HARRY O was a cool San Diego beach detective. We loved him. He lived by the ocean, drank a few cocktails, worked on his grounded boat called "The Answer", and took the bus, although he had an old car, reminding you of COLUMBO.
On a talk shows at the time, David Janssen said Warner Brothers offered him a series of expensive and slick cars for his role. He chose the beat-up two-seater coupe because he thought it fit him personally.
Harry was a veteran of the LAPD, discharged on disability due to a bullet in his back. That did not slow him down. Janssen was the whole show, a natural for this role. This first episode won the coveted Edgar Allan Poe award for best tv mystery. Offbeat and fun featuring Julie Sommars playing a kook who hires Harry to find her AWOL Navy brother, who it turns out is mixed up with smugglers. Sommars is hilarious playing Gertrude, her character similar to all the strange folks who hired MANNIX. May have been an inspiration here.
Sommars later co-starred on MATLOCK. Les Lannom plays her brother, Harold, likewise off kilter. He asks Harry; "Do you know what it means if someone sends you a right shoe?" alluding to the fact that he sent his sister one of his shoes as a clue. Les later became a regular on the show, playing Lester Hodges, sort of Harry's side-kick. In real life, he's an accomplished musician; guitar, trumpet, even bagpipes.
Jerry Thorpe directed, behind the thrilling pilot episode, SMILE JENNY, YOU'RE DEAD. Thorpe was also producer for FALCON CREST. SEASON 1 EPISODE 1. Finally on dvd, but the box sets tend to be expensive.
Always thanks to METV for running this memorable show. A salute to David Janssen.
