Peter Gunn, the TV series, ran three television seasons, 1958 – 1961, a total of 114 episodes, 38 episodes per season, a thirty-minute drama televised once a week, beginning in the fall of 1958, Season 1, Episode 1, was September 22, 1958. The series ran until the last episode televised was on September 18, 1961. The star was Craig Stevens, appearing in all 114 episodes, and co-starring in primary recurring roles included Herschel Bernardi as Lt. Jacoby, 102 episodes, and Lola Albright as Edie Hart, 84 episodes. Other recurring roles were offered by Bill Chadney as Emmett (piano player at Mother's), with 42 episodes and two actresses in the same role, a total of 45 episodes, between Hope Emerson, 27 episodes, and Minerva Urecal, 18 episodes. A definitive, collaborate effort making the series a success was from Henri Mancini's Grammy Award winning music for the entire series, with the piano played by the future award-winning John Williams. Series creator and producer was Blake Edwards where Blake also wrote and directed episodes throughout the series. Blake cut his teeth on Peter Gunn and certainly went on to success in films and television. The Peter Gunn drama was set in a non-specified city, usually at night, with a private investigator searching for and bringing the perpetrator(s) to a justifiable end, often with a late assist, sometimes timely assist, of a certain police lieutenant Jacoby. The scenes included a stop at the quaint waterfront nightclub named Mother's, that included a songstress Edie, who had a mutual attraction to our Peter Gunn. The title character's portrayal would have been given a thumbs-up by the definition of cool, Steve McQueen. Craig Stevens played the lead role superbly each week, working with whatever script he was handed, and for late fifties television in a half an hour setting, well done Mr. Stevens. The jazz music setting with professional recurring character roles played quite well by the chosen actors and actresses made the series work for its 114 episodes. The viewer has to pay attention from the start since there are no introductory credits, a brief prologue, then with Mancini's theme music, the screen reads "Peter Gunn starring Craig Stevens" then jumping right into the action and usually there were no wasteful scenes throughout each weekly episode. Essential scenes could be in Jacoby's office, Mother's nightclub, but the primary scenery is at or near the action with the perpetrators. Each week you could have a few different roles from a variety of central casting's thespians. Of course, these other roles were usually the bad guys including some innocent characters, wrong place, wrong time. The viewer didn't know some parts were being played by what would come to be up and comers. With so many episodes per season, it left the field open to some actors that would go onto starring roles, although many continued to make a living by going wherever they were called.
Review of Peter Gunn
