Johnny Staccato

1959
Johnny Staccato

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 The Naked Truth Sep 10, 1959

A young singer is faced with the loss of his promising career because of a scandal magazine's blackmail scheme.

EP2 Murder for Credit Sep 17, 1959

A bandleader, making a comeback, learns that someone is trying to poison him. But four people might want him killed...

EP3 Parents Sep 24, 1959

""The parents"" have agreed to sell their child to a black-market racketeer. Now they tell Johnny they want to keep the child.

EP4 Shop of the Four Winds Oct 08, 1959

Investigating the murder of a Japanese friend, Johnny uncovers a scheme to swindle immigrants by promising them citizenship papers.

EP5 The Nature of the Night Oct 15, 1959

Dave, 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.

EP6 Viva, Paco! Oct 22, 1959

When a Puerto Rican boxer goes missing just before a championship fight, Johnny suspects foul play.

EP7 Evil Oct 29, 1959

Johnny 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.

EP8 Murder in Hi-fi Nov 05, 1959

An 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.

EP9 Fly, Baby, Fly Nov 12, 1959

Johnny is hired by tough-guy millionaire Guy Fletcher to transport a locked valise containing valuable gems to Arizona. Once aboard the plane Johnny meets Nina, who turns out to be Fletcher's beautiful wife. This is no coincidence, however, as Johnny learns he isn't carrying jewels after all. Fletcher has provided him with a bomb set to explode during the flight, in an insidious plot to murder her.

EP10 Tempted Nov 19, 1959

Elizabeth 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

EP11 The Poet's Touch Nov 26, 1959

Working 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.

EP12 The Wild Reed Mar 24, 1960

When Frankie Aspen's saxophone-playing takes a sudden turn for the worse, Johnny determines to find out what is bothering him.

EP13 A Piece of Paradise Dec 10, 1959

A 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.

EP14 The Return Dec 17, 1959

Korean 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,

EP15 The Unwise Men Dec 24, 1959

Johnny 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.

EP16 Collector's Item Dec 31, 1959

A man called Red Top kills Hannah Green, but pianist Romeo Jefferson is the chief suspect until Staccato suspects that Romeo has been framed.

EP17 Man in the Pit Jan 07, 1960

A 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.

EP18 The Only Witness Jan 14, 1960

Wealthy 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.

EP19 Night of Jeopardy Jan 21, 1960

To evade Federal agents, a gang of counterfeiters hide their plates. Convinced that Waldo knows the hiding place, they threaten his life.

EP20 Double Feature Jan 28, 1960

A bowling-alley proprietor is found murdered, and Johnny Staccato is identified as the killer.

EP21 The List Of Death Feb 04, 1960

A hunted criminal hires Staccato as a bodyguard and promises to turn himself over to police in exchange for letting him visit family members.

EP22 Solomon Feb 11, 1960

Jessica Winthrop, a noted pacifist, is accused of killing her husband. Solomon Bradshaw, the lady's lawyer, comes to Johnny Staccato for help.

EP23 An Act of Terror Feb 18, 1960

Ventriloquist Thad Clinton drops in to ask Staccato if he'll help locate his missing wife. Johnny finds out that the woman has been murdered.

EP24 An Angry Young Man Feb 25, 1960

Johnny 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.

EP25 The Mask of Jason Mar 03, 1960

Johnny is hired to bodyguard an aspiring actress who is being terrorized by a man with a horribly scarred face.

EP26 A Nice Little Town Mar 10, 1960

When a former soldier returns home after having defected to Red China, he is murdered by a group of vigilantes.

EP27 Swinging Long Hair Mar 17, 1960

Staccato is mistaken for a concert pianist who has come to the United States to avoid his repressive government.
7.9| 0h30m| TV-PG| en| More Info
Released: 10 September 1959 Ended
Producted By: Revue Studios
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Johnny Staccato is an American private detective series which ran for 27 episodes on NBC from September 10, 1959 through March 24, 1960.

