Johnny Staccato (1959)

Season 1

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.

Released Sept. 10, 1959 Episode 30 min 10+

Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Keywords: tmdb.new-york-city, tmdb.jazz, tmdb.private-investigator, imdb.character-name-as-series-title, imdb.two-word-series-title, imdb.jazz-pianist, imdb.plate + 86 more, imdb.bookstore, imdb.family-man, imdb.police-sergeant, imdb.dame, imdb.pageant, imdb.fence, imdb.pacifism, imdb.alley, imdb.dead-ringer, imdb.dance-hall, imdb.cigarette-smoking, imdb.death, imdb.boyfriend-girlfriend-relationship, imdb.husband-wife-relationship, imdb.pay-phone, imdb.detective, imdb.private-detective, imdb.pianist, imdb.apartment, imdb.government, imdb.concert-pianist, imdb.vigilante, imdb.soldier, imdb.beauty-pageant, imdb.mobster, imdb.china, imdb.fencing, imdb.ventriloquist, imdb.pacifist, imdb.bodyguard, imdb.criminal, imdb.bowling, imdb.bowling-alley, imdb.sister, imdb.counterfeiting, imdb.investigator, imdb.trumpet, imdb.trumpet-player, imdb.racketeer, imdb.veteran, imdb.korean-war, imdb.korean-war-veteran, imdb.hospital, imdb.psychiatric-hospital, imdb.jazz-music, imdb.reference-to-santa-claus, imdb.robbery, imdb.store, imdb.narcotics, imdb.racket, imdb.narcotics-officer, imdb.murder, imdb.double-cross, imdb.hoodlum, imdb.poet, imdb.airplane, imdb.gun, imdb.coffee, imdb.escalator, imdb.phone-booth, imdb.police, imdb.hat, imdb.fedora, imdb.cafe, imdb.taxi, imdb.barman, imdb.art, imdb.beatnik, imdb.bar, imdb.arizona, imdb.briefcase, imdb.frame, imdb.boxer, imdb.neighborhood, imdb.immigrant, imdb.swindler, imdb.bandleader, imdb.scandal, imdb.musician, imdb.jazz-club, imdb.greenwich-village-manhattan-new-york-city, imdb.private-eye, imdb.new-york-city, imdb.name-in-title, imdb.jazz-score, imdb.jazz-musician

Production Companies: Revue Studios

Network: NBC

Country: United States
Languages: English

IMDb

7.9

/303/

Trakt

/7/

TMDb

/6/

Robert B. Sinclair
Director

John Cassavetes
Johnny Staccato

Eduardo Ciannelli
Waldo

Garry Walberg
Police Sgt. 'Sully' Sullivan

Joseph Sargent

Wally Brown

Elisha Cook Jr.

J. Pat O'Malley

Bert Freed

S1E1 - The Naked Truth

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

Sept. 10, 1959, midnight

S1E2 - Murder for Credit

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

Sept. 17, 1959, midnight

S1E3 - Parents

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

Sept. 24, 1959, midnight

S1E4 - Shop of the Four Winds

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

Oct. 8, 1959, midnight

S1E5 - The Nature of the Night

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.

Oct. 15, 1959, midnight

S1E6 - Viva, Paco!

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

Oct. 22, 1959, midnight

S1E7 - Evil

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.

Oct. 29, 1959, midnight

S1E8 - Murder in Hi-fi

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.

Nov. 5, 1959, midnight

S1E9 - Fly, Baby, Fly

A millionaire hires Johnny as part of a plan to murder his wife (Gena Rowlands).

Nov. 12, 1959, midnight

2.0

S1E10 - Tempted

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 hav

Nov. 19, 1959, midnight

S1E11 - The Poet's Touch

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.

Nov. 26, 1959, midnight

S1E12 - The Wild Reed

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

March 24, 1960, midnight

S1E13 - A Piece of Paradise

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.

Dec. 10, 1959, midnight

S1E14 - The Return

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,

Dec. 17, 1959, midnight

S1E15 - The Unwise Men

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.

Dec. 24, 1959, midnight

S1E16 - Collector's Item

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

Dec. 31, 1959, midnight

S1E17 - Man in the Pit

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.

Jan. 7, 1960, midnight

S1E18 - The Only Witness

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.

Jan. 14, 1960, midnight

S1E19 - Night of Jeopardy

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

Jan. 21, 1960, midnight

S1E20 - Double Feature

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

Jan. 28, 1960, midnight

S1E21 - The List Of Death

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

Feb. 4, 1960, midnight

S1E22 - Solomon

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

Feb. 11, 1960, midnight

S1E23 - An Act of Terror

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.

Feb. 18, 1960, midnight

S1E24 - An Angry Young Man

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.

Feb. 25, 1960, midnight