JOHNNY MIDNIGHT was the name and title character of an early sixties syndicated TV show about an actor turned New York private eye. His cases frequently brought him to the vicinity of Times Square and Broadway's theatre district, the same area where he had enjoyed many of the thespain triumphs of his former career.

Former film noir icon (The Killers, D.O.A.) Edmond O'Brien (and was the first to play radio's long-running insurance investigator Johnny Dollar), sporting a few more pounds (and years) than most fans were probably used to seeing on him, played Midnight.

But a few extra pounds or not, Midnight had it good. He lived in a swank Manhattan penthouse complete with a "stunning view of the city" and a wise-cracking Japanese houseboy, called Aki. Oriental houseboys were once a staple of detective novels and films, but were almost extinct by the sixties.

not that Aki was the only throwback -- O'Brien narrated his cases in the clipped, terse style that Bogart made famous years earlier, and a moody, haunting version off "The Lullabye of Broadway" from the 1935 film "Gold Diggers of Broadway" served as a quite effective theme song.


TRIVIA

Supposedly, during the casting of the series, the producers were concerned about O'Brien's weight and insisted he go on a crash vegetarian diet.

The show was produced by Revue (later Universal Studios), who were also responsible for M Squad with Lee Marvin, Johnny Staccato with John Cassavetes, Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer with Darren McGavin, Markham with Ray Milland, Shotgun Slade with Scott Brady and Coronado 9 with Rod Cameron, all crime or detective shows built around the charm and talent of their styrong male leadslead actor.

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EPISODE TITLES:

PILOT

VOICE OF THE DUMMY

VILLAIN OF THE PIECE

LEADING LADY

ONCE AGAIN

A TASTE OF CURRY

MOTHERS BOY

AWARD FOR MURDER

THE IMPRESARIO

BEYOND INFAMY

AN OLD FASHION FRAME

THE NINTH DOLL

PHANTOM BRIBE

THE TOKYO DOLL

TROUBLE ON THE ROAD

REGESTERED MAIL

SOMEBODY LOVES YOU

THE EMERALD STAR

TOKEN OF LOVE

SCHATZI

SWEET TOOTH MURDER

RING OF TRUTH

HER SISTERS KEEPER

THE SINGLE

DARK TROPHY

INSIDE MAN

DING A LING

THE SWITHBACK MURDER

PAY OFF TO DEATH

ROMEO AND JULIE

HOT TIGHT A WEB

THE WAMMY