Sketch O’The Week
December 15th, 2022 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
In case you haven’t noticed, almost all the sketches (all but the Angela Lansbury) I’ve done of famous classic TV detectives over the last several months have one thing in common… they are all white guys. There were not very many women or persons of color playing detectives, private or otherwise, on TV shows that were really big hits back in the 60s-90s. I’m going to try and find a few of the exceptions in the next few weeks, and then I think it’s time to move on from the TV detective series. This week’s subjects are certainly a perfect fit as well-known classic TV sleuths…… READ MORE
December 7th, 2022 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Who’s gonna drive the “Striped Tomato”? We don’t need Huggy Bear to inform us who our sketch subjects are this week. “Starsky and Hutch” ran for four seasons from 1975-1979 and the relationship between the Brooklyn born, streetwise Army veteran Starsky and the reserved and thoughtful Minnesota native Hutch who became police detective partners in the fictional town of Bay City, California became the template for future “buddy cop” shows and movies. It also made the Ford Grand Torino famous. READ MORE
November 30th, 2022 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Dat’s the name of dat tune! We continue our series of classic TV detectives with Robert Blake (and “Fred”). The 1970’s TV cop drama “Baretta” followed the adventures of undercover detective Anthony “Tony” Baretta played Blake. The series was actually a sort of continuation of a 1973-74 TV show called “Toma”, which was based on real-life detective Dave Toma. Toma was a loner and maverick Newark, New Jersey detective who used disguises and often ignored conventional police procedure but gained national fame for his success as a cop. The show was cancelled after one season because the main star left. It was recasted and retooled somewhat… READ MORE
November 16th, 2022 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Author Mickey Spillane‘s private eye character “Mike Hammer” debuted in the late 1940’s and became, along with Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, the epitome of the literary tough guy detective. The character brought fame and fortune to Spillane, selling over 200 million books and being featured in several radio programs and many films and TV shows. A lot of actors have portrayed Hammer over the years (including Spillane himself), but the most famous depiction might be that of Stacy Keach. Keach played Hammer in three different TV series and several TV movies in the 1980’s and 90’s. His version of Hammer was set in the 1980’s, although… READ MORE
October 19th, 2022 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Who loves ya, baby? We continue with our series of caricatures of famous TV detectives with the guy who made bald cool again, Telly Savalas as “Lt. Theo Kojak” from “Kojak”. I have to admit I’ve only seen snippets of scenes from this show, but the character is one of the icons of television detective dramas. Plus he’s bald!! READ MORE
October 12th, 2022 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
Here’s another in our series of TV detective sketches, James Garner as “Jim Rockford” from “The Rockford Files”. This one I remember well from watching as it aired on TV, as my parents never missed the show. James Garner was terrific as the lead, and his character was very atypical as a TV private detective. Unlike the usual trope of the tough guy who would take on multiple bad guys often, Rockford tried to avoid physical fights and preferred to talk his way out of trouble (although if necessary he was plenty capable with his fists). He played the role with a charisma and everyman charm that… READ MORE
October 5th, 2022 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
I had a lot of fun drawing Peter Falk last week and I thought a series of caricatures of famous TV detectives, both the professional and amateur type, would be fun as well. So, the second subject in our series of sleuths is Angela Lansbury, who starred in the long running and immensely popular show “Murder, She Wrote” back in the 80’s/90’s. Despite being a huge ratings hit, running for 12 seasons, AND being nominated for an Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a drama series a record TWELVE times (one for each season), she never won one… which is also a record. She did better with the Golden Globes,… READ MORE
September 28th, 2022 | Posted in Sketch O'The Week
I was a bit young to have watched “Columbo” in its first run, but it was a favorite of my parents so I remember it through osmosis. Peter Falk created one of the most memorable TV detectives of all time in Frank Columbo. His trademark rumpled overcoat and suit, half smoked cigar, unkept appearance and mild mannered, unassuming demeanor have become the stuff of television legend along with his trademark remark “just one more thing…” before springing a crucial question on a suspect that leads to closing his case. This is the first in a new series of “famous TV sleuths” I’m going to be doing for the… READ MORE
