Nero Wolfe supporting characters
Encyclopedia
Nero Wolfe
stories are populated by a cast of supporting characters who help sustain the sense that each story takes place in familiar surroundings.
, and busts of Escoffier and Brillat-Savarin as well as a cooking vessel thought to have been used by Julius Caesar's chef. Archie and Fritz have an easygoing working relationship, and Archie often spends time in the kitchen, as he puts it, "chinning" with Fritz. Fritz's relationship with Wolfe is one of mutual respect, admiration and devotion, excepting the times when they quarrel over a recipe. The notoriously finicky Wolfe has even gone so far as to refuse to eat one of Fritz's dishes when he used tarragon
and saffron
to season pheasant instead of sage
.
In Champagne for One
it is noted that Fritz is very interested in Wolfe getting new clients, since the fees they pay Wolfe are the source from which Fritz's own salary is derived. Fritz can become anxious when a long time passes without a new paying client appearing. However, when the new client does arrive, Fritz is singularly uninterested in the details of the mystery, being supremely confident that Wolfe will solve it and duly collect his fee.
In the Columbia Pictures feature film Meet Nero Wolfe
(1936), the character of Fritz was transformed into a Scandinavian cook named Olaf, played by John Qualen
.
In the ABC-TV movie Nero Wolfe (1977), Fritz is portrayed by David Hurst
. In the NBC TV series Nero Wolfe
(1981), Fritz Brenner is played by George Voskovec
. In the A&E TV original series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
, Fritz is played by Colin Fox
.
Horstmann seldom appears in person in the narratives. In Door to Death
he provides a plot device, as his extended absence forces Wolfe to find another orchid tender. But in Black Orchids
, Theodore's actions are central to the denouement; and in chapter five of The Second Confession
Theodore's welfare is of great concern to Wolfe.
In spite of the great emphasis on food and eating throughout the series, little mention is made of where, when, or what Horstmann eats, except that in Plot It Yourself
he is said to eat in the kitchen with Fritz. Theodore has a sister in New Jersey and sometimes spends time there.
Theodore is portrayed by Robert Coote
in the NBC TV series Nero Wolfe
(1981). In the A&E TV original series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
, Theodore is never seen
, but is occasionally mentioned.
", Ch. VI).
According to "Murder is Corny", Saul's minimum daily fee is eighty dollars.
Saul occupies different residences in the Wolfe corpus. In The Next Witness, he has an apartment in Manhattan to himself. Its main room has four lamps, a grand piano, a wall with windows, another wall solid with books, and ". . . the other two had pictures and shelves that were cluttered with everything from chunks of minerals to walrus tusks."
The role of Saul Panzer is played by George Wyner
in the NBC TV series Nero Wolfe
(1981); by Saul Rubinek
in the A&E original film The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2000); and by Conrad Dunn
in the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2001–2002).
In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2001–2002) and the series pilot, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2000), the role of Fred Durkin is played by Fulvio Cecere
.
(chapter 9), after Wolfe leaves it to Saul to teach Orrie better manners, Archie warns Wolfe, "You know, if you pile it on enough to give Orrie an inferiority complex it will be a lulu, and a damn good op will be ruined." But Archie, too, has an occasional run-in with Orrie, who thinks he would look just fine sitting at Archie's desk.
Orrie's talents as a professional operative are much narrower than Archie's. He has neither Saul Panzer's genius for tailing, nor his memory for faces, nor his instinct for the best move. And while he's brighter than Fred Durkin, Orrie exhibits little of Fred's bulldog tenacity. But he is handsome, and Stout furnishes him more complex motives than he does Saul or Fred. Ambiguities in Orrie's character are introduced as early as The League of Frightened Men
(1935); and by Death of a Doxy
in 1966, Wolfe states, "You must know that I have no affection for him." In Champagne for One
Orrie pulls a major coup, breaking into a suspect's apartment and finding a key document on which the solution of the book's mystery largely hinges – a document which he insists upon handing to Wolfe personally rather than through Goodwin (who reluctantly admits that that was Orrie's due).
Orrie is often the operative Wolfe turns to when an attractive female is involved and Archie is unavailable. His womanizing leads him to become a central character in Death of a Doxy
. In that novel, Orrie is seeing a woman named Isabel Keating, despite being engaged to an airline stewardess named Jill Hardy. When he attempts to break it off with Isabel, she attempts to force him to continue their affair by threatening to tell his fiancée. Shortly thereafter, Isabel is murdered and Orrie is arrested as the prime suspect. Wolfe is forced to step into the case to clear Orrie's name, and to prevent his own from being associated with a murder trial. The novel ends with Orrie marrying Jill Hardy, who is none the wiser.
Orrie's full first name is one of the inconsistencies in the corpus. In chapter 16 of The Golden Spiders
(1953), clothing store owner Bernard Levine states that he was shown "a New York detective license with his picture on it and his name, Orvald Cather." In chapter 3 of If Death Ever Slept
, Archie calls the office and Orrie answers the phone, "Nero Wolfe's residence. Orville Cather speaking." And, thinking he was clarifying the matter, Rex Stout's biographer John McAleer asked the author, "Is Orrie Cather's given name Orrin?" "Probably," Stout replied.
In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2001–2002) and the series pilot, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2000), the role of Orrie Cather is played by Trent McMullen
.
Cramer has enjoyed twitting Wolfe by rising from the red leather chair without using his arms for leverage – something that Wolfe cannot do.
Cramer has considerable respect for Wolfe's investigative skill. In The Doorbell Rang
, Cramer goes to some lengths to keep the state of New York from taking Wolfe's and Archie's licenses as private investigators. And in In the Best Families
, Cramer says, "Wolfe is too cocky to live ... I would love to bloody his nose for him. I've tried to often enough, and someday I will and enjoy it. But I would hate to see him break his neck on a deal like this where he hasn't got a chance." Cramer is also grateful to Wolfe for saving his job in The Silent Speaker
. Near the end of that book, Cramer expresses his gratitude by bringing Wolfe " ... a misshapen object covered with green florist's paper" that turns out to be an orchid.
