Peter Gunn

Peter Gunn
Genre	Action/Crime drama
Created by	Blake Edwards
Written by	Steffi Barrett Tony Barrett Gene L. Coon Blake Edwards George Fass Gertrude Fass Vick Knight P.K. Palmer Lester Pine Lewis Reed
Starring	Craig Stevens Lola Albright Herschel Bernardi Hope Emerson
Composer(s)	Henry Mancini
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	114 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Blake Edwards Gordon Oliver
Running time	30 mins.
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC (1958-60) ABC (1960-61)
Original run	September 22, 1958 – September 18, 1961

Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator (and also writer and director on occasion) was Blake Edwards. Also directed by Boris Sagal, Robert Gist, Alan Crosland, Jr., Lamont Johnson and one espisode by Robert Altman and several others, a total of 114 thirty-minute episodes were produced by Spartan Productions. It was filmed at Universal-International. Philip H. Lathrop and William W. Spencer were cinematographers on many episodes. Stevens' wardrobe was tailored by Don Richards and Albright's fashions by Jax.

The series is remembered most for its music, especially "The Peter Gunn Theme", which won an Emmy Award and two Grammys for Henry Mancini and has become a jazz-rock standard. It was rated as #17 by the Nielsen ratings for the 1958-1959 TV season.

Peter Gunn

The title character, portrayed by Craig Stevens, is a private investigator in the classic noir tradition (a film genre still popular at the time.) Gunn was a tall, witty, sophisticated hipster; a dapper dresser who loved cool jazz. Where other gumshoes might be coarse, Peter Gunn was portrayed as the epitome of cool. He operated in a nameless waterfront city, a regular patron of Mother's (a smoky wharfside jazz club) that he used as his "office", often meeting clients there. Pete's standard fee was $1,000. His reputation was as one of the best investigators, who could be trusted, sometimes working cases out of the state. Pete drove a 1958 two-tone DeSoto two door hardtop in the first few episodes of the first season then a 1959 Plymouth Fury convertible with a white top and a mobile phone.

Hope Emerson played "Mother", who had been a singer and piano player in speakeasies during Prohibition. She received an Emmy nomination for the role. For the second season "Mother" was played by Minerva Urecal. Byron Kane played Barney, the bartender; Kane was also an associate producer. Pete's girlfriend, the gorgeous Edie Hart (Lola Albright), was a sultry singer employed there, and then later opened her own place. Pete's pet name for Edie is "Silly". Bill Chadney played Emmett, the piano player at Mother's; Bill and Lola were married in 1960. Herschel Bernardi played Lieutenant Jacoby, a police detective. Jacoby sometimes referred people to Pete as clients.

Both Billy Barty as pool hustler Babby and Herbert Ellis as Beat bistro owner, painter and sculptor Wilbur appear in several episodes as occasional "information resources" as "Mother" also often is. Capri Candela plays Wilbur's girlfriend Capri. Frequent director Robert Gist appears as an actor in different roles in 3 episodes.

Episodes

This is a list of episodes for the television series Peter Gunn.

Series overview

Season	Network	№ of episodes	Premiered:	Ended:
1	NBC	38	1958.09.22	1959.06.15
2	NBC	38	1959.09.21	1960.06.27
3	ABC	38	1960.10.03	1961.09.18

