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

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that aired on CBS from March 15 to April 12, 1983. The series parodied the "hard-boiled detective" genre.

Synopsis

Tim Conway stars as a trench-coated

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

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

* Tim Conway as Ace Crawford, Private Eye. * Joe Regalbuto 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 i ...

as Inch, owner and bartender of The Shanty, a wharfside bar where Crawford hangs out. * Shera Danese as Luana, a singer at The Shanty who lusted after Crawford. * Bill Henderson as Mello, a blind jazz musician at The Shanty. * Dick Christie 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 publi ...

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 as ...

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 ( or wharfs), 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 Berth (mo ...

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

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

(as opposed to

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually Sound recording and reproduction, sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog signal, analog or Digital signal (signal processing), digital signal. V ...

), and had a

laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is an audio recording consisting of laughter (and other audience reactions) usually used as a separate soundtrack for comedy productions. The laugh track may contain live audience reactions or artificial laught ...

US TV ratings

Episodes

Home media

In 1989, a VHS 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 multi-camera sitcoms 1980s American mystery television series 1980s American parody television series American detective television series American English-language television shows Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in New York City CBS sitcoms