''Ace Crawford, Private Eye'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

that aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

from March 15 to April 12, 1983. The series

parodied A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

the "hard-boiled detective" genre.

Synopsis

Tim Conway Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. From 1966 to 2012 he appeared in more than 100 TV shows, TV series and films. Among his more notable roles, he portrayed the ...

stars as a trench-coated

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

who always solves the case and catches the bad guy, despite his constant bumbling. The show was broadcast on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Only five episodes were aired.

Cast and characters

as Ace Crawford, Private Eye. *

Joe Regalbuto Joe Regalbuto (born August 24, 1949) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Frank Fontana on the CBS television sitcom ''Murphy Brown'', which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1989. Early life Regalbuto grad ...

as Toomey, a CPA and Crawford's assistant; he always saw Crawford as a hero, and thought that his bumbling was simply some kind of cunning strategy. *

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti, October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast ...

as Inch, owner and bartender of The Shanty, a wharfside bar where Crawford hangs out. *

Shera Danese Shera Danese (born October 9, 1949) is an American actress and the widow of actor Peter Falk. Biography Life and career Danese was born Sherry Lynn Kaminski in Hartsdale, New York. She was the 1970 Miss Pennsylvania World. In 1974, Kaminski ...

as Luana, a singer at The Shanty who lusted after Crawford. * Bill Henderson as Mello, a blind jazz musician at The Shanty. *

Dick Christie Richard Leslie Christie (born October 21, 1948, in Long Beach, California) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Ted Lawson on the 1980s sitcom ''Small Wonder''. His other television credits include '' Who's the Boss?'', '' Days ...

as Detective Lieutenant Fanning, who was always mystified as to how Crawford solved every case.

Format

In each half-hour episode, Crawford would be hired for, or otherwise find himself involved in, a case in which criminals were taking advantage of innocent citizens. He would then approach the case using Conway's trademark comedy style; in one episode he was disguised as a feeble old man, in another he was using a children's toy

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

as a "wire." In spite of the

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

results of his actions, Crawford would always emerge triumphant. Every episode ended the same way: Crawford would leave The Shanty at night and walk along the

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...

, vanishing into the fog... and then audibly fall into the water. Each episode was on

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

(as opposed to

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...

), and had a

laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...

US TV ratings

Episodes

Home media

In 1989, a VHS

videocassette Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassette ...

was released containing the first three episodes. In August 2020, Shout! Factory TV acquired complete streaming rights.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0084968 1983 American television series debuts 1983 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms American detective television series American parody television series CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in New York City