Cramer shares few, if any, of Wolfe's tastes; in the story "Black Orchids", for example, Wolfe exclaims that the black orchids are unique, matchless and incomparable, Cramer replies that "They're pretty ... Kind of drab, though. Not much color. I like geraniums better."
Cramer is a cigar chewer. In early Nero Wolfe novels, Cramer lights and smokes them (in The Leauge of Frightened Men, he smokes a pipe), but in later novels Archie notes that Cramer only chews on cigars and has never been known to light one. Cramer often ends his visits to Wolfe's office by angrily throwing his chewed cigar at the wastebasket, usually missing the target. Archie suspects that the cigars give Cramer a moment to calm down before he says something regrettable.
Cramer is married and has one son, who fights in the Australian theater during World War II.
Cramer's first name, Fergus, is given once only, in 1940's Where There's a Will. However, his initials are later given as "L.T.C." in 1946's The Silent Speaker
, due to Stout's failure to recall that he had earlier given Cramer a first name. This led to Robert Goldsborough
giving him the full name of "Lionel T. Cramer" in Goldsborough's version of Nero Wolfe novels. "To me he is just Inspector Cramer," Stout said.
Cramer is the protagonist of one Stout novel, Red Threads (1939).
Inspector Cramer was portrayed by Biff McGuire
in the 1977 TV movie Nero Wolfe, by Allan Miller
in NBC TV's 1981 series
, and by Sergey Parshin in Russian TV-series Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin (2001-2002). In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2001–2002), the role of Inspector Cramer is played by Bill Smitrovich
. Archie hears him called Fergus in the episode The Silent Speaker, when he makes the brief acquaintance of Mrs. Cramer.
In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2001–2002), the role of Purley Stebbins is played by R.D. Reid.
As with Cramer, Stout made a continuity error in Rowcliff's first name. Though it is given as George elsewhere, in Please Pass the Guilt his first two initials are stated as "J.M." in a letter dictated by Wolfe.
Rowcliff is the only character acknowledged by Stout to have been consciously modeled and named after a real-life person — a young naval attache under whom Stout served while a yeoman on Theodore Roosevelt
's Presidential Yacht Mayflower
in 1906–07 and to whom Stout took an intense and enduring dislike. Whether or not the connection between the real and fictional Rowcliffs was known contemporaneously, it is clear that the source of Stout’s obnoxious cop suffered no ill effects professionally: Gilbert Jonathan Rowcliff
went on to a distinguished naval career spanning both world wars, at sea as an honored commander and in Washington as Judge Advocate General, a position he assumed in June 1936, shortly after his namesake was introduced in The Rubber Band
. It is also clear that, whether or not the naval Rowcliff followed Stout’s career or read and recognized himself in the Nero Wolfe books, Stout followed his; in an interview with John McAleer, the author dead-panned, “he retired in December 1945, with the rank of rear admiral.”
The role of Rowcliff is played by Bill MacDonald http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0531628/ in the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2001–2002).
Archie, Lon, and some other Wolfe regulars play poker Thursday nights at Saul Panzer's apartment.
Over the years, Wolfe and the Gazette develop a symbiotic relationship that gives the newspaper exclusive information regarding Wolfe's cases, and that gives Wolfe publicity – sometimes, more than he would want.
Lon's role at the New York Gazette is not further detailed in the Rex Stout stories, but it becomes central to the story line in Robert Goldsborough's novel Death on Deadline
.
In the 1977 TV movie Nero Wolfe, Lon Cohen is played by John Randolph
. In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2001–2002), Lon Cohen is played by Saul Rubinek
.
, in which she calls him "Escamillo" after his near-encounters with a pastured bull. Subsequently she appears in several stories and provides needed assistance on occasion (see, particularly, In the Best Families
and A Right to Die
).
Lily is one of the few women for whom Nero Wolfe has a grudging respect: "I have not only eaten her bread and salt, I have eaten her grouse. I am in her debt."
Lily's father, who made his money building New York's sewer system, helped Inspector Cramer get started at the NYPD, and this background sometimes causes Cramer a conflict of interest where Lily is concerned.
In three episodes of the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2001–2002) — "Door to Death," "Christmas Party" and "Death of a Doxy" — the role of Lily Rowan is played by Kari Matchett
.
. Head of her own detective agency, she makes another appearance in Stout's Tecumseh Fox
novel Bad for Business
(1940). Dol plays a major role in the Nero Wolfe novella Too Many Detectives, and she is employed by Wolfe in If Death Ever Slept
and Plot It Yourself
.
In Lady Against the Odds, a 1992 TV adaptation of The Hand in the Glove, Dol Bonner is played by Crystal Bernard
.
. In Plot It Yourself
, it is a Sally Corbett, not Colt, who helps out on Wolfe's case: "Sally Corbett was one of the two women who, a couple of years back, had made me feel that there might be some flaw in my attitude toward female dicks," Archie writes. Sally Colt/Corbett makes a final appearance in The Mother Hunt
, in which Archie again remarks that Sally and Dol had made him change his attitude about female detectives.
Sally Corbett is played by Manon von Gerkan
in Motherhunt, part of the second season of the A&E original series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
(2001–2002).
Zeck’s malevolent presence intrudes via telephone in two novels, And Be a Villain
(1948) and The Second Confession
(1949). Zeck had previously telephoned Wolfe twice: on June 9, 1943, concerning Wolfe’s work for General Carpenter; and on January 16, 1946, regarding Mrs. Tremont.
Zeck himself appears in In the Best Families
(1950), the third book of what is popularly called The Zeck Trilogy, in which Nero Wolfe finds it necessary to defeat Zeck once and for all. In 1974, the Viking Press collected the three Zeck novels in an omnibus volume, Triple Zeck.
"I was thrilled when Wolfe finally encountered his own Moriarty
in the archvillain Arnold Zeck," wrote Michael Dirda
, Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic for The Washington Post. British author and literary critic David Langford
has also noted that the relationship between Zeck and Wolfe compares to that of Professor Moriarty
and Sherlock Holmes
.
