Johnny Staccato
1959 · Crime, Drama, Mystery · 1 Season · 27 Episodes ·
Jazz pianist Johnny Staccato supplements his meager musician's income by working as a private detective. The background for many of the episodes is his friend "Waldo's" jazz club in New York City's Greenwich Village, featuring performances by the Pete Candoli jazz combo which included Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne, Red Mitchell, Red Norvo and Johnny Williams. The theme was composed by Elmer Bernstein.
Episodes
1. The Naked TruthA young singer is faced with the loss of his promising career because of a scandal magazine's blackmail scheme.
2. Murder for CreditA bandleader, making a comeback, learns that someone is trying to poison him. But four people might want him killed...
3. Parents""The parents"" have agreed to sell their child to a black-market racketeer. Now they tell Johnny they want to keep the child.
4. Shop of the Four WindsInvestigating the murder of a Japanese friend, Johnny uncovers a scheme to swindle immigrants by promising them citizenship papers.
5. The Nature of the NightDave, the new young bartender at Waldo's, comes under suspicion when a number of blonde women are slashed nearby. Johnny uncovers some darkly disturbing information.
6. Viva, Paco!When a Puerto Rican boxer goes missing just before a championship fight, Johnny suspects foul play.
7. EvilJohnny Staccato learns from his friend Barney that Barney's sister has given all her money to a local mission house. Knowing that the mission wouldn't ordinarily accept so much, Staccato suspects a bunco scheme.
8. Murder in Hi-fiAn underworld boss forces Waldo to hire singer Barbara Ames. Then Johnny gets interested in the girl--and is beaten up by a couple of thugs.
9. Fly, Baby, FlyA millionaire hires Johnny as part of a plan to murder his wife (Gena Rowlands).
10. TemptedElizabeth Montgomery plays a rare pre-Bewitched role as a floozy jazz groupie who's the ex-wife of one of Staccato's former band mates. Out of the blue she shows up at Waldo's the jazz club (and Staccato's ""office"") to enlist Staccato's help, telling him she's almost just been robbed of expensive jewelry she was taking from work. What she was doing with the jewels and why she was taking them from the store she works at piques Staccato's interest (as does the fast-talking and shapely Ms. Montgomery). He's immediately suspicious, but cautiously takes on the case. While he's escorting her home (supposedly with the jewels) they're accosted by a mugger who knocks Staccato out, grabs the jewels, and takes off. The next morning, nursing the bump on his head, Staccato gets a visit from an insurance adjuster who reads him the riot act. Unfazed, Johnny tells the adjuster to take a hike, goes into the bathroom and viola! pulls the jewels out from the soap dispenser. Who set him up? Could it have
11. The Poet's TouchWorking on a murder case, Johnny Staccato trails two suspects to their hideout. With them is beatnik poet Dick Potter, whom the men attempt to implicate in the crime.
12. The Wild ReedWhen Frankie Aspen's saxophone-playing takes a sudden turn for the worse, Johnny determines to find out what is bothering him.
13. A Piece of ParadiseA dance-hall girl is murdered, and Police Sergeant Joe Gillan suspects ex-jockey Stash McGill, a friend of the dead girl. Gillan asks Johnny Staccato if he can help locate McGill.
14. The ReturnKorean War veteran Eddie Dasko escapes from a mental hospital. Dasko is sure that his wife has been seeing another man, and he intends to kill her,
15. The Unwise MenJohnny tries to help a musician who, while moonlighting as a department-store Santa Claus, is being pressured by his ex-con brother to help set up a robbery at the store.
16. Collector's ItemA man called Red Top kills Hannah Green, but pianist Romeo Jefferson is the chief suspect until Staccato suspects that Romeo has been framed.
17. Man in the PitA young man enters Waldo's and attacks Pete, the trumpet player. Johnny Staccato learns that the youth thinks Pete is his father, who deserted the family years before.
18. The Only WitnessWealthy racketeer Barney Buford calls Johnny Staccato to ask him to look after his young sister, Karen. As he approaches Buford's apartment, Staccato is shot at by a gunman. Then inside, he finds Buford dead.
19. Night of JeopardyTo evade Federal agents, a gang of counterfeiters hide their plates. Convinced that Waldo knows the hiding place, they threaten his life.
20. Double FeatureA bowling-alley proprietor is found murdered, and Johnny Staccato is identified as the killer.
21. The List Of DeathA hunted criminal hires Staccato as a bodyguard and promises to turn himself over to police in exchange for letting him visit family members.
22. SolomonJessica Winthrop, a noted pacifist, is accused of killing her husband. Solomon Bradshaw, the lady's lawyer, comes to Johnny Staccato for help.
23. An Act of TerrorVentriloquist Thad Clinton drops in to ask Staccato if he'll help locate his missing wife. Johnny finds out that the woman has been murdered.
24. An Angry Young ManJohnny becomes concerned when an ambitious young man, whose family he has known for years, starts working in a bookshop that is just a cover for a criminal enterprise.
25. The Mask of JasonJohnny is hired to bodyguard an aspiring actress (Mary Tyler Moore) who is being terrorized by a man with a horribly scarred face.
26. A Nice Little TownWhen a former soldier returns home after having defected to Red China, he is murdered by a group of vigilantes.
27. Swinging Long HairStaccato is mistaken for a concert pianist who has come to the United States to avoid his repressive government.
