JOHNNY STACCATO
Produced by Revue Productions / Universal Television this cult TV favorite
ran for just one season on NBC-TV from 1959-1960. All of the 27 episodes
were produced in black & white, starring John Cassavetes w/ Bert Freed
& Eduardo Ciannelli. Filmed on location in NYC.
This was one of the coolest, hippest detective shows, centering around
a mixture of intrigue, suspense & mystery, all with a truly remarkable
jazz score! However NBC censors canned this show for being too violent &
too explicit. This short-lived noir series showcased John Cassavetes' terrific
acting ability & helped launch his career. He plays Johnny Staccato,
a jazz musician who moonlights as a private investigator surrounded by mobsters,
beatniks, hop-heads, crooked musicians & femme fatals. Guest stars include:
Martin Landau, Micheal Landon, Yvonne Craig, Tina Louise, Norman Fell, Jack
Klugman. The background for many of the episodes is his friend "Waldo's"
jazz club, filmed in New York City's Greenwich Village, featuring performances
by the Pete Candoli jazz combo which includes Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne,
Red Mitchell, Red Norvo & Johnny Williams, who perform the powerful
Elmer Bernstein score.
EPISODES
(1) The Naked Truth- A young singer is faced with the loss of his promising
career because of a scandal magazine's blackmail scheme. Barney Kessel appears.
w/ guest star Michael Landon. (9/10/1959)
(2) Murder For Credit- A bandleader, making a comeback, learns that someone
is trying to poison him. But four people might want him killed... w/ guest
star Martin Landau. (9/17/1959)
(3) The Parents- The "parents" have agreed to sell their child to a black-market
racketeer. Now they tell Johnny they want to keep the child. w/ guest stars
John Hoyt & Shirley Knight. (9/24/1959)
(4) The Shop Of The Four Winds- Investigating the murder of a Japanese
friend, Johnny uncovers a scheme to swindle immigrants by promising them
citizenship papers. Nobu McCarthy; Barney Kessel & Shelly Manne appear.
(10/8/1959)
(5) The Nature Of The Night- Dave, the new young bartender at Waldo's,
comes under suspicion when a number of blonde women are slashed nearby.
Johnny uncovers some darkly disturbing information. Jack 'Mr. Bongo' Costanzo
appears. w/ guest star Dean Stockwell. (10/15/1959)
(6) Viva, Paco!- When a Puerto Rican boxer goes missing just before a
championship fight, Johnny suspects foul play. (10/22/1959)
(7) Evil- Johnny Staccato learns from his friend Barney that Barney's
sister has given all her money to a local mission house. Knowing that the
mission wouldn't ordinarily accept so much, Staccato suspects a bunko scheme.
w/ guest stars Alexander Scourby; Elisha Cook Jr. & Helen Dietrich (10/29/1959)
(8) Murder In Hi-Fi- An underworld boss forces Waldo to hire singer Barbara
Ames. Then Johnny gets interested in the girl & is beaten up by a couple
of thugs. w/ guest star Susan Oliver (11/5/1959)
(9) Fly, Baby, Fly- Johnny is hired by tough-guy millionaire Guy Fletcher
to transport a locked valise containing valuable gems to Arizona. Once aboard
the plane Johnny meets Nina, who turns out to be Fletcher's beautiful wife.
This is no coincidence, however, as Johnny learns he isn't carrying jewels
after all. Fletcher has provided him with a bomb set to explode during the
flight, in an insidious plot to murder her. w/ guest stars Gena Rowlands;
Mike Steele & Jan Brooks (11/12/1959)
(10) Tempted- Elizabeth Montgomery plays a rare pre-Bewitched role as
a floozy jazz groupie who's the ex-wife of one of Staccato's former band
mates. Out of the blue she shows up at Waldo's (the jazz club that doubles
as Staccato's "office") to enlist his help, telling him she's almost just
been robbed of expensive jewelry she was taking from work. Staccato's interest
is piqued, but he's immediately suspicious & cautiously takes on the
case. While he's escorting her home, they're accosted by a mugger who knocks
Staccato out & grabs the jewels. The next morning Staccato gets a visit
from an insurance adjuster who & the missing jewels turn up in his apartment.
