MYSTERY SERIES CHARACTERS: FROM THE PRINTED PAGE TO TELEVISION
– Addenda and Corrections, by Marvin Lachman.
The primary list appeared on the original Mystery*File website in five parts:
CORRECTION– Ashdown, Clifford (joint pseudonym of R. Austin Freeman and John James Pitcairn).
NEW– Ashe, Gordon (pseudonym of John Creasey). On April 30, 1962 on the American series Thriller, there was an episode, “The Specialists,” that was based on the Ashe series about PATRICK DAWLISH, though the lead character, played by Lin McCarthy, had his name changed to Peter Duncan.
CORRECTION– Biggers, Earl Derr. The name of the series was The New Adventures of Charlie Chan.
NEW– Buchan, John. Hannay was a 1988 British series, with Robert Powell as RICHARD HANNAY. Powell had previously played Hannay in a 1978 film remake of The 39 Steps.
ADDITION– Chandler, Raymond. Danny Glover played Marlowe in the adaptation of the short story “Red Wind” in the Fallen Angels series on November 26, 1995. In the 1998 TV movie Poodle Springs, based on the novel which Robert B. Parker completed from material left by Chandler, James Caan was Marlowe.
ADDITION– Charteris, Leslie. Ivor Dean was INSPECTOR TEAL to Moore’s Templar. Simon Dutton was Simon Templar in a British series of six TV movies under the umbrella heading of Mystery Wheel of Adventure in 1989.
CORRECTION AND ADDITION– Christie, Agatha. Regarding the series with Joan Hickson as Jane Marple, eliminate the word “Mystery!” and change the title of the first show to The Body in the Library. David Horovitch played DETECTIVE INSPECTOR SLACK on that show. Harry Andrews was SUPT. BATTLE in The Seven Dials Mystery which aired in Britain on Mobil Showcase on April 16, 1981. Philip Jackson was CHIEF INSPECTOR JAPP during the series in which David Suchet played Poirot.
NEW– Cody, Liza. ANNA LEE was played by Imogen Stubbs in a 1995 series aired in the U.S. on the A & E network.
NEW– Deighton, Len. Ian Holm was BERNARD SAMSON in Game, Set, and Match, a 1988 TV series based on Deighton’s trilogy.
ADDITION– Dexter, Colin. Kevin Whateley continued his role from the Inspector Morse series, albeit with a promotion, as INSPECTOR LEWIS in the 2006 TV movie of that title.
ADDITION– Fair, A.A. (Pseudonym of Erle Stanley Gardner). In 1959 a U.S. TV pilot film starred Billy Pearson as DONALD LAM and Benay Venuta as BERTHA COOL.
NEW– Gould, Chester. His DICK TRACY was played by Ralph Byrd (who had played him in the movies) in a 1950-1951 American series.
NEW– Hamilton, Nan. ISAMU (“SAM”) OHARA was played by Pat Morita in a 13-episode American series in 1987-1988.
NEW– Holton, Leonard (pseudonym of Leonard Patrick O’Connor Wibberly). George Kennedy was Father Samuel Cavanaugh in the 1971-1972 American series Sarge. According to William L. De Andrea because of similarities to Holton’s books about FATHER JOSEPH BREDDER, a royalty was paid to the writer while Sarge was aired.
NEW– Hornung, E.W. His RAFFLES was played by Anthony Valentine in a 1977 series for Yorkshire TV in England.
ADDITION– James, P.D. CORDELIA GRAY was played by Helen Baxendale in An Unsuitable Job for a Woman on Mystery! in 2000.
ADDITION– McBain, Ed. There was also a 1995 TV movie, Lightning, about the 87th Precinct, with Randy Quaid as Steve Carella, Alex MacArthur as Bert Kling, Ving Rhames as Artie Brown, Alan Blumenfeld as Ollie Weeks, and Ron Perkins as Meyer Meyer.
CORRECTION– Murphy, Warren and Sapir, Richard. The name of the actor who played Remo Williams was Jeffrey Meek, not Jeffrey Weeks.
ADDITION– O’Donnell, Peter. In 1982 ABC in the U.S. made an hour-long pilot film with Ann Turkel as MODESTY BLAISE and Lewis Van Bergen as WILLIE GARVIN.