Season 1: 1958–59

1. The Kill / 22.Sep.1958
2. Streetcar Jones / 29.Sep.1958
3. The Vicious Dog / 6.Oct.1958
4. The Blind Pianist / 13.Oct.1958
5. The Frog / 20.Oct.1958
6. The Chinese Hangman / 27.Oct.1958
7. Lynn's Blues / 3.Nov.1958
8. Rough Buck / 10.Nov.1958
9. Image of Sally / 17.Nov.1958
10. The Man with the Scar / 24.Nov.1958
11. Death House Testament / 1.Dec.1958
12. The Torch / 8.Dec.1958
13. The Jockey / 15.Dec.1958
14. Sisters of the Friendless / 22.Dec.1958
15. The Leaper / 29.Dec.1958
16. The Fuse / 5.Jan.1959
17. Let's Kill Timothy / 19.Jan.1959
18. The Missing Night Watchman / 26.Jan.1959
19. Murder on the Midway / 2.Feb.1959
20. Pecos Pete / 9.Feb.1959
21. Scuba / 16.Feb.1959
22. Edie Finds a Corpse / 23.Feb.1959
23. The Dirty Word / 2.Mar.1959
24. The Ugly Frame / 9.Mar.1959
25. The Lederer Story / 16.Mar.1959
26. Keep Smiling / 23.Mar.1959
27. Breakout / 30.Mar.1959
28. Pay Now, Kill Later / 6.Apr.1959
29. Skin Deep / 13.Apr.1959
30. February Girl / 20.Apr.1959
31. Love Me to Death / 27.Apr.1959
32. The Family Affair / 4.May.1959
33. Lady Wind, Bells Fan / 11.May.1959
34. Bullet for a Badge / 18.May.1959
35. Kill from Nowhere / 25.May.1959
36. Vendetta / 1.Jun.1959
37. The Coffin / 8.Jun.1959
38. The Portrait / 15.Jun.1959

Season 2: 1959–60

1. Protection / 21.Sep.1959
2. Crisscross / 28.Sep.1959
3. Edge of the Knife / 5.Oct.1959
4. The Comic / 12.Oct.1959
5. Death Is a Red Rose / 19.Oct.1959
6. The Young Assassins / 26.Oct.1959
7. The Feathered Doll / 2.Nov.1959
8. Kidnap / 16.Nov.1959
9. The Rifle / 23.Nov.1959
10. The Game / 30.Nov.1959
11. The Price Is Murder / 7.Dec.1959
12. The Briefcase / 14.Dec.1959
13. Terror on the Campus / 21.Dec.1959
14. The Wolfe Case / 28.Dec.1959
15. Hot Money / 4.Jan.1960
16. Spell of Murder / 11.Jan.1960
17. The Grudge / 18.Jan.1960
18. Fill the Cup / 25.Jan.1960
19. See No Evil / 1.Feb.1960
20. Sentenced / 8.Feb.1960
21. The Hunt / 15.Feb.1960
22. Hollywood Calling / 29.Feb.1960
23. Sing a Song of Murder / 7.Mar.1960
24. The Long, Long Ride / 14.Mar.1960
25. The Deadly Proposition / 21.Mar.1960
26. The Murder Clause / 28.Mar.1960
27. The Dummy / 4.Apr.1960
28. Slight Touch of Homicide / 11.Apr.1960
29. Wings of an Angel / 18.Apr.1960
30. Death Watch / 25.Apr.1960
31. Witness in the Window / 2.May.1960
32. The Best Laid Plans / 9.May.1960
33. Send a Thief / 16.May.1960
34. The Semi-Private Eye / 23.May.1960
35. Letter of the Law / 30.May.1960
36. The Crossbow / 6.Jun.1960
37. The Heiress / 13.Jun.1960
38. Baby Shoes / 27.Jun.1960

Season 3: 1960–61

1. The Passenger / 3.Oct.1960
2. Mask of Murder / 10.Oct.1960
3. The Maitre D' / 17.Oct.1960
4. The Candidate / 24.Oct.1960
5. The Judgment / 31.Oct.1960
6. The Death Frame / 7.Nov.1960
7. Death Across the Board / 14.Nov.1960
8. Tramp Steamer / 21.Nov.1960
9. The Long Green Kill / 28.Nov.1960
10. Take Five for Murder / 5.Dec.1960
11. Big Dream, Deadly Dream / 12.Dec.1960
12. Sepi / 19.Dec.1960
13. A Tender Touch / 26.Dec.1960
14. Royal Roust / 2.Jan.1961
15. Bullet in Escrow / 9.Jan.1961
16. Jacoby's Vacation / 16.Jan.1961
17. Blind Item / 23.Jan.1961
18. Death Is a Sore Loser / 30.Jan.1961
19. I Know It's Murder / 13.Feb.1961
20. A Kill and a Half / 20.Feb.1961
21. Than a Serpent's Tooth / 27.Feb.1961
22. The Deep End / 6.Mar.1961
23. Portrait in Leather / 13.Mar.1961
24. Come Dance with Me and Die / 20.Mar.1961
25. Cry Love, Cry Murder / 27.Mar.1961
26. A Penny Saved / 3.Apr.1961
27. Short Motive / 10.Apr.1961
28. The Murder Bond / 24.Apr.1961
29. The Most Deadly Angel / 1.May.1961
30. Till Death Do Us Part / 8.May.1961
31. Last Resort / 15.May.1961
32. A Matter of Policy / 22.May.1961
33. A Bullet for the Boy / 29.May.1961
34. Death Is a Four Letter Word / 5.Jun.1961
35. Deadly Intrusion / 12.Jun.1961
36. Voodoo / 19.Jun.1961
37. Down the Drain / 26.Jun.1961
38. Murder on the Line / 18.Sep.1961