The role of Arnold Zeck (renamed Arnold Dorso) is played by Robert Loggia
in In the Best Families. an episode of the 1981 NBC TV series Nero Wolfe
.
Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...
stories are populated by a cast of supporting characters who help sustain the sense that each story takes place in familiar surroundings.
Fritz Brenner
Fritz Brenner is an exceptionally talented Swiss cook who prepares and serves all of Wolfe's meals except those that Wolfe occasionally takes at Rusterman's Restaurant. Fritz also acts as the household's majordomo and butler. In his room, Fritz keeps 289 cookbooks, the head of a wild boar he shot in the VosgesVosges
Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been...
, and busts of Escoffier and Brillat-Savarin as well as a cooking vessel thought to have been used by Julius Caesar's chef. Archie and Fritz have an easygoing working relationship, and Archie often spends time in the kitchen, as he puts it, "chinning" with Fritz. Fritz's relationship with Wolfe is one of mutual respect, admiration and devotion, excepting the times when they quarrel over a recipe. The notoriously finicky Wolfe has even gone so far as to refuse to eat one of Fritz's dishes when he used tarragon
Tarragon
Tarragon or dragon's-wort is a perennial herb in the family Asteraceae related to wormwood. Corresponding to its species name, a common term for the plant is "dragon herb". It is native to a wide area of the Northern Hemisphere from easternmost Europe across central and eastern Asia to India,...
and saffron
Saffron
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...
to season pheasant instead of sage
Sage
- People :*A "sage" is any wise teacher, someone who imparts wisdom or the perennial philosophy, including spiritual teachers and teachers of mysticism but not necessarily with such religious connotations, so may refer to a:...
.
In Champagne for One
Champagne for One
Champagne for One is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1958.The back matter of the 1995 Bantam edition of this book includes an exchange of correspondence between Stout and his editor at Viking Press, Marshall Best...
it is noted that Fritz is very interested in Wolfe getting new clients, since the fees they pay Wolfe are the source from which Fritz's own salary is derived. Fritz can become anxious when a long time passes without a new paying client appearing. However, when the new client does arrive, Fritz is singularly uninterested in the details of the mystery, being supremely confident that Wolfe will solve it and duly collect his fee.
In the Columbia Pictures feature film Meet Nero Wolfe
Meet Nero Wolfe
Meet Nero Wolfe is a 1936 mystery film based on the 1934 novel Fer-de-Lance, written by Rex Stout. Set in New York, the story introduced the detective genius Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin...
(1936), the character of Fritz was transformed into a Scandinavian cook named Olaf, played by John Qualen
John Qualen
John Qualen was a Canadian-American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles....
.
In the ABC-TV movie Nero Wolfe (1977), Fritz is portrayed by David Hurst
David Hurst
David Hurst is a British-German actor.- Germany :Hurst grew up in a family of actors. His father was a member of the Austrian Theatre and appeared frequently at the Salzburg Festival, and was also a renowned director in the Deutsches Theater in Berlin...
. In the NBC TV series Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe (1981 TV series)
Nero Wolfe is a television series based on the characters in Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired January 16 – August 25, 1981, on NBC. William Conrad fills the role of the detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Lee Horsley is his assistant Archie Goodwin...
(1981), Fritz Brenner is played by George Voskovec
Jirí Voskovec
Jiří Voskovec was a Czech-American actor, playwright, dramatist, director, translator, and poet...
. In the A&E TV original series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
, Fritz is played by Colin Fox
Colin Fox (actor)
Colin Fox is a Canadian actor. His acting credits include playing Jean Paul Desmond and Jacques Eloi Des Mondes in Strange Paradise , as well as voice work in various animated series, and in other roles in film, television and on the stage...
.
Theodore Horstmann
Theodore Horstmann is an orchid expert who assists Wolfe in the plant rooms. His living quarters are adjacent to the plant rooms on the brownstone's top floor. In the first Wolfe book, Fer-de-Lance, Archie remarks that he sometimes hears "old Horstmann" yelling at Wolfe, who "seemed to have the same effect on Horstmann that an umpire had on John J. McGraw," though he is sure that Theodore doesn't dislike Wolfe.Horstmann seldom appears in person in the narratives. In Door to Death
Three Doors to Death
Three Doors to Death is a collection of Nero Wolfe mystery novellas by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1950 — itself collected in the omnibus volume Five of a Kind...
he provides a plot device, as his extended absence forces Wolfe to find another orchid tender. But in Black Orchids
Black Orchids
Black Orchids is a Nero Wolfe double mystery by Rex Stout published in 1942 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. Stout's first short story collection, the volume is composed of two novellas that had appeared in abridged form in The American Magazine:...
, Theodore's actions are central to the denouement; and in chapter five of The Second Confession
The Second Confession
The Second Confession is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1949. The story was collected in the omnibus volume Triple Zeck ....
Theodore's welfare is of great concern to Wolfe.
In spite of the great emphasis on food and eating throughout the series, little mention is made of where, when, or what Horstmann eats, except that in Plot It Yourself
Plot It Yourself
Plot It Yourself is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1959, and also collected in the omnibus volume Kings Full of Aces .-Plot introduction:...
he is said to eat in the kitchen with Fritz. Theodore has a sister in New Jersey and sometimes spends time there.
Theodore is portrayed by Robert Coote
Robert Coote
Robert Coote was an English actor. He played aristocrats or British military types in many films, and created the role of Colonel Hugh Pickering in the long-running original Broadway production of My Fair Lady.-Biography:Coote was educated at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex...
in the NBC TV series Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe (1981 TV series)
Nero Wolfe is a television series based on the characters in Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired January 16 – August 25, 1981, on NBC. William Conrad fills the role of the detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Lee Horsley is his assistant Archie Goodwin...
(1981). In the A&E TV original series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
, Theodore is never seen
Unseen character
In fiction, an unseen character is a character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in...
