Mannix

1 9 6 7 – 1 9 7 5 (USA)
194 x 60 minute episodes

For eight years, Mannix was one of the most popular adventure detective/series on television.

Former football star Mike Connors (real name Krekor Ohanian) starred as Joe Mannix, a Los Angeles private eye who worked for a sophisticated detective agency called Intertect.

The company used computers and other electronic devices in its detective work, but Mannix was happiest when he was employing his own intuition – and his fists – on a case.

At the beginning of the second season, Mannix left Intertect and opened an agency of his own in a small office on the ground floor of the building in which he lived.

He was assisted by his Girl Friday and good friend, Peggy Fair (played by African-American actress Gail Fisher) – whose job description seemed to be “answer the phone and get kidnapped a lot” – and his friend and old Intertect boss, Lew Wickersham (Joe Campanella).

Known as one of the most violent programmes on television, the highlight of each episode was usually a brawl that resulted in bodies strewn all over the place.

Mannix himself was frequently shown getting shot, but miraculously, he was almost always shot in the same arm!

The peak came around the third or fourth season, by which time Mannix had a roster of great genre writers contributing fatalistic, noirish stories, great directors (especially Sutton Roley and Paul Krasny) indulging in wild compositions and camera pyrotechnics that were too bold for most shows, and great supporting actors (like Hugh Beaumont and Robert Reed) recurring as Joe Mannix’s law enforcement foils.

Joe Mannix
Mike Connors
Peggy Fair
Gail Fisher
Lew Wickersham
Joe Campanella
Lieutenant Adam Tobias
Robert Reed
Lieutenant Art Malcolm
Ward Wood