Dickinson, Connie Stevens, and others, thanks for the memories.