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But competition at the bookstores could hardly faze the fictional Eye. After a profitable stay on radio,* he bought a new set of threads, polished up some new schticks, and began to practice his profession on TV.
To find a niche on TV, the Private Eye needed a new face. In his movie incarnation, he had worn the unforgettable masks of Humphrey Bogart, Bob Montgomery William Powell. On TV, he allowed a few established stars to impersonate him—Ray Milland signed up as Markham, an international op, Robert Taylor pinned on the badge of Police Detective Captain Matt Holbrook in The Detectives, Peter Lawford took over as The Thin Man. But mostly, the Private Eye TV programs proved a bonanza for Hollywood oldtimers who had been playing second leads too long, newcomers who had begun to worry about the first big break. Among the best of the newer names:
Craig Stevens, 39, plays Peter Gunn with a Gary Grant haircut, an Ivy League wardrobe, and the tight mouth of a top-notch ventriloquist. Despite the suspicion that the moment he relaxes he will burst out laughing at himself, Stevens has parlayed his slim, handsome assets into the most entertaining Eye on the air. From Kansas City via 20 years of small parts on stage and screen, Stevens has been happy to let his scriptwriters turn him into a sophisticated skeptic with a heavyweight wallop and a nice, lightweight touch with the wise-guy gag. The company he keeps is enough to keep any Eye open for trouble. Edie Hart (Lola Albright) whispers her songs as a reminder that Pete does have a private life, Police Lieutenant Jacoby (Herschel Bernardi) is a sour reminder that there is a law, and every pimp, plug-ugly shiv artist and safecracker in town is there to prove that there will always be a need for a Gunn. Some viewers insist on treating the show as pure parody. But Pete and his pals usually manage to keep their half-hour filled with an aura of danger— danger-like the smell of powder smoke in the victim's parlor after the trigger has been pulled.