, but is occasionally mentioned.
The 'Teers
Saul Panzer
Saul Panzer is a top-notch private detective who is frequently hired by Wolfe either to assist Archie or to carry out assignments Wolfe prefers that Archie not know about. Panzer is not an impressive looking character; he dresses sloppily, has a big nose, and almost always needs a shave. Even so, Archie and Wolfe respect Saul immensely. He charges much higher fees than other New York detectives, but Archie insists he's worth every cent. "With an office and a staff, he could have cleaned up, but that wouldn't have left him enough time for playing the piano or playing pinochle or keeping up with his reading, so he preferred to free-lance at seventy bucks a day" ("Champagne for OneChampagne for One
Champagne for One is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1958.The back matter of the 1995 Bantam edition of this book includes an exchange of correspondence between Stout and his editor at Viking Press, Marshall Best...
", Ch. VI).
According to "Murder is Corny", Saul's minimum daily fee is eighty dollars.
Saul occupies different residences in the Wolfe corpus. In The Next Witness, he has an apartment in Manhattan to himself. Its main room has four lamps, a grand piano, a wall with windows, another wall solid with books, and ". . . the other two had pictures and shelves that were cluttered with everything from chunks of minerals to walrus tusks."
The role of Saul Panzer is played by George Wyner
George Wyner
George Wyner is an American film and television actor. He is probably best known for his role as ADA Bernstein on the series Hill Street Blues. Wyner graduated from Syracuse University in 1968 as a drama major, and was an in-demand character actor by the early 1970s. To date, Wyner has made guest...
in the NBC TV series Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe (1981 TV series)
Nero Wolfe is a television series based on the characters in Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired January 16 – August 25, 1981, on NBC. William Conrad fills the role of the detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Lee Horsley is his assistant Archie Goodwin...
(1981); by Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek is a Canadian actor, director, producer and playwright, known for his work in TV, film and the stage.-Early life:...
in the A&E original film The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a made-for-television film based on the 1953 novel by Rex Stout. Set in 1950s Manhattan, the A&E Network production stars Maury Chaykin as the heavyweight detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Timothy Hutton as Wolfe's assistant, Archie Goodwin, narrator of...
(2000); and by Conrad Dunn
Conrad Dunn
Conrad Dunn is an American actor. He began his screen career with the role of Francis "Psycho" Soyer in Stripes . Working for some ten years under the name George Jenesky, he achieved soap-opera stardom in Days of our Lives as Nick Corelli, a misogynistic pimp who evolved from bad guy to romantic...
in the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
(2001–2002).
Fred Durkin
Fred Durkin is a blue-collar investigator who is often hired for mundane tasks such as surveillance. Married with several children, Durkin is honest and likable, but unsophisticated. He is often nervous around Nero Wolfe, whom he once offended by stirring vinegar into a roux for squab at Wolfe's table. To curry favor with Wolfe, he sometimes accepts Wolfe's offer of beer, even though Archie has heard Fred call beer "slop." Archie Goodwin notes that Durkin was "worth at least half as much as Saul – which was his price."In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
(2001–2002) and the series pilot, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a made-for-television film based on the 1953 novel by Rex Stout. Set in 1950s Manhattan, the A&E Network production stars Maury Chaykin as the heavyweight detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Timothy Hutton as Wolfe's assistant, Archie Goodwin, narrator of...
(2000), the role of Fred Durkin is played by Fulvio Cecere
Fulvio Cecere
-Early life:Born to Italian parents, he attended Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, but after one year he realized that acting, not law, was his true calling. He took acting classes at UCLA and starred in a wide array of television and feature film parts over the next few years...
.
Orrie Cather
Orrie Cather is a handsome, personable detective, someone people want to tell things — but he can be too full of himself. In The Mother HuntThe Mother Hunt
The Mother Hunt is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by Viking Press in 1963.-Plot introduction:A baby is left in a young widow's vestibule, along with a note implying that her late husband is the baby's father...
(chapter 9), after Wolfe leaves it to Saul to teach Orrie better manners, Archie warns Wolfe, "You know, if you pile it on enough to give Orrie an inferiority complex it will be a lulu, and a damn good op will be ruined." But Archie, too, has an occasional run-in with Orrie, who thinks he would look just fine sitting at Archie's desk.
Orrie's talents as a professional operative are much narrower than Archie's. He has neither Saul Panzer's genius for tailing, nor his memory for faces, nor his instinct for the best move. And while he's brighter than Fred Durkin, Orrie exhibits little of Fred's bulldog tenacity. But he is handsome, and Stout furnishes him more complex motives than he does Saul or Fred. Ambiguities in Orrie's character are introduced as early as The League of Frightened Men
The League of Frightened Men
The League of Frightened Men is the second Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. The story was serialized in six issues of The Saturday Evening Post under the title The Frightened Men. The novel was published in 1935 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc...
(1935); and by Death of a Doxy
Death of a Doxy
Death of a Doxy is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by Viking Press in 1966.-Plot introduction:Orrie Cather, one of Wolfe's operatives, has been secretly seeing a wealthy man's kept mistress at her secret lovenest...
in 1966, Wolfe states, "You must know that I have no affection for him." In Champagne for One
Champagne for One
Champagne for One is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1958.The back matter of the 1995 Bantam edition of this book includes an exchange of correspondence between Stout and his editor at Viking Press, Marshall Best...
Orrie pulls a major coup, breaking into a suspect's apartment and finding a key document on which the solution of the book's mystery largely hinges – a document which he insists upon handing to Wolfe personally rather than through Goodwin (who reluctantly admits that that was Orrie's due).
Orrie is often the operative Wolfe turns to when an attractive female is involved and Archie is unavailable. His womanizing leads him to become a central character in Death of a Doxy
Death of a Doxy
Death of a Doxy is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by Viking Press in 1966.-Plot introduction:Orrie Cather, one of Wolfe's operatives, has been secretly seeing a wealthy man's kept mistress at her secret lovenest...
