Me and My Shadow

"Me and My Shadow" is a surefire episode, featuring Richard Schaal (then-husband of RHODA's Valerie Harper) as famous mystery author Michelangelo Rezo, whose literary creation, Winwood Baines, sounds like a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Lt. Columbo (who also doesn't carry a gun). As arrogant as he is prolific, Rezo makes a $25,000 bet with the Partridges and Reuben, that he can find all seven of them within a time span of 24 hours. Afternoon finds them all hiding out in the open, until a group of girls recognize Keith and begin surrounding him, quick thinking Shirley diverting them toward Rezo by identifying their pursuer as "Mick Jagger in disguise!" The priceless look on David Cassidy's face, utterly crestfallen as he watches the screaming girls chase after Rezo: "they'd leave me for Mick Jagger!" Martin Speer, previously seen in three episodes as recording studio engineers, later starred in Wes Craven's cult film "The Hills Have Eyes." Bruce Kimmel makes his fourth of five appearances as Laurie's boyfriends, here doing his second as Richard Whipple (last seen in "You're Only Young Twice"). The featured song is the beautiful "Storybook Love," composed by Wes Farrell and Adam Miller, from sixth LP NOTEBOOK.