Johnny Staccato Explained

Alt Name:	Staccato
Genre:	Crime drama
Starring:	John Cassavetes Eduardo Ciannelli
Composer:	Elmer Bernstein
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Num Seasons:	1
Num Episodes:	27
Executive Producer:	William Frye
Producer:	Everett Chambers
Editor:	Irving Schoenberg, A.C.E. Eugene Pendleton Edward Haire
Cinematography:	Lionel Lindon A.S.C. Ray Cory William A. Sickner John F. Warren A.S.C. Bud Thackery John L. Russell
Runtime:	30 min. (approx)
Company:	Revue Studios
Channel:	NBC

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

Synopsis

Titular character Johnny Staccato, played by John Cassavetes, is a jazz pianist/private detective. The setting for many episodes is a Greenwich Village jazz club belonging to his friend, Waldo, played by Eduardo Ciannelli. The show featured many musicians, such as Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne, Milt Holland, Red Mitchell, Red Norvo, and Johnny Williams. (Although the show was set in New York City, all of these men were closely identified with the West Coast jazz scene, and it was filmed largely in Los Angeles.) Elmer Bernstein composed both of the main theme tunes used and Stanley Wilson was music supervisor. Cassavetes also directed five episodes.

After its initial airing on NBC, ABC presented reruns of the series from March 27 to September 25, 1960.^[1]

On October 12, 2010, the series was released on Region 1 DVD by Timeless Media Group.

Episodes have aired on stations specializing in nostalgia programming, such as GetTV.

Notable guest stars

• Warren Berlinger
• Geraldine Brooks
• Walter Burke
• Elisha Cook, Jr. (twice)
• Lloyd Corrigan
• Frank DeKova
• Norman Fell
• Marianne Gaba
• Ingrid Goude
• Harry Guardino
• Arline Hunter
• Martin Landau
• Michael Landon
• Cloris Leachman
• Ruta Lee
• Sylvia Lewis
• Charles McGraw
• John Marley
• Elizabeth Montgomery
• Mary Tyler Moore
• Susan Oliver
• J. Pat O'Malley
• Gena Rowlands
• Vito Scotti
• Dean Stockwell
• Nita Talbot
• Jack Weston

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date

Production

Johnny Staccato replaced The Lawless Years, broadcast on Thursdays from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Bristol-Myers and Salem cigarettes were alternate sponsors. William Frye was the executive producer, and Everett Chambers was the producer. Elmer Bernstein composed the music.^[2]

Home media

Timeless Media Group released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 on October 12, 2010.^[3]

In popular culture

• The show was later parodied on SCTV as Vic Arpeggio (portrayed by Joe Flaherty), a saxophonist/private investigator whose cases were usually solved by accident. Arpeggio claimed to have been “framed” for drug possession, and that the detective gig was merely a sideline until he got his solo career back on track.
• Thomas Pynchon references Johnny Staccato in his 2009 novel Inherent Vice, set in late 1960s Los Angeles. Pynchon's main character, private investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello, praises Staccato as "the shamus of shamuses," ranking him with past greats Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade.^[4]
• The theme, performed by Elmer Bernstein, received little attention in the US, but went to #4 in Britain.
• Legendary artist Harvey Kurtzman parodied the show in his classic Jungle Book (Ballantine Books 1959) as "Thelonius Violence"
• The Colts Drum and Bugle Corps' 2015 show was called "...and a Shot Rings Out: A Johnny Staccato Murder Mystery", which was a reference to the TV show.

Notes and References

1. Alex McNeil, Total Television, New York: Penguin Books, 1997, p. 782
2. September 7, 1959 . 74 . Thursday (Sept 10) . Ross Reports . November 15, 2023 .
3. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Johnny-Staccato-The-Complete-Series/14319 The Complete Series starring John Cassavetes Arrives on DVD in October
4. Pynchon, Thomas. Inherent Vice. New York: Penguin, 2009, 97.