. In that novel, Orrie is seeing a woman named Isabel Keating, despite being engaged to an airline stewardess named Jill Hardy. When he attempts to break it off with Isabel, she attempts to force him to continue their affair by threatening to tell his fiancée. Shortly thereafter, Isabel is murdered and Orrie is arrested as the prime suspect. Wolfe is forced to step into the case to clear Orrie's name, and to prevent his own from being associated with a murder trial. The novel ends with Orrie marrying Jill Hardy, who is none the wiser.
Orrie's full first name is one of the inconsistencies in the corpus. In chapter 16 of The Golden Spiders
The Golden Spiders
The Golden Spiders is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. It was first published in 1953 by The Viking Press.-Plot introduction:...
(1953), clothing store owner Bernard Levine states that he was shown "a New York detective license with his picture on it and his name, Orvald Cather." In chapter 3 of If Death Ever Slept
If Death Ever Slept
If Death Ever Slept is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1957 and collected in the omnibus volume Three Trumps .-Plot introduction:...
, Archie calls the office and Orrie answers the phone, "Nero Wolfe's residence. Orville Cather speaking." And, thinking he was clarifying the matter, Rex Stout's biographer John McAleer asked the author, "Is Orrie Cather's given name Orrin?" "Probably," Stout replied.
In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
(2001–2002) and the series pilot, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery
The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a made-for-television film based on the 1953 novel by Rex Stout. Set in 1950s Manhattan, the A&E Network production stars Maury Chaykin as the heavyweight detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Timothy Hutton as Wolfe's assistant, Archie Goodwin, narrator of...
(2000), the role of Orrie Cather is played by Trent McMullen
Trent McMullen
Trent McMullen is a Canadian actor known for his portrayal of freelance detective Orrie Cather in the A&E TV original series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery , and the series pilot, The Golden Spiders: A Nero Wolfe Mystery . In 2010 McMullen starred in Ed Gass-Donnelly's second feature film Small Town Murder...
.
Inspector Cramer
Inspector Cramer of the New York Police Department's Homicide Division is Wolfe's main foil. Cramer resents the high-handed manner in which Wolfe pursues his investigations — particularly Wolfe's tendency to let murderers commit suicide rather than face trial. Cramer is usually assisted by Sergeant Purley Stebbins, and at times by Lt. George Rowcliff.Cramer has enjoyed twitting Wolfe by rising from the red leather chair without using his arms for leverage – something that Wolfe cannot do.
Cramer has considerable respect for Wolfe's investigative skill. In The Doorbell Rang
The Doorbell Rang
The Doorbell Rang is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1965.-Plot introduction:Nero Wolfe is hired to force the FBI to stop wiretapping, tailing and otherwise harassing a woman who gave away 10,000 copies of a book that is critical of the Bureau and...
, Cramer goes to some lengths to keep the state of New York from taking Wolfe's and Archie's licenses as private investigators. And in In the Best Families
In the Best Families
In the Best Families is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1950...
, Cramer says, "Wolfe is too cocky to live ... I would love to bloody his nose for him. I've tried to often enough, and someday I will and enjoy it. But I would hate to see him break his neck on a deal like this where he hasn't got a chance." Cramer is also grateful to Wolfe for saving his job in The Silent Speaker
The Silent Speaker
The Silent Speaker is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1946. It was published just after World War II, and key plot elements reflect the lingering effects of the war: housing shortages and restrictions on consumer goods, including government...
. Near the end of that book, Cramer expresses his gratitude by bringing Wolfe " ... a misshapen object covered with green florist's paper" that turns out to be an orchid.
Cramer shares few, if any, of Wolfe's tastes; in the story "Black Orchids", for example, Wolfe exclaims that the black orchids are unique, matchless and incomparable, Cramer replies that "They're pretty ... Kind of drab, though. Not much color. I like geraniums better."
Cramer is a cigar chewer. In early Nero Wolfe novels, Cramer lights and smokes them (in The Leauge of Frightened Men, he smokes a pipe), but in later novels Archie notes that Cramer only chews on cigars and has never been known to light one. Cramer often ends his visits to Wolfe's office by angrily throwing his chewed cigar at the wastebasket, usually missing the target. Archie suspects that the cigars give Cramer a moment to calm down before he says something regrettable.
Cramer is married and has one son, who fights in the Australian theater during World War II.
Cramer's first name, Fergus, is given once only, in 1940's Where There's a Will. However, his initials are later given as "L.T.C." in 1946's The Silent Speaker
The Silent Speaker
The Silent Speaker is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1946. It was published just after World War II, and key plot elements reflect the lingering effects of the war: housing shortages and restrictions on consumer goods, including government...
, due to Stout's failure to recall that he had earlier given Cramer a first name. This led to Robert Goldsborough
Robert Goldsborough (author)
Robert Gerald Goldsborough is an American author of mystery novels.Goldborough grew up in the Chicago area. Although he worked for 45 years for the Chicago Tribune and Advertising Age, he first came to prominence in the 1980s with the publication, with the approval of the estate of Rex Stout, of...
giving him the full name of "Lionel T. Cramer" in Goldsborough's version of Nero Wolfe novels. "To me he is just Inspector Cramer," Stout said.
Cramer is the protagonist of one Stout novel, Red Threads (1939).
Inspector Cramer was portrayed by Biff McGuire
Biff McGuire
William "Biff" McGuire is an American actor. In recent years he has used the name William Biff McGuire professionally....
in the 1977 TV movie Nero Wolfe, by Allan Miller
Allan Miller
Allan Miller is an American actor, best known for the role of Harland Richards in Santa Barbara.Miller was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Anna and Benedict Miller....
in NBC TV's 1981 series
Nero Wolfe (1981 TV series)
Nero Wolfe is a television series based on the characters in Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired January 16 – August 25, 1981, on NBC. William Conrad fills the role of the detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Lee Horsley is his assistant Archie Goodwin...
