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''Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer'' (later titled ''The New Mike Hammer''), with
Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor, active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s. Keach first distinguished himself in Off-Broadway productions and remains a prominent figure in American theatre across his ...
in the title role, is an American
crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
television series that originally aired on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
from January 28, 1984, to May 13, 1987. The series consisted of 51 installments: 46 one-hour episodes, a two-part pilot episode (''More Than Murder''), and three TV movies ('' Murder Me, Murder You'', ''The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer'', and '' Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All''. ''Murder Me, Murder You'' was initially envisioned as a stand-alone TV movie, but ultimately became a
backdoor pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
for the series when it was received positively by audiences). The movies and series were produced under the guidance of executive producer Jay Bernstein, who acquired the television rights from his close friend Mickey Spillane for one dollar.


Premise

The show follows the adventures of Mike Hammer, the private detective created by crime novelist Mickey Spillane, as he works to solve cases, often involving murder. A recurring plot line throughout the show focuses on the murder of someone to whom the protagonist was close, resulting in Hammer seeking out revenge. Keach was familiar with the tough and insensitive novelized version of Hammer and worked to make his version more palatable to a television audience. "We've softened him up a little bit," Keach told ''The New York Times''. "To sustain a series on television, I think you need a certain humor, charm and vulnerability. Toughness is probably the least important factor." While firmly situated in the 1980s, the tone of the show also incorporated elements of classic
film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
detective films, such as '' The Maltese Falcon''. Each show featured the protagonist's narrative voice-over and, in typical hard-boiled detective style, Hammer would rarely be seen without his wrinkled suit,
fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...
and
trench coat A trench coat is a variety of coat made of Waterproof fabric, waterproof heavy-duty fabric, originally developed for British Army officers before the First World War, and becoming popular while used in the Trench warfare, trenches, hence the nam ...
. The show's producers saw the character as a throwback to the 1940s. In contrast to the charming male leads in other popular detective shows of the day (e.g.,
Remington Steele ''Remington Steele'' is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on NBC from October 1, 1982, ...
, Thomas Magnum), Mike Hammer was unapologetically masculine with little concern for
political correctness "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...
. A prominent feature of most episodes was the inclusion of a number of female characters (known in casting sessions as "Hammer-ettes") who would exchange a double entendre or two with Hammer while wearing very low tops and push-up bras emphasizing their ample cleavage. Hammer would regularly wind up in bed with the highly sexualized female characters in the show, who would never fail to melt once they had fixed their eyes upon the brawny detective. The show's writers latched on to this element of clashing eras and often used it as a comic relief in the show. Examples of this include Hammer's love for cigarettes being at odds with the growing social disdain for smoking and the detective's humorous inability to comprehend the youth trends of the decade. Like its 1950s predecessor, Keach's Mike Hammer never shied away from violence. Whether it was with his fists or his trusty gun, "Betsy," a Colt Model 1911A1 .45 ACP semi-automatic pistol, which was always tucked neatly inside a leather shoulder holster worn under his suit jacket, Hammer would never fail to stop a criminal dead in his tracks. Mickey Spillane insisted that Stacy Keach carry the .45 caliber pistol in the show because that was the weapon Mike Hammer carried in all of Spillane's "Mike Hammer" mystery novels. Unlike most detective shows of the decade, the bad guys on ''Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer'' were usually killed by the protagonist by the time the closing credits rolled.


Series overview


Cast


Main

*
Stacy Keach Walter Stacy Keach Jr. (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor, active in theatre, film and television since the 1960s. Keach first distinguished himself in Off-Broadway productions and remains a prominent figure in American theatre across his ...
as Mike Hammer * Don Stroud as Captain Pat Chambers * Lindsay Bloom as Hammer's secretary Velda * Kent Williams as Assistant District Attorney Lawrence D. Barrington


Recurring

* Ozzie "The Answer" – A know-it-all barfly at the Lite N Easy Bar (played by
Danny Goldman Daniel Goldman (October 30, 1939 – April 12, 2020) was an American actor and casting director. He was the voice of Brainy Smurf in Hanna-Barbera's '' The Smurfs'' (1981–1989). Early life Goldman graduated from Far Rockaway High School in ...
); his knowledge of facts and rumors often helps Hammer solve cases he is working on * Moochie – An affable pimp with links to New York's underworld, played by Ben Powers * "The Face" – A beautiful and mysterious woman (played by Donna Denton) who Hammer would see briefly in each episode but would then vanish before he had a chance to meet her * Jenny – The head barmaid at Mike's local watering hole the Lite N Easy Bar (played by Lee Benton) * Detective Hennessey – A police detective (played by Eddie Egan) who would often work alongside Captain Pat Chambers * Ritchie – A newsstand salesman in Hammer's neighborhood (played by Eddie Barth)


Guest stars

The following notable actors (including some future stars) and musicians appeared on the show:


Setting

Like Spillane's novels, the series is set in New York City, with only a few exceptional episodes that bring the characters to other locations. Mickey Spillane had demanded that the series be shot in New York.


