In our ultimate guide to Mannix, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive overview of this iconic American detective and the television series based on this character.
Overview
Mannix was detective TV show that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator played by actor Mike Connors.
Mannix: An Intro. to Season 1
Intertect is one of the most high-tech detective agencies in the business, specializing in using computers to solve it’s clients’ most baffling mysteries. But one of the company’s detectives, Joe Mannix (Mike Connors), likes to do things the old fashioned way: With a little boot leather and a punch to the gut.
He may butt heads with his straight laced supervisor, Lew Wickersham (Joseph Campanella), and scoff at the precious computer’s results, but Mannix’s unorthodox methods pay dividends-he always gets his man.
Mike Connors won an Emmy as the title character, a tough, streetwise private eye whose hands-on approach to cases raised the hackles of his employers, the scientific-minded Intertect, and his no-nonsense boss Lou Wickersham (Joseph Campanella).
Episodes generally saw Mannix taking his share of licks, either from or in the service of that week’s guest star (celebs on display in this debut season include Tom Skerritt, Karen Black, Julie Adams, William Windom, and Neil Diamond in Episode 4, “The Many Deaths of Saint Christopher”).
The on-screen violence, which earned the show its devoted audience as well as critical outcry, is fairly tame by today’s standards, though it preserves the show’s energy and drive; the chemistry between Connors and Campanella and especially Emmy winner Gail Fisher as secretary Peggy Fair (one of the first African-American characters to appear as a regular on a television series) also keep the episodes moving at a crisp pace.
Modern audiences used to more high-tech crime shows like Num3ers and the CSI franchises may find Mannix’s methods sort of quaint, but those who favor classic TV fare or who remember it from its lengthy network and syndicated runs will enjoy tagging along with Joe Mannix all over again.
Character
Joseph R. “Joe” Mannix is a regular guy, without pretense, who has a store of proverbs on which to rely in conversation. What demons he has mostly come from having fought in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, where, as a Lieutenant, he was initially listed as MIA while he was a prisoner of war in a brutal POW camp until he escaped.
Mannix is notable for the high level of physical punishment he withstands. During the course of the series, he is shot and wounded over a dozen separate times, and knocked unconscious around 55 times.
Mannix is notable for the high level of physical punishment he withstands.
While making the television pilot “The Name Is Mannix”, Connors dislocated his shoulder running away during a From Russia with Love–type helicopter pursuit, and broke his left wrist punching a stuntman who happened to be wearing a steel plate on his back. This character aspect was lampooned multiple times by radio comedians Bob and Ray, with “Blimmix” beginning as being portrayed as dim-witted, and ending with Blimmix being soundly beaten by his adversary. These parodies retained the theme song composed by Lalo Schifrin at the beginning and conclusion.
Mannix grew up in a town called Summer Grove, where he was a star football and basketball player. Summer Grove had a thriving Armenian immigrant community. As of 1969, Mannix’s mother had died 10 years earlier, and Mannix had not been back to the town since the funeral. Mannix’s estranged father, Stefan (played by Victor Jory), was still living in Summer Grove, and Mannix and his father started a reconciliation. When Mannix returns to Summer Grove for a case three years later, he and his father are on good terms.
Did Joe Mannix wear a toupee?
The answer is yes. Actor Mike Connors tried different toupees to portray the tall and muscular Joe Mannix; however, he never wore one in real life.
What War was Mannix In?
Korean War. Following military service in the Korean War, Mannix attended Western Pacific University on the GI Bill, graduated in 1955, and obtained his private investigator’s license in 1956. He has a black belt in karate.
Why Was Mannix Cancelled?Â
In 1975, ABC started airing old episodes of Mannix after a new contract with Paramount. CBS was not happy about this as the network thought such a move would dilute the ratings for the new episodes that it was running. And as a result, CBS cancelled the show.
Mannix Books
And Now, Back to Mannix by JoAnn M. Paul
This is not a TV log book, or even a behind the scenes book, but a behind the myth book, making the case that some TV characters have singular power to make societies and individuals better, interspersed with discussion of the richness of character, symbolism, and scenes in the series. The book includes a Foreword by Mike Connors and a Prologue by David Breckman, writer and co-executive producer of the highly successful USA series, Monk.
Memorable Scenes
Watch “Incredible scene from Mannix – Scene from Warning Live Blueberries, aired October 28, 1967”
Mannix Is Held at Gunpoint by John Ritter at the Brady Bunch House
The set of The Brady Bunch was used for several episodes of Mannix. Both series were produced by Paramount Television and filmed at Paramount Studios.
However, they aired on different television networks; Mannix was on CBS, and The Brady Bunch was on ABC. The clip of The Brady Bunch is from the episode Vote for Brady (Episode 11 of season one). It aired on December 12, 1969. There were 117 episodes of The Brady Bunch, which aired from 1969 to 1974.
The clip of Mannix is from the episode Hardball (Episode 24 of season eight). It’s also the series finale. It aired on April 13, 1975. There were 194 episodes of Mannix, which aired from 1967 to 1975.
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