, and by Sergey Parshin in Russian TV-series Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin (2001-2002). In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
(2001–2002), the role of Inspector Cramer is played by Bill Smitrovich
Bill Smitrovich
-Personal life:Bill Smitrovich was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Anna and Stanley William Zmitrowicz, a tool and die maker. Bill is a graduate of the University of Bridgeport and holds an MFA from Smith College . He is married to Shaw Purnell from Pittsburgh, PA...
. Archie hears him called Fergus in the episode The Silent Speaker, when he makes the brief acquaintance of Mrs. Cramer.
Sergeant Purley Stebbins
Sergeant Purley Stebbins is Inspector Cramer's assistant. Stebbins is in many ways the archetypal good cop: tough, brave and dedicated, but also gruff and unpolished. Stebbins is ambivalent about Archie, and Archie makes frequent references to the few times Stebbins has let his guard down and called him by his first name. Archie believes that Stebbins harbors some resentment toward him due to the great discrepancy in their salaries, but Stebbins recognizes Archie as an expert and talented detective.In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
(2001–2002), the role of Purley Stebbins is played by R.D. Reid.
Lieutenant Rowcliff
Lieutenant George Rowcliff is a police lieutenant for whom Wolfe harbors special animus, partly due to an incident in which Rowcliff took Wolfe into custody. As Wolfe once puts it, "This whole performance is based on an idiotic assumption, which was natural and indeed inevitable, since Mr. Rowcliff is your champion ass – the assumption that Mr. Goodwin and I are both cretins."As with Cramer, Stout made a continuity error in Rowcliff's first name. Though it is given as George elsewhere, in Please Pass the Guilt his first two initials are stated as "J.M." in a letter dictated by Wolfe.
Rowcliff is the only character acknowledged by Stout to have been consciously modeled and named after a real-life person — a young naval attache under whom Stout served while a yeoman on Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's Presidential Yacht Mayflower
USS Mayflower (PY-1)
USS Mayflower was the second ship in the United States Navy to have that name. Mayflower — a luxurious steam yacht built in 1896 by J. and G. Thompson, Clydebank, Scotland — was purchased by the Navy from the estate of Ogden Goelet and commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 24 March 1898,...
in 1906–07 and to whom Stout took an intense and enduring dislike. Whether or not the connection between the real and fictional Rowcliffs was known contemporaneously, it is clear that the source of Stout’s obnoxious cop suffered no ill effects professionally: Gilbert Jonathan Rowcliff
Gilbert Jonathan Rowcliff
Rear Admiral Gilbert Jonathan Rowcliff was an officer of the United States Navy during the First World War and the Second World War. After early service in the Far East he specialised in gunnery, serving in that capacity on many US Navy capital ships...
went on to a distinguished naval career spanning both world wars, at sea as an honored commander and in Washington as Judge Advocate General, a position he assumed in June 1936, shortly after his namesake was introduced in The Rubber Band
The Rubber Band
The Rubber Band is the third Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. Prior to its publication in 1936 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., the novel was serialized in six issues of The Saturday Evening Post...
. It is also clear that, whether or not the naval Rowcliff followed Stout’s career or read and recognized himself in the Nero Wolfe books, Stout followed his; in an interview with John McAleer, the author dead-panned, “he retired in December 1945, with the rank of rear admiral.”
The role of Rowcliff is played by Bill MacDonald http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0531628/ in the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
(2001–2002).
Others
- Police Commissioner Hombert — In some of the novels the New York police commissioner
- Skinner — District Attorney for Manhattan
- Mandelbaum (aka Mandel) — Assistant District Attorney for Manhattan.
- Cleveland Archer — District Attorney in Westchester County
- Ben Dykes — Head of detectives for Westchester County
- Con Noonan — Lieutenant with the New York State Police. A suburban version of Lieutenant Rowcliff.
Lon Cohen
Lon Cohen is a newspaper editor and/or journalist near the top of the fictional New York Gazette, a major New York daily newspaper. The Stout stories place Cohen's office close to the publisher's, but Archie claims not to know what Cohen's title is. Lon is Archie's pipeline to breaking crime news, and Archie frequently asks Lon for background information on current or prospective clients.Archie, Lon, and some other Wolfe regulars play poker Thursday nights at Saul Panzer's apartment.
Over the years, Wolfe and the Gazette develop a symbiotic relationship that gives the newspaper exclusive information regarding Wolfe's cases, and that gives Wolfe publicity – sometimes, more than he would want.
Lon's role at the New York Gazette is not further detailed in the Rex Stout stories, but it becomes central to the story line in Robert Goldsborough's novel Death on Deadline
Death on Deadline
Death on Deadline is a Nero Wolfe mystery novel by Robert Goldsborough, first published by Bantam in 1987, the second of Goldsborough's seven novels featuring Rex Stout's famous sedentary detective.-Introduction:...
.
In the 1977 TV movie Nero Wolfe, Lon Cohen is played by John Randolph
John Randolph (actor)
John Randolph was an American film, television and stage actor.-Early life:Randolph was born Emanuel Hirsch Cohen in New York City, the son of Jewish immigrants Dorothy , an insurance agent, and Louis Cohen, a hat manufacturer...
. In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
(2001–2002), Lon Cohen is played by Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek is a Canadian actor, director, producer and playwright, known for his work in TV, film and the stage.-Early life:...
.
Lily Rowan
Lily Rowan, heiress and socialite, often appears as Archie Goodwin's romantic companion, although the relationship is not an exclusive one. Lily and Archie meet in Some Buried CaesarSome Buried Caesar
Some Buried Caesar is the sixth Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. The story first appeared in abridged form in The American Magazine , under the title "The Red Bull." It was first published in book form by Farrar & Rinehart in 1939...
, in which she calls him "Escamillo" after his near-encounters with a pastured bull. Subsequently she appears in several stories and provides needed assistance on occasion (see, particularly, In the Best Families
In the Best Families
In the Best Families is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1950...
and A Right to Die
A Right to Die
A Right to Die is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1964.-Plot summary:The novel is set against the background of the Civil Rights Act conflict in the Johnson Administration...
).
