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Peter Gunn

 
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Krel.
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 25, 2019 5:23 pm    Post subject: Peter Gunn Reply with quote

Peter Gunn was a Blake Edwards created crime/action show. It ran from from 1958 to 1961, three seasons with a total of 114 episodes. You can't really call it a private detective show, because Gunn was rarely called a private detective. He operated more as a Fixer.

Peter Gunn was a man of refined tastes, that found a way to make money. That was people in trouble. He operated out of a waterfront club named Mother's in an unnamed city in an unnamed state. Gunn had a girl to whom he was devoted, Edie Hart, the singer at Mother's. In the third season Edie got her own upscale restaurant/club, also on the waterfront.

Gunn's best friend was Police Lieutenant Jacoby, played by Herschel Bernardi. Despite what Wikipedia says, Jacoby had no first name in the show, Gunn addressed him as either Lieutenant, Jacoby, or Lieutenant Jacoby. The two men were close friends who watched out for each other. When Blake Edwards did a new pilot in the late 80s, he named the character Herschel Jacoby in honer of Herschel Bernardi.

Gunn had another friend on the Police force, Sargent Lee Davis, played by black actor Morris Erby.

Gunn had his informants — quirky informants. One being Mother, the owner of Mother's. His two most trusted, who were also his friends, was a pool and sports hustler named Babby, who was played by Billy Barty. The other was beatnik bistro owner and artist named Wilber, played by Herbert Ellis.

In the second season, the show switched studios, and Gunn got a fancy new mid-century modern two-story apartment.

Being a Blake Edwards production, the show had his humorous bent, with quirky characters and stories. One of my favorites had the city's crime gangs ready to go to war because of assassinations. They were carried out by a insignificant looking elderly man played by Howard McNear (Floyd the Barber).

The crime gangscouldn't can't figure out what to do with him. The criminals could murder him, but as Lt. Jacoby says, they wouldn't find a jury that would convict him.

Okay, I can't believe I left this out, but I did. Two other things to note, is that the show had a very film noir look. The second and most important, was the music.

The show has one of the most famous and well known theme songs. Is there anyone that doesn't know the Peter Gunn Theme? The show's jazzy music score is famous, and a soundtrack album was released during the show' run.
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Bud Brewster
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013
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Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Tue Jun 25, 2019 6:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I've loved the Henry Mancini title theme for years, and I bought the album at a yard sale in the 1980s. There are two famous versions of the theme, the first of which is the one on the album, and the second is a version released by legendary guitarist Duane Eddy.

Duane's version was popular in the mid-1960s, and it was played by high school bands at football games. I remember hearing it many times at games played by my alma mater, the College Park Rams. Cool



______________________ Peter Gunn Theme


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__________________ Duane Eddy Peter Gunn


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Mar 14, 2023 8:17 pm; edited 1 time in total
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