Guest stars

• Phyllis Avery guest starred as Doris Reese Stewart in "Send a Thief" (1960).
• James Coburn played a famous and talented trumpeter who has become ill and wants to escape his life in "The Murder Clause."
• Jackie Coogan played Eric Woolrich in the episode "Keep Smiling" (1959).
• Mara Corday (Oct. 1958 Playboy cover & centerfold) played Emily, Frances, Margaret in the episode "Keep Smiling" (1959).
• Francis De Sales appeared as the district attorney in the 1960 episode "Hot Money".
• Don Keefer portrayed John Alastair in the 1959 episode "Death Is a Red Rose".
• Wesley Lau played a gangster who became a murder victim in "The Death Frame."
• Ross Martin played Sal in the episode "The Fuse" (1959).
• Howard McNear played different characters in episodes: "The Missing Night Watchman", "A Tender Touch" & "Slight Touch of Homicide".
• Tyler McVey appeared twice in episodes "The Vicious Dog" (1958) and "Death Across the Board" (1960).
• Victor Rodman appeared as a judge in the episode "A Tender Touch" (1960).
• Hal Smith played florist Floyd Landau in the episode "Skin Deep" (1959).
• Barbara Stuart appeared three times between 1958 and 1961 in different roles in the episodes "The Blind Pianist", "The Briefcase", and "Come Dance with Me and Die".
• Roy Thinnes appeared as Roy Davidson in "The Man with the Scar" (1958)

Origin of series

Edwards developed Peter Gunn from an earlier fictional detective that he had created. Richard Diamond, Private Detective starred Dick Powell, and aired as a radio series from 1949 to 1953. David Janssen later starred in the television adaptation from 1957 to 1960. It was this character's success which prompted his creator to revisit the concept as Peter Gunn. Edwards had earlier written and directed a Mike Hammer television pilot for Brian Keith.

Music

The show's use of modern jazz music, at a time when most television shows used a generic orchestra for the background, was another distinctive touch that set the standard for many years to come. Innovative jazz themes seemed to accompany every move Gunn made, ably rendered by Henry Mancini and his orchestra (which at that time included pianist John Williams), lending the character even more of an air of suave sophistication. Famous jazz musicians occasionally made guest appearances, such as trumpeter Shorty Rogers in an early episode "The Frog" with Shorty playing flugelhorn as Lola sings "How High the Moon".^{[citation needed]} Drummer Shelly Manne was credited with a Special Guest role in the 1959 episode "Keep Smiling" playing drums in the "Bamboo Club" combo. Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida plays guitar as himself in the 1959 episode "Skin Deep".

Most memorable of all was the show's opening (and closing) "Peter Gunn Theme", composed and performed by Mancini. As Glenn Miller had appropriated Wingy Manone's "Tar Paper Stomp" for Miller's "In the Mood," Mancini lifted "Peter Gunn"'s bass line from Don Raye's boogie woogie "Down the Road Apiece," as recorded by Freddie Slack, and it became the famous "Peter Gunn" theme. Most rock covers use the Duane Eddy arrangement and omit the amazing ending that Mancini composed. A one-chord, mid-tempo brassy number with bass-and-piano ostinato, the song became an instant hit for Mancini, earning him an Emmy Award and two Grammys, and became as associated with crime fiction as Monty Norman's theme to the James Bond films is associated with espionage. The blues (not minor, as wrongly interpreted by some) harmonies fit the mood of the show, which was important to the show's success.