Lily is one of the few women for whom Nero Wolfe has a grudging respect: "I have not only eaten her bread and salt, I have eaten her grouse. I am in her debt."
Lily's father, who made his money building New York's sewer system, helped Inspector Cramer get started at the NYPD, and this background sometimes causes Cramer a conflict of interest where Lily is concerned.
In three episodes of the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
(2001–2002) — "Door to Death," "Christmas Party" and "Death of a Doxy" — the role of Lily Rowan is played by Kari Matchett
Kari Matchett
Kari Matchett is a Canadian television and film actress. She played Mariel Underlay in Invasion, Lisa Miller in 24, and Kate Filmore in the cult favorite science fiction movie Cube 2: Hypercube. She currently appears in the USA television series Covert Affairs.-Early years:Matchett was born in...
.
Others
- Marko Vukčić — A fellow Montenegrin whom Wolfe has known since childhood. Marko owns the upscale Rusterman's Restaurant in Manhattan. In later novels, Wolfe acts as the restaurant's trustee following Marko's death.
- Lewis Hewitt — Well-heeled orchid fancier, whom Wolfe saved from notoriety (as told in Black OrchidsBlack OrchidsBlack Orchids is a Nero Wolfe double mystery by Rex Stout published in 1942 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. Stout's first short story collection, the volume is composed of two novellas that had appeared in abridged form in The American Magazine:...
). During a prolonged absence, Wolfe arranges his orchids to be cared for at Hewitt's estate. Hewitt is a member of the Ten for AristologyAristologyAristology is the art or science of cooking and dining. It encompasses the preparation, combination, and presentation of dishes and the manner in which these dishes are integrated into a meal....
, a group of gourmets that figures in "Poison à la Carte" and The Doorbell RangThe Doorbell RangThe Doorbell Rang is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1965.-Plot introduction:Nero Wolfe is hired to force the FBI to stop wiretapping, tailing and otherwise harassing a woman who gave away 10,000 copies of a book that is critical of the Bureau and...
. In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
the role of Hewitt is played by David HemblenDavid HemblenDavid Hemblen is an English-born actor who frequently works in Canadian film, television and theater. He was a mainstay on the television series Earth: Final Conflict, playing Jonathan Doors, and played recurring roles in A Nero Wolfe Mystery and La Femme Nikita . He voiced Magneto on the popular...
. - Nathaniel Parker — Wolfe's lawyer (and occasionally a client's lawyer, on Wolfe's recommendation) when only a lawyer will do. Parker succeeded Henry H. Barber, who played this role earlier in the series. On the way from Henry Barber to Nathaniel Parker, Wolfe consults Henry Parker in chapter 9 of The Golden SpidersThe Golden SpidersThe Golden Spiders is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. It was first published in 1953 by The Viking Press.-Plot introduction:...
. Parker is well educated: for example, Parker converses with Wolfe in French during the story Immune to Murder. In the A&E TV series A Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
, Parker was played by Hrant AlianakHrant AlianakHrant Alianak , also billed as Harant Alianak or Grant Aljanak, is an Armenian-Canadian actor and playwright. In 1988 he was nominated for the Genie Award "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role" for his role in the 1987 film Family Viewing. He played Pete in the 1995 movie with Adam...
in "Prisoner's Base," and by George PlimptonGeorge PlimptonGeorge Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
in "Death of a Doxy" and "Murder is Corny." - Edwin A. "Doc" Vollmer — A medical doctor who is Wolfe's neighbor and occasional confidante. In the novel The Silent SpeakerThe Silent SpeakerThe Silent Speaker is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1946. It was published just after World War II, and key plot elements reflect the lingering effects of the war: housing shortages and restrictions on consumer goods, including government...
, Vollmer certifies an illness severe enough that Wolfe cannot be interrogated by the police. In the A&E television series A Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
Vollmer was played by Ken Kramer in "The Doorbell Rang" and "Disguise for Murder," and by Joe FlahertyJoe FlahertyJoe Flaherty is an American-Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy SCTV, from 1976 to 1984, and as Harold Weir on Freaks and Geeks...
in "The Silent Speaker." - Carla Lovchen — Wolfe's adopted daughter, who appears in two stories, Over My Dead BodyOver My Dead Body (novel)Over My Dead Body is the seventh Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout. The story first appeared in abridged form in The American Magazine...
and The Black MountainThe Black MountainThe Black Mountain is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1954. The story was also collected in the omnibus volume Three Trumps ....
. Her murder in The Black Mountain, as well as that of Marko Vukčić, prompts Wolfe to leave the country for the only time in the series and return to Montenegro. In the A&E television series A Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe MysteryA Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
Carla Lovchen was played by Kari MatchettKari MatchettKari Matchett is a Canadian television and film actress. She played Mariel Underlay in Invasion, Lisa Miller in 24, and Kate Filmore in the cult favorite science fiction movie Cube 2: Hypercube. She currently appears in the USA television series Covert Affairs.-Early years:Matchett was born in...
in the concluding episode of the first season, "Over My Dead Body."
Dol Bonner
Theodolinda "Dol" Bonner is a smart, attractive female private detective, introduced as the protagonist of Rex Stout's 1937 novel The Hand in the GloveThe Hand in the Glove
The Hand in the Glove is a Dol Bonner mystery novel by Rex Stout. It was first published by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., in 1937, and later in paperback by Dell as mapback #177 and, later, by other publishers...
. Head of her own detective agency, she makes another appearance in Stout's Tecumseh Fox
Tecumseh Fox
Tecumseh Fox was a fictional private detective created by Rex Stout to provide some diversity from his housebound and opinionated rival Nero Wolfe....
novel Bad for Business
Bad for Business
Bad for Business is a mystery novel by Rex Stout starring his detective Tecumseh Fox, first published in 1940. Private investigator Tecumseh Fox was the protagonist of three mysteries published by Stout between 1939 and 1941.-Publication history:...
