Mannix
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Mannix is the name of a television detective series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. Developed by executive producer Bruce Geller (who also created Mission: Impossible), the title character played by Mike Connors is an American private investigator of Armenian heritage.
During the first season of the series Joe Mannix worked for a large detective agency, Intertect. His superior was Lew Wickersham, played by Joseph Campanella. Mannix belonged to the classic American detective archetype and thus usually disobeyed his boss's orders.
From the second season on, Mannix worked on his own, with the assistance of his loyal secretary Peggy Fair, played by Gail Fisher (one of the first African-American actresses to have a regular series role).
Joe Mannix was a regular guy, without pretense. What demons he had mostly came from his having fought with the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Unfortunately a large percentage of his old Army buddies turned out to have homicidal impulses against him.
Joe Mannix was notable for taking a lot of punishment. During the course of the series he was shot and wounded any number of times and knocked unconscious far more. Whenever Mannix got into one of his convertibles he could expect to be shot at from another car, run off the road by another car, or find his vehicle sabotaged. Nevertheless he kept his cool and persevered until his antagonists were brought down.
Mannix featured a dynamic split-screen opening credits sequence set to theme music from noted composer Lalo Schifrin.
For his work on Mannix, Mike Connors was nominated for four Emmy Awards but not winning any, and for four Golden Globe Awards winning once. Gail Fisher was nominated for four Emmys winning once, and for three Golden Globes winning twice. The series itself was nominated for best dramatic series twice by the Emmys but not winning, and four times by the Golden Globes winning once.
External links
- IMDb entry (http://imdb.com/title/tt0061277/combined)
- Mannix fan web site (http://www.jmannix.net/)