Who’s Your Favourite 1960s - 1970s TV Detective?

Detective fiction is one of the most popular literary genres, and has been for centuries. Television has no shortage of detectives. Whether they're modern reinventions of classic sleuths, gritty investigators outwitting suspects in interrogation rooms, or federal agents chasing aliens and werewolves, it can seem like every other TV show out there is about a hero unravelling a mystery in pursuit of conspiracies, murderers, or even proof of the supernatural.

But not all detectives are created equal. With such a glut of heroic investigators on television, some naturally rise above the rest. Sometimes, it's their nearly superhuman aptitude for solving crimes that wins us to their side, and other times, it's their unique foibles that not only humanize them but — while first appearing to be weaknesses — prove to be the detectives' greatest strengths.

Whether they find their killers through keen psychoanalysis, by playing dumb, or by simply asking, “You’re not that guy killing people in their homes, are you?” here are Justin Case’s favourite TV detectives from whom he gains inspiration and enthusiasm.

Who is Justin Case you ask? Why he’s Termination Agent Double Oh! 7.5 contracted by the Tin Can Communications Company. You can read his exploits with his friends in Chasing the Wendigo and soon to be released Chasing the Golem.

T.H.E. Cat

T.H.E. Cat is an American action drama that aired on NBC Fridays from 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. during the 1966–1967 television season. The series was created by Harry Julian Fink and starred Robert Loggia as the title character, Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat. The series preceded the 1968–1970 ABC television series It Takes a Thief, which was also about a cat burglar who used his skills for good.

It has since achieved cult status, and for its many fans, ranks as one of the coolest shows ever. Why?

Let’s take the premise. Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat was a bodyguard, the best in the business, the man who reputedly saved a thousand lives. He wasn’t always on the side of the angels. Before he became a bodyguard he was a cat burglar, again one of the best, but even the best can be caught and put behind bars, and his hitch in a French prison was a lesson learned.

Part of the skill set that made Cat unique was that prior to his jewel thief days, he performed as an aerialist with a circus. He worked the high wire without a net.

Bits of information sprinkled throughout the series reveals that Cat spent a lot of time in Europe before he came to the States and settled in San Francisco. He was well-travelled, cultured, urbane, and yet in his heart, addicted to the adrenaline rush of danger. When he had to be, he was also a brutal fighter who was highly skilled in the martial arts.

Cat operates out of Casa Del Gato, a nightclub operated by his Gypsy blood brother, Pepe. He drives the sweetest Corvette this side of anywhere. His weapon of choice is a knife he carries in a wrist rig but he is also a marksman with a rifle and pistol.

It Takes a Thief

It Takes a Thief is an American action-adventure television series that aired on ABC for three seasons between 1968 and 1970. It stars Robert Wagner in his television debut as sophisticated thief Alexander Mundy.

Master thief Alexander Mundy is paroled from prison by SIA special agent Noah Bain in order to steal for the United States government on special occasions.

Fred Astaire played Alistair Mundy, Alexander's father who also just happens to be a master gentleman-thief, who says bemusedly, at the start of each episode in which he appears, "I've heard of stealing from the government, but for the government?”

It Takes a Thief was inspired by, though not based upon, the 1955 motion picture To Catch a Thief, directed by Alfred Hitchcock; both of their titles stem from the English proverb "Set a thief to catch a thief" (or as it is more often phrased, "It takes a thief to catch a thief"). According to Wagner's autobiography, Pieces of My Heart (2008) Wagner consulted with Cary Grant, who starred in To Catch a Thief, on how to play Alexander Mundy.

It was among the last of the series in the 1960s spy television genre.

Columbo

No gathering of TV's greatest detectives could be complete without Peter Falk's Lieutenant Frank Columbo, the fictional sleuth who made an art out of playing dumb. Always found in his trademark raincoat, usually with a cigar that might not even be lit, Columbo solved crimes on-and-off for three decades beginning in 1968. The brilliant, unassuming detective made a habit of appearing as inept as possible to his suspects. He always managed to catch them off guard after saying his catchphrase, "just one more thing," and then unloading what he really knew, usually getting the killer to spill the beans all on their own.

Did you know that crooner Bing Crosby was first choice for the role of Columbo but even though he loved the script and the character, but he feared that a TV series commitment would interfere with his true passion, golf?

The Magician

The Magician ran during the 1973–1974 season starring Bill Bixby as stage illusionist Anthony "Tony" Blake, a playboy philanthropist who used his skills to solve difficult crimes as needed. In the series pilot, the character was named Anthony Dorian; the name was changed due to a conflict with the name of a real-life stage magician.

A cool and charming master magician uses dazzling wizardry to solve mysteries. Noted illusionists also performed on the series when scenes were shot at their Hollywood hangout, the renowned Magic Castle. Star Bill Bixby was an amateur magician.

Ironside

Ironside aired on NBC over eight seasons from 1967 to 1975 starring Raymond Burr as Robert T. Ironside, a consultant for the San Francisco police department, who was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot while on vacation.

Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen, a pseudonym created in 1929 by cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee as an entry in a writing contest, is a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve baffling murders.

The Adventures of Ellery Queen began on CBS radio in 1939 as a one-hour program starring Hugh Marlowe as Ellery, Ted de Corsia (replacing Howard Smith) as Sgt Velie, and Marion Shockley as Nikki Porter. It was cut back to 30 minutes about half-way through its run.

The American TV drama series, developed by Richard Levinson and William Link, and based on the fictional character of the same name, sadly only ran for a single season on NBC from 1975, to 1976. Jim Hutton stars as the eponymous sleuth, along with David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen.

Ellery Queen is regarded by many, including me, as the definitive American whodunit celebrity, surpassing Nero Wolfe as the logical successor to the Master, Sherlock Holmes.

Who was your favourite 1960s - 1970s TV detective and why?