Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957–1960)

Richard Diamond is a suave private eye who, at first, walks the mean streets of New York, then later packs up and moves to Los Angeles, where he tools around in a convertible with a car ... See full summary »

Stars:

David Janssen, Regis Toomey, Russ Conway

Cast

Series cast summary:
David Janssen	...	Richard Diamond (77 episodes, 1957-1960)

Storyline

Richard Diamond is a suave private eye who, at first, walks the mean streets of New York, then later packs up and moves to Los Angeles, where he tools around in a convertible with a car phone. His sexy receptionist Sam, whose face we never see, minds the office, while Diamond solves his cases.

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Plot Keywords:

private detective | detective | based on radio series | character name in title

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 July 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Call Mr. 'D'

Company Credits

Production Co:

Four Star Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (77 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam (Mary Tyler Moore) the switchboard operator's legs and hands were all that were ever seen of her on-camera during this series. Moore's voice was heard on the soundtrack but her face was never revealed

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Connections

Spoofed in 77 Sunset Strip: The Kookie Caper (1959)

User Reviews

One of the best Private Eye shows from the 1950s.

"Richard Diamond" was one of the all-time great private eye television shows from the late 1950's. The series starred the raspy-voiced David Janssen as the title character driving around in his Ford convertibles trading innuendos with Sam, the female operator for the Hi-Fi Answering Service, via his car phone as he solves all manner of cases. Janssen is tough and sexy and one can only wonder if he and Sam ever connected in real time. Sam is only shown in profile from the shoulders down seated in front of a switch board, in tight fitting dresses, legs crossed and usually dangling a stiletto-heeled shoe from her toe as she delivers Richard's messages in a breathy low husky voice. The show is fast, well acted, entertaining and shot in "glorious" black and white with a great jazz score. An original soundtrack album was released by Mercury records during the shows run on network television. It's great fun and well worth a look.