The soundtrack album by Henry Mancini reached #1 in Billboard's Pop LP Charts. Ray Anthony won achieved #8 on Billboard's Hot 100 with his 45 of the title theme. Mancini's single made the Variety magazine Top 25 retail chart, selling well in the Boston area.^{[citation needed]}

"The Peter Gunn Theme" has been performed by numerous jazz, blues, and rock artists since, including Jeff Beck, Ray Anthony, Elvis Presley (on the '68 Comeback Special), Duane Eddy, Quincy Jones, The Remo Four, The Blues Brothers, Croon & The Creepers, Brian Setzer, The Cramps, Jimi Hendrix, Bosse-de-Nage, Gary Hoey, Aerosmith, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Roy Buchanan, Melvin Taylor, The Disco Biscuits, Umphrey's McGee, The Swingle Singers, Pulp, They Might Be Giants, Dick Dale & The Del-Tones, Johnny Guitar Seven, Colonel Mustard & The Condiments, The Silencers, The Tubes and many others. A version by Art of Noise (with guest artist Duane Eddy reprising his original 1959 performance on twang guitar taking the piano riff) earned a Grammy Award in 1987. Furthermore, the riff has been incorporated into many blues and jazz songs. The riff was referenced in the Freddie King blues instrumental "Hide Away", creating a breakdown in the middle of the tune. The theme is also used as the background music for the 1983 arcade game Spy Hunter; Saliva recorded a song which used the main theme, with added lyrics, for the 2001 remake. Versions of the theme have appeared in countless films, including The Blues Brothers and Sixteen Candles. The song was used by Monty Python in their sketch, "The Bishop". In 2004 the theme was used in the Disney direct-to-video production, The Lion King 1½. Today, many people with no knowledge of the original show still can identify the theme.

Adaptations

After the two-season run on NBC and the single season on ABC, Edwards made numerous attempts to revive the character in other media. A novel and a comic book were released in 1960. A feature film, Gunn, was made in 1967, and ABC carried a pilot in 1989 with Peter Strauss in the lead role, but they failed to catch on. In 2001, Edwards joined Norman Snider in developing an updated television series, but the project was scuttled when John Woo and David Permut began developing a big screen remake for Paramount. Both projects remain stuck in development.

DVD release

In 2002, A&E Home Video released two volume sets of Peter Gunn on DVD in Region 1, which comprise 32 episodes from Season One.

Selected songs from the series

• "Peter Gunn Theme"
• "The Brothers Go to Mother's"
• "Dreamsville"
• "Blues for Mother's"
• "Sorta Blue"
• "Slow and Easy"
• "Timothy"
• "Fallout!"
• "Session at Pete's Pad"
• "Soft Sounds"
• "The Floater"
• "A Profound Gass"
• "Brief and Breezy"
• "Not from Dixie"
• The Music from Peter Gunn – 1959 album (RCA LPM/LPS-1956)

• "Walkin' Bass"
• "Timothy"
• "Joanna"
• "My Manne Shelly"
• "Goofin' at the Coffee House"
• "Odd Ball"
• "Blue Steel"
• "The Little Man Theme"
• "Spook!"
• "A Quiet Gass"
• "Lightly"
• "Blues for Mother's"
• "Peter Gunn"
• "Mr. Lucky"
• "Mr. Lucky Goes Latin"
• "Experiment in Terror"
• More Music from Peter Gunn – 1959 album (RCA LPM/LPS-2040)

External links

• Peter Gunn (1958 TV series) at the Internet Movie Database
• A film clip 1959 episode 17 "Lets Kill Timothy" of season one is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Peter Gunn (1989 TV movie) at the Internet Movie Database
• Episode Listing
• Peter Gunn at TV.com
• The story behind the making of the music from Peter Gunn, including interviews with the musicians and sound engineers
• Peter Gunn: A TV and Movie Review by David L. Vineyard