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Reviews

Bill Milosz One of the best TV detective shows. Cool, if improbable. The gritty NYC location shots compare favorably with other great programs of the era like NAKED CITY, but are somewhat more moody. The beatnik characters are less goofy than the patronizing look at the Beats that Peter Gunn features. It's just an altogether hip show.EPISODE LIST http://epguides.com/JohnnyStaccato/ Season 11. 1- 1 12901 10 Sep 59 The Naked Truth2. 1- 2 12906 17 Sep 59 Murder for Credit3. 1- 3 12912 24 Sep 59 Parents4. 1- 4 12904 8 Oct 59 Shop of the Four Winds5. 1- 5 12914 15 Oct 59 The Nature of the Night6. 1- 6 12916 22 Oct 59 Viva, Paco!7. 1- 7 12918 29 Oct 59 Evil8. 1- 8 12902 5 Nov 59 Murder in Hi-fi9. 1- 9 12915 12 Nov 59 Fly, Baby, Fly10. 1-10 12913 19 Nov 59 Tempted11. 1-11 12911 26 Nov 59 The Poet's Touch12. 1-12 12926 10 Dec 59 A Piece of Paradise13. 1-13 12923 17 Dec 59 The Return14. 1-14 12922 24 Dec 59 The Unwise Men15. 1-15 12921 31 Dec 59 Collector's Item16. 1-16 12907 7 Jan 60 Man in the Pit17. 1-17 12930 14 Jan 60 The Only Witness18. 1-18 12927 21 Jan 60 Night of Jeopardy19. 1-19 12931 28 Jan 60 Double Feature20. 1-20 12929 4 Feb 60 List of Death21. 1-21 12925 11 Feb 60 Solomon22. 1-22 12920 18 Feb 60 An Act of Terror23. 1-23 12903 25 Feb 60 An Angry Young Man24. 1-24 12939 3 Mar 60 The Mask of Jason25. 1-25 12935 10 Mar 60 A Nice Little Town26. 1-26 12919 17 Mar 60 Swinging Long Hair27. 1-27 12905 24 Mar 60 The Wild Reed
Dewey1960 This short-lived (one season, 1959/60) television detective series is without a doubt, the definitive example of what can now be termed TV Noir, riding high atop a list including such programs as Peter Gunn and 77 Sunset Strip. But JOHNNY STACCATO had much more going for it than those other shows, mainly the presence of the mighty John Cassavetes who starred as the jazz pianist turned Greenwich Village private detective. He also directed a handful of the 27 total episodes. The only other regular character was Waldo (veteran character actor Eduardo Ciannelli), the crusty old proprietor of Waldo's, the jazz club where Staccato hung out. On any given show the "house band" might include Johnny Williams (before he became Academy Award-winning composer JOHN Williams), Red Mitchell, Ray Brown, Barney Kessel and Shelly Manne. In addition to Cassavetes, other directors who stepped in were Joe Pevney, John Brahm, Boris Sagal and Paul Henreid. Among the crack cinematographers on the show were Ben Kline ("Detour") and Lionel Lindon ("The Manchurian Candidate"). Each of the 27 episodes are fantastic in their way, but among the stand-outs are: MURDER FOR CREDIT with Charles McGraw as an egocentric jazz musician; THE NATURE OF THE NIGHT with Dean Stockwell as a psychotic slasher; EVIL with Alexander Scourby as a corrupt religious leader; FLY BABY FLY with Gena Rowlands as the target of a bomb planted on an airplane that Staccato's also on; TEMPTED with Elizabeth Montgomery as an old flame of Johnny's; DOUBLE FEATURE with Cassavetes in a dual role; THE LIST OF DEATH with the great Paul Stewart, SOLOMON with Elisha Cook Jr as a megalomaniac attorney and Cloris Leachman as a mysterious vixen; THE MASK OF JASON with a pre- Dick Van Dyke Mary Tyler Moore; A NICE LITTLE TOWN, a Twilight-Zonish episode and THE WILD REED with Harry Guardino as a heroin addicted jazz musician. Lots of VHS tapes and now DVDs are floating around offering up most of the episodes with varying quality, depending on the original source material. Many are taken directly from 16mm television prints. It's truly criminal that MCA doesn't release a full DVD collection of this show, given its incredible credentials and consistently excellent quality. I CANNOT RECOMMEND THESE EPISODES MORE HIGHLY, they are simply superb in every respect. 10 out of 10.
bahopper Despite Cassavetes' sometimes intense acting style (or maybe because of it), "JOHNNY STACCATO" was easily one of my favorite TV shows of the late 50s, early 60s. It had a dark-haired, bedroom-eyed, brooding hero and it had jazz - really GOOD jazz, sometimes even great jazz by big names like Pete Condoli and Ray Brown and Mel Lewis (the latter two would later form one-half of the MJQ). East coast jazz mixed with private eyes was a popular theme in that black and white era (think "PETER GUNN" and "FIVE FINGER EXERCISE" with David Hedison and Luciana somebody as his OTT Italian girlfriend). STACCATO didn't last more than one year but it was well-written, beautifully shot, and certainly caught the zeitgeist in its web. There is even one episode that starred a young Mary Tyler Moore. Get a copy on CD or video and prepare to be impressed.
raysond JOHNNY STACCATO: Produced by Revue Productions/Universal Television and ran for just one season on NBC-TV from 1959-1960. In all 27 episodes were produced all in black and white. Starring John Cassavetes with Bert Freed and Eduardo Ciannelli. Filmed on location in New York City.This was in fact one of the coolest,hippest detective shows that I ever had the pleasure of watching and believe me this was just one "cool" incredible show that centered around the mixture of intrigue,suspense and mystery and all with a truly remarkable jazz score! However the censors canned this show for being too violent or too explicit,but who cares! This short-lived series showcased John Cassavetes' terrific acting ability which would propel him to the next level as one of the most influential American artists in American cimema.In other words,this would be the only TV-series that Cassavetes would star in. He plays Johnny Staccato,a jazz musician who moonlights as a private investigator who is surrounded by mobsters,beatniks,hop-heads,crooked musicians,and femme fatals. It's was such a treat that certain guest stars would make their appearances on this show:stars like Martin Landau Micheal Landon,Yvonne Craig,Tina Louise,Norman Fell,Jack Klugman,and the musical stylings of Shelly Mann and his band. If you should ever catch this show,you'll be glad you did since cable channel TRIO shows this short-lived series every so often. Worth viewing.