Broadcast history


Music

Shortly before the release of ''Murder Me, Murder You'', producer Lew Gallo approached his golf partner
Earle Hagen Earle Harry Hagen (July 9, 1919 – May 26, 2008) was an American composer who created music for films and television. His best-known TV themes include ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', ''I Spy (1965 TV series), I Spy'', ''That Girl'' and ''The Mod Sq ...
about using his
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...
-inspired classic " Harlem Nocturne" as the theme song. Some executives at Columbia were against the idea of a saxophone led theme song, but producers and Keach himself liked the idea and ultimately a version of the jazz tune arranged by J. J. Johnson with
Bud Shank Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank Jr. (May 27, 1926 – April 2, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist and flautist. He rose to prominence in the early 1950s playing lead alto and flute in Stan Kenton's Innovations in Modern Music Orchestra and thro ...
on alto saxophone, prevailed. Keach later said the tune has a "nostalgic film-noir quality" that evokes New York City and that viewers would tune into the show just to listen to the theme song.


Production interruption

Production of the show was interrupted in December 1984 when Stacy Keach was sentenced to nine months prison time for drug smuggling. Keach was arrested with his secretary Deborah Steele on April 4 at London's
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
for smuggling 36 grams (1¼ ounces) of cocaine. He had arrived in London from France—where he was filming the TV miniseries '' Mistral's Daughter''—when he and Steele were picked out at random to be searched. Keach was in London to record voiceover for ''Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer''. On December 7, 1984, Keach pled guilty to the charge and immediately began serving a nine-month sentence in Reading Prison. His unexpected jail term caught producers of the show off guard and with three episodes filmed but unfinished, impersonator Rich Little was called in to mimic Keach's narrative voiceover. The second season still had eight unmade episodes that were not able to be filmed with Keach behind bars and CBS and Columbia Pictures TV paid the rest of the cast for half of those episodes. Keach was released after six months with time off for good behavior and soon began work on reviving the Mike Hammer franchise.


''The New Mike Hammer''

A year later, Stacy Keach returned to his role as Hammer in the made-for-TV movie ''The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer'', which aired on April 18, 1986. Thanks to the positive reception of the movie and the tenacity of Jay Bernstein, the series was continued, but this time under the title ''The New Mike Hammer''. The reboot took over its old 9:00-10:00 pm time slot when it first aired on Saturday, September 22, 1986, but was hastily shifted to the 8:00-9:00 Wednesday time slot after the failure of ''Better Days'' and '' Together We Stand''. The theme music was also changed (although it otherwise remained Harlem Nocturne), now with a trumpet lead. In the retooled season, several recurring characters were absent and elements previously criticized as sexist were downplayed in an attempt to capture an audience wider than males, who were the primary viewers of the first few seasons. The narrow male demographic, and concerns over the portrayal of women in the show from Columbia Pictures Television president Barbara Corday, prompted Jay Bernstein to tone down the presence of swooning starlets. However, the new vision of Hammer proved to be less appealing to fans of the original run and failed to attract a wider audience. ''The New Mike Hammer'' was canceled after one season with the final episode airing on May 13, 1987.


Critical response

The series won top spot for its 10 pm time slot on Saturday nights and surveys showed it to be particularly popular among male audiences. John J. O'Connor of the New York Times called Keach's portrayal of Mike Hammer "one of the best in a long history of dramatizing this particular private eye, is nearly all manner and mannerism, steeped in the accents and rhythms of New York." Morgan Gendel of ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', however, calls the ratings for the first two seasons "so-so" overall, despite being a hit with men.


Ratings

''The New Mike Hammer'' ranked 59th out of 79 shows with an average rating/share of 11.9/19.


Keach's Mike Hammer in subsequent years

Two years later, this series had a television film spin-off titled '' Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All'' featuring
Lynda Carter Lynda Jean Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant, best known for her portrayal of Wonder Woman in the television series ''Wonder Woman'', aired on ABC and later on CBS from 1975 to 1979. Befo ...
,
Michelle Phillips Holly Michelle Phillips ( Gilliam; born June 4, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Described by ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine as the "purest soprano in pop music", she rose to fame in the mid-1960s with the folk rock vocal ...
, and
Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian and American actor and comedian. Known primarily for his energetic slapstick performances, he has received two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for BAFTA Awards and ...
. Keach's version of Hammer was revived with 26 more syndicated episodes produced in 1997–1998 under the title '' Mike Hammer, Private Eye''. The revived version failed to establish wide distribution or much of an audience and was cancelled after one season.


References


External links

* {{Mike Hammer 1980s American crime drama television series 1984 American television series debuts 1985 American television series endings American detective television series Television series by Sony Pictures Television Mike Hammer (character) television series CBS crime dramas