Henry Kane also wrote a novel starring TV's Peter Gunn, which
was
probably appropriate, since his PI, Peter Chambers, was also
a bit of a
man-about-town/playboy type, albeit I'always found Chambers
to be a bit
of a stiff. He originally referred to himself as a "private
richard",
but the series eventually ended up as a string
soft-porn/detective PBOs.
Talk about a dick.
As for PI's, I'm currently setting up a Private Eye site,
which will
hopefully be a listing of every PI in books, film, pulps,
television,
etc. and cross-linked all the hell over and back. Of course,
it'll never
be complete, but if any writers of this list wish to
contribute a short
bio and bibliograpghy of any of their fave raves, or any
other
suggestions, advice, or bundles of small, unmarked bills,
feel free to
contact me directly. This is a labour of love, so I can't pay
anything,
but of course I'll give credit where it's due. And if there's
anyone out
there who's trying to do the same thing, maybe we can pool
our resources
or something. In the next little while I'll be posting a few
sample
pages somewhere, and I'll pass the info on to this list.
Hell, this list
is part of the inspiration for the site-it inspired me to
dust off all
those old notes and clippings and lists and do something with
'em.
Interesting that all three books on the list were made into
good movies.
Coincidence?
Or am I being too uncritical? I mean, I really liked Mannix-I
never
thought of him as "generic", more like a back-to-basics
detective, more
archtype than stereotype. Sure, it's dated now, but at the
time, it was
a vast improvement over the "two handsome PIs, an offbeat
sidekick, and
a ditzy secretary" formula that had just finished spewing all
over the
airwaves. Mannix for many years was the only straight PI show
worth
watching, and held the torch through the 60's and up to the
seventies'
TV PI renaissancem (Rockford! Harry O! Cannon!).
Which brings me to my last topic. There are only two PI shows
on this
year. Now, Dellaventura really bites, but I sort of like the
potential
of Total Security. Any takers?
Kevin Smith
Still being slapped, and still not liking it.
kvnsmith@total.net
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