Could the shapely Ms. Montgomery have set him up? (11/19/1959)
(11) The Poet's Touch- Working on a murder case, Johnny Staccato trails
two suspects to their hideout. With them is beatnik poet Dick Potter, whom
the men attempt to implicate in the crime. w/ guest stars Ken Walken &
Garry Walberg (11/26/1959)
(12) The Wild Reed- When Frankie Aspen's saxophone-playing takes a sudden
turn for the worse, Johnny determines to find out what is bothering him.
This episode was originally scheduled to air December 3, 1960 but was pre-empted.
When the series was canceled, it was dug out & was the last one aired.
w/ Olive Deering. (3/24/1960)
(13) A Piece Of Paradise- A dance-hall girl is murdered, and Police Sergeant
Joe Gillan suspects ex-jockey Stash McGill, a friend of the dead girl. Gillan
asks Johnny Staccato if he can help locate McGill. w/ guest stars Sid Raymond,
Marianne Gaba & Pamela Searle (12/10/1959)
(14) The Return- Korean War veteran Eddie Dasko escapes from a mental
hospital. Dasko is sure that his wife has been seeing another man, and he
intends to kill her. (12/17/1959)
(15) The Unwise Men- Johnny tries to help a musician who, while moonlighting
as a department-store Santa Claus, is being pressured by his ex-con brother
to help set up a robbery at the store. w/ guest stars Jack Weston &
Marge Redmond (12/24/1959)
(16) Collector's Item- A man called Red Top kills Hannah Green, but pianist
Romeo Jefferson is the chief suspect until Staccato suspects that Romeo
has been framed. (12/31/1959)
(17) Man In The Pit- A young man enters Waldo's and attacks Pete, the
trumpet player. Johnny Staccato learns that the youth thinks Pete is his
father, who deserted the family years before. w/ guest stars Norman Fell,
Nita Talbot & Buzz Martin. (1/7/1960)
(18) The Only Witness- Wealthy racketeer Barney Buford calls Johnny Staccato
to ask him to look after his young sister, Karen. As he approaches Buford's
apartment, Staccato is shot at by a gunman. Then inside, he finds Buford
dead. w/ guest stars Nancy Valentine; Elaine Davis, Candy Cane (Burlesque
Stripper), Geraldine Brooks & Jane Burgess (1/14/1960)
(19) Night Of Jeopardy- To evade Federal agents, a gang of counterfeiters
hide their plates. Convinced that Waldo knows the hiding place, they threaten
his life. Directed by John Cassavetes. w/ guest stars Frank DeKova &
Burt Conroy. (1/21/1960)
(20) Double Feature- A bowling-alley proprietor is found murdered, and
Johnny Staccato is identified as the killer. w/ guest stars John Marley
& Connie Davis (1/28/1960)
(21) The List Of Death- Deported gangster Alieoto slips back into New
York. He promises to surrender to the police if Johnny will be his bodyguard
for one day during which he wants to arrange visits with his ex-wife, his
old girlfriend, and his mother. w/ Paul Stewart. (2/4/1960)
(22) Solomon- Jessica Winthrop, a noted pacifist, is accused of killing
her husband. Solomon Bradshaw, the lady's lawyer, comes to Johnny Staccato
for help. w/ guest stars Cloris Leachman; Ann Staunton & Elisha Cook
Jr. (2/11/1960)
(23) An Act Of Terror- Ventriloquist Thad Clinton drops in to ask Staccato
if he'll help locate his missing wife. Johnny finds out that the woman has
been murdered. w/ Maurice McEndree. (2/18/1960)
(24) An Angry Young Man- Johnny becomes concerned when an ambitious young
man, whose family he has known for years, starts working in a bookshop that
is just a cover for a criminal enterprise. w/ guest star Warren Berlinger.
(2/25/1960)
(25) The Mask Of Jason- Johnny is hired to bodyguard an aspiring actress
who is being terrorized by a man with a horribly scarred face. w/ guest
stars Mary Tyler Moore; Vito Scotti & Roberta Haynes. (3/3/1960)
(26) A Nice Little Town- When a former soldier returns home after having
defected to Red China, he is murdered by a group of vigilantes. w/ guest
star Christine White. (3/10/1960)
(27) Swinging Long Hair- Johnny becomes involved when a couple of mysterious
gunmen mistake him for a concert pianist who is a refugee from an Eastern
European country. w/ guest star Fred Katz as himself. (3/17/1960)
