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On the old action shoot 'em up 'Mannix', what was the character name of Joe's secretary?

Peggy Fair. Peggy Fair was ably played by Gail Fisher, a fine African American actress. Fisher won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her perfomance in 1969. Unfortunately this was the only major role of her career. Peggy joined the show in the second season, after Joe quit his job at Intertect and hung out his own shingle. Peggy had an uncanny knack of knowing when Joe was in trouble and needed help. She bailed him out of many a tight spot. Mannix is considered by many to be the most violent detective show in TV history. In almost every episode Joe is injured in some way. During the course of the series he is shot several times, stabbed, pistol whipped, knocked unconcious( this was a real favorite, it happened almost every week), thrown from moving vehicles, thrown down the spillway of a dam, etc, etc. Mike Connors (Joe Mannix) was born Krekor Ohanian in Fresno, California. Young Krekor went to UCLA and played basketball for the Bruins, same as Joe Mannix did on the show. Early in his acting career he went by the name 'Touch Connors', a carryover from his basketball playing days. Just in case you were wondering, Mannix was not a Quinn Martin production. Boo, hiss! {Update;} Gail fisher died on December 2nd, 2000 of kidney failure. She was 65 years old.

On 'Dragnet' what was Detective Joe Friday's Los Angeles Police Department badge number?

714. Friday's badge was always shown during the opening credits of the show. This show was Jack Webb's baby. It started as a radio show in 1949, came to TV in 1952 and ran until 1959, was resurrected in 1967 and the curtain finally came down in 1970. Webb produced the show through his company, Mark VII, and later through Dragnet Productions. He also wrote and directed many of the episodes. Alas, still no Quinn Martin!

Which one of these was NOT a main character in 'The Mod Squad'?

Billy Randle. Our old buddy Aaron Spelling served up this piece of dreck about three kids who avoided jail time by becoming stoolies for the Man. Rich boy Pete was arrested for grand theft auto, Linc got nabbed during the Watts riots, and poor little Julie had gotten busted after running away from her prostitute mother. The whole premise of the show was that these unfortunate three were to infiltrate the counter culture and help the cops catch the 'bad guys'. Could have been called 'The Coerced Squad'. Needless to say, no one ever got Mirandized on this show. Once again, Quinn Martin is conspicuous by his absence. He left this kind of drivel to the real hacks, like Spelling!

What was the name of the 1970's cop drama that made Michael Douglas a star?

The Streets of San Francisco & Streets of San Francisco & Streets. Douglas played Inspector Steve Keller, a brash rookie cop opposite Karl Malden's crusty Detective Lieutenent Mike Stone. Kirk's boy certainly owes a debt of gratitude to the man who gave him his big break. That's right, our man Quinn Martin called the shots on 'Streets'. This one is QM all the way!

What was the name of Detective Tony Baretta's pet cockatoo?

Fred. Robert Blake, the star of 'Baretta' got his start in acting at the age of five playing Mickey in MGM's 'Our Gang' series. Born Mickey Gubitosi, he changed his stage name to Bobby Blake in 1940, and afterward starred as Little Beaver in the 'Red Ryder' series of westerns. ( Yes, THAT Red Ryder, of BB gun fame!) Blake gained fame as an adult playing Perry Smith in Truman Capote's chilling 1967 masterpiece 'In Cold Blood'. No Quinn Martin here folks.

What was the name of Thomas Magnum's elusive employer on 'Magnum P.I.'?

Robin Masters. Although Robin Masters was never seen on the show his voice was played by none other than Orson Welles. Those of you who guessed Jonathan Higgins are forgetting that Higgins was in charge of the estate, Magnum was in charge of security, but they both worked for Masters, who was supposed to be a bestselling author. If Higgins could have gotten rid of Magnum, he would have. Steven Spielberg originally wanted Tom Selleck to play the part of Indiana Jones in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', but the filming schedule conflicted with his work on Magnum, so he had to decline. Soon after, Selleck went on to make his own period action movie, the eminently forgettable 'High Road to China'. Unfortunately, QM had nothing to do with Magnum.

Jack Klugman's character on 'Quincy' was loosely based on a Los Angeles County official known as 'The Coroner to the Stars'. Who is this man?

Thomas Noguchi. Noguchi was Los Angeles County's chief medical examiner for many years. He performed autopsies on many celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy, Natalie Wood and Janis Joplin. Many accused Noguchi of botching the job on RFK, saying he did more to hinder the investigation than he did to help it. Surprisingly, Quincy was not a Quinn Martin production. It was produced by Quinn's arch-rival Glenn A. Larson.

What was Barnaby Jones' favorite beverage?

Milk. Of course Barnaby was played by everyone's favorite ex-hillbilly, Buddy Ebsen. He was always swilling the moo juice to help with gastric difficulties. This one was definately a Quinn Martin Production. The Master' s genius was evident in almost every episode!

On 'Hawaii Five-O', what was the character name of the main bad guy?

Wo Fat. Wo Fat, Detective Steve McGarrett's nemesis, was played menacingly by Khigh Dhigh. He was the number one agent for the Red Chinese on the islands, damn stinkin' commie! He was involved in every kind of aberrant behavior one can think of. Assassination attempts, drug smuggling, white slavery, fomenting civil unrest, stealing hub caps, confidence schemes, animal abuse, ripping off tourists, making shave ice without a license, just to name a few. He was one bad dude, and as slippery as the day is long. Kind of a Moriarty in silk pajamas, if you will. Wo Fat was a main player on the show from 1968 to 1976, and he came back for the series finale in 1980. Unfortunately, James MacArthur had left the show by then, so when they finally arrested Wo Fat, McGarrett didn't get to say 'Book 'em Danno'! Serious bummer! This was not a Quinn Martin Production, and for good reason. Apparently, Quinn had a terrible fear of ukeleles, and therefore, never set foot on the islands!

Lieutenant Theo Kojak was particularly fond of a certain delicious treat. What was it?

Lollipops. Kojak could be counted on to do at least two things during each episode. One was to be seen with a lollipop hanging out of his great big melon of a head, the other was to say 'Who loves ya, baby'? I always thought the 'baby' thing was odd. He would say it to anyone, criminals, shoeshine boys, other cops, circus performers, garbage men, anyone! If he considered this a pick up line, Kojak was one sick puppy. Telly Savalas' brother George played the role of Detective Stavros on the show. He was the heavyset guy with the frizzy black hair. No nepotism here, eh? Alas, this is another show that our boy Quinn had nothing to do with. It was produced by the evil corporate giant Universal Television.