ADDITION– Orczy, Baroness. Anthony Andrews was SIR PERCY BLAKENEY, aka THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL in a 1982 British TV movie The Scarlet Pimpernel.
ADDITION– Parker, Robert B. Robert Urich starred in several Spenser for Hire TV movies after the series ended, and then he was replaced by Joe Mantegna. Avery Brooks starred in his own TV series, A Man Called Hawk, on ABC in 1988-1989. One of Parker’s more recent character, POLICE CHIEF JESSE STONE has been played by Tom Selleck in two TV movies, Night Passage and Stone Cold. Polly Shannon played attorney ABBY TAYLOR.
ADDITION– Peters, Ellis (pseudonym of Edith Pargeter). Tom Lowell played DOMINIC FELSE in the adaptation of her Edgar-winning novel Death and the Joyful Woman on the Alfred Hitchcock Hour, April 12, 1963.
ADDITION– Quarry, Nick (pseudonym of Marvin H. Albert). Though NICK QUARRY was not a series character in the books Albert wrote as “Quarry,” there was a 1968 TV pilot film, based on Albert’s work, starring Tony Scotti as Nick Quarry.
ADDITION– Rankin, Ian. Ken Stott replaced Hannah as Rebus.
NEW– Reichs, Kathy. Emily Deschanel is DR. TEMPERANCE BRENNAN in the current (2005- ) TV series Bones.
NEW– Rogers, Samuel. Ralph Roberts was PAUL HATFIELD in “Don’t Look Behind You,” an episode on the Alfred Hitchcock Hour Sept. 27, 1962.
ADDITION– Sayers, Dorothy L. Richard Morant played Bunter during the 1980s.
ADDITION– Simenon, Georges. Jean Richard played Maigret in a French TV series c.1970.
ADDITION– Smith, Martin (Cruz). Ron Leibman was ROMAN GREY in The Art of Crime, a 1975 TV movie based on his novel Gypsy in Amber.
ADDITION– Spillane, Mickey. Rob Estes was Mike Hammer in the TV movie Deader Than Ever (1996).
NEW– Stevenson, Richard. Chad Allen played his DONALD STRACHEY in two TV movies Third Man Out (2005) and Shock to the System (2006) aired on the Here! Network.
ADDITION– Stout, Rex. Also on the 2001 series, Colin Fox was FRITZ BRENNER; Kari Matchett was LILY ROWAN; Conrad Dunn was SAUL PANZER; Saul Rubinek was LON COHEN; Trent McMullen was ORRIE CATHER; R.D. Reid was SGT. PURLEY STEBBINS; Ken Kramer was DR. VOLLMER; and Fulvio Cecere was FRED DURKIN.
NEW– Thomas, Leslie. Peter Davison, who also had played Albert Campion, was “DANGEROUS” DAVIES in the British series The Last Detective, based on Thomas’s book.
NEW– Valin, Jonathan. Gil Gerard played HARRY STONER in the 1989 TV movie Final Notice, based on Valin’s novel.
NEW– Vickers, Roy. His main series is THE DEPARTMENT OF DEAD ENDS. There are several detectives in this branch, most often Inspector Rason. However, in “The Crocodile Case,” which appeared on Alfred Hitchcock Presents on May 25, 1958, the detective is INSPECTOR KARSLAKE, played by John Alderson. In “The Impromptu Murder,” on the same show on June 22, 1958, it is Robert Douglas as INSPECTOR TARRANT.
ADDITION– Wallace, Edgar. Hugh Burden played the title role of J.G. REEDER in The Mind of Mr. J.G. Reeder, a series for Thames Television in England 1969-1971. He also was one of the writers.
NEW– Willis, Ted. Jack Warner played P.C. GEORGE DIXON in Dixon of Dock Street, a popular British series that ran from 1955 through 1976. Dixon first appeared in Willis’s 1950 novel The Blue Lamp.
NEW– Yates, Dornford. In She Fell Among Thieves, originally on BBC2’s “Play of the Week” in 1978, Malcolm McDowell was RICHARD CHANDOS SMITH and Michael Jayston was MANSEL.