(1940). Dol plays a major role in the Nero Wolfe novella Too Many Detectives, and she is employed by Wolfe in If Death Ever Slept
If Death Ever Slept
If Death Ever Slept is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1957 and collected in the omnibus volume Three Trumps .-Plot introduction:...
and Plot It Yourself
Plot It Yourself
Plot It Yourself is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1959, and also collected in the omnibus volume Kings Full of Aces .-Plot introduction:...
.
In Lady Against the Odds, a 1992 TV adaptation of The Hand in the Glove, Dol Bonner is played by Crystal Bernard
Crystal Bernard
Crystal Lynn Bernard is an American actress and singer, most widely known for her seven-year-long role on the situation comedy Wings. While her main work has been on television, she has appeared in some films, and also attempted to pursue a music career as a songwriter/performer.-Early...
.
Sally Corbett
Wolfe and Archie first meet Dol Bonner's assistant Sally Corbett (aka Sally Colt) in the first chapter of Too Many Detectives, when they are summoned to Albany for questioning about wiretapping activities. Archie starts his report by stating, "I am against female detectives on principle." Still Sally Colt, she is again called on to help out in If Death Ever SleptIf Death Ever Slept
If Death Ever Slept is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1957 and collected in the omnibus volume Three Trumps .-Plot introduction:...
. In Plot It Yourself
Plot It Yourself
Plot It Yourself is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1959, and also collected in the omnibus volume Kings Full of Aces .-Plot introduction:...
, it is a Sally Corbett, not Colt, who helps out on Wolfe's case: "Sally Corbett was one of the two women who, a couple of years back, had made me feel that there might be some flaw in my attitude toward female dicks," Archie writes. Sally Colt/Corbett makes a final appearance in The Mother Hunt
The Mother Hunt
The Mother Hunt is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by Viking Press in 1963.-Plot introduction:A baby is left in a young widow's vestibule, along with a note implying that her late husband is the baby's father...
, in which Archie again remarks that Sally and Dol had made him change his attitude about female detectives.
Sally Corbett is played by Manon von Gerkan
Manon von Gerkan
Manon von Gerkan is a German model and actress. who reached the height of her popularity during the 1990s. She is the daughter of German architect Meinhard von Gerkan and a former girlfriend of American illusionist and stunt performer David Blaine.- External links :...
in Motherhunt, part of the second season of the A&E original series A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
A Nero Wolfe Mystery is a television series adapted from Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired for two seasons on the A&E Network. Set in New York City in the early 1950s, the stylized period drama stars Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin...
(2001–2002).
Others
- Bill Gore — Freelance operative occasionally called in when Wolfe requires additional help in the field.
- Johnny Keems — operative occasionally called in by Wolfe. He makes his last appearance in the novel Might as Well Be DeadMight As Well Be DeadMight as Well Be Dead is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1956. The story was also collected in the omnibus volume Three Aces .-Plot introduction:...
. - Del Bascom — Independent investigator who runs a large detective agency in Manhattan. Wolfe sometimes subcontracts to Bascom when he needs more operatives than usual (The Silent SpeakerThe Silent SpeakerThe Silent Speaker is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1946. It was published just after World War II, and key plot elements reflect the lingering effects of the war: housing shortages and restrictions on consumer goods, including government...
, for example). - Herb Aronson and Al Goller — Cabdrivers hired by Archie for mobile surveillance work.
Arnold Zeck
Arnold Zeck appears in three Nero Wolfe novels. Zeck is a mysterious and powerful crime boss possessed of a superior intellect. He and Wolfe become mutual admirers and antagonists in the course of several cases.Zeck’s malevolent presence intrudes via telephone in two novels, And Be a Villain
And Be a Villain
And Be a Villain is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1948...
(1948) and The Second Confession
The Second Confession
The Second Confession is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1949. The story was collected in the omnibus volume Triple Zeck ....
(1949). Zeck had previously telephoned Wolfe twice: on June 9, 1943, concerning Wolfe’s work for General Carpenter; and on January 16, 1946, regarding Mrs. Tremont.
Zeck himself appears in In the Best Families
In the Best Families
In the Best Families is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1950...
(1950), the third book of what is popularly called The Zeck Trilogy, in which Nero Wolfe finds it necessary to defeat Zeck once and for all. In 1974, the Viking Press collected the three Zeck novels in an omnibus volume, Triple Zeck.
"I was thrilled when Wolfe finally encountered his own Moriarty
Professor Moriarty
Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and the archenemy of the detective Sherlock Holmes in the fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the "Napoleon of Crime". Doyle lifted the phrase from a real Scotland Yard inspector who was...
in the archvillain Arnold Zeck," wrote Michael Dirda
Michael Dirda
Michael Dirda , a Fulbright Fellowship recipient, is a Pulitzer Prize–winning book critic for the Washington Post.-Career:Having studied at Oberlin College for his undergraduate degree, Dirda took a Ph.D. from Cornell University in comparative literature. In 1978 Dirda started writing for the...
, Pulitzer Prize-winning book critic for The Washington Post. British author and literary critic David Langford
David Langford
David Rowland Langford is a British author, editor and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter Ansible.-Personal background:...
has also noted that the relationship between Zeck and Wolfe compares to that of Professor Moriarty
Professor Moriarty
Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and the archenemy of the detective Sherlock Holmes in the fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the "Napoleon of Crime". Doyle lifted the phrase from a real Scotland Yard inspector who was...
and Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
.
The role of Arnold Zeck (renamed Arnold Dorso) is played by Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia is an American film and television actor and director.- Early life :Loggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island, the son of Elena Blandino, a homemaker, and Benjamin Loggia, a shoemaker, both of whom were born in Sicily, Italy...
in In the Best Families. an episode of the 1981 NBC TV series Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe (1981 TV series)
Nero Wolfe is a television series based on the characters in Rex Stout's classic series of detective stories that aired January 16 – August 25, 1981, on NBC. William Conrad fills the role of the detective genius Nero Wolfe, and Lee Horsley is his assistant Archie Goodwin...
.
External links
- The Nero Wolfe Database, an editable resource offering character and plot summaries for all of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories