Editing Nero Wolfe (section)

====''Nero Wolfe'' (CBS)====
[[File:Nero-Wolfe-CBS-1959.jpg|right|thumb|[[William Shatner]] as [[Archie Goodwin (character)|Archie Goodwin]] and [[Kurt Kasznar]] as Nero Wolfe in the aborted 1959 CBS-TV series]]
On September 15, 1949, Rex Stout wrote a confidential memo to Edwin Fadiman, who represented his radio, film and television interests. The memo provided detailed character descriptions of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, and a physical description and diagram of Wolfe's office. Stout's biographer John McAleer inferred the memo was guidance for the [[The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe|NBC Nero Wolfe radio series]] that began in October 1950, but in summarizing the memo's unique revelations he remarked, "A TV producer could not have hoped for more specifics."<ref name="McAleer"/>{{Rp|383–384}}{{efn|Rex Stout's confidential memo of September 15, 1949, describing Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin and Wolfe's office, is reprinted in the back matter of the 1992 Bantam Crimeline edition of ''Fer-de-Lance'' ({{ISBN|0-553-27819-3}}).}}

On October 22, 1949, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' reported that Fadiman Associates was packaging a television series featuring Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe characters.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=October 22, 1949 |title=Brief and Important |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lg4EAAAAMBAJ&q=Billboard |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|The Billboard]] |volume=61 |issue=43 |page=5 |access-date=2015-11-01}}</ref> When CBS-TV's ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' went into production, Stout received some 50 offers from film and TV producers hoping to follow up on its success with a Nero Wolfe series.<ref name="McAleer"/>{{Rp|488}} By April 1957 [[CBS]] had purchased the rights and was pitching a Nero Wolfe TV series to advertisers.<ref>{{cite journal |date=April 27, 1957 |title=Revlon Eyeing Comedy Series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FSAEAAAAMBAJ |journal=The Billboard |volume=69 |issue=17 |page=3 |access-date=2015-11-01 |quote=The other mysteries being mulled by the advertiser have been 'Nero Wolfe,' a CBS-produced series based on the Rex Stout stories ...}}</ref> The series had Stout's enthusiastic cooperation.<ref name="Kirkley"/>

In March 1959, ''The New York Times'' reported that [[Kurt Kasznar]] and [[William Shatner]] would portray Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin in the CBS-TV series. Both actors were then starring on Broadway—the Vienna-born Kasznar in Noel Coward's ''[[Look After Lulu!]]'' and Shatner in ''[[The World of Suzie Wong (play)|The World of Suzie Wong]]''.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 14, 1959 |title=Two Stage Actors Signed by CBS-TV; Kasznar and Shatner to Play in 'Nero Wolfe' Pilot Film |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/03/14/archives/two-stage-actors-signed-by-cbstv-kasznar-and-shatner-to-play-in.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2015-11-01 }}</ref>

''Nero Wolfe'' was co-produced by Gordon Duff and [[Otis Guernsey Jr.|Otis L. Guernsey, Jr.]],<ref>''Publishers Weekly'', Volume 175, February 2, 1959</ref> with Edwin Fadiman as executive producer. The theme music was composed by [[Alex North]].<ref>{{cite magazine|date=April 20, 1959 |title='Wolfe' TV-er Jazz Theme |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VyEEAAAAMBAJ |magazine=The Billboard |volume=71 |issue=19 |page=40 |access-date=2015-11-01}}</ref>{{efn|Film score researcher Bill Wrobel located [[Alex North]]'s unheard score for ''Nero Wolfe'' and six recorded tracks on digital audio tape in the UCLA Music Library Special Collections.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmscorerundowns.net/other/cbs_collection.pdf |title=CBS Collection 072 |last1=Wrobel |first1=Bill |date=June 25, 2010 |website=Film Score Rundowns |access-date=2015-11-01 }}</ref> He identifies 30 CBS digital audio tapes (p. 168), with tracks 86–91 of DAT #11 being the ''Nero Wolfe'' music of Alex North (p. 174). The score, CPN5912, is in Box #105 (p. 51).}}

The pilot episode, "Count the Man Down", written by [[Sidney Carroll]]{{efn|Dated December 31, 1958, the first draft script for ''Nero Wolfe'' is in the Performing Arts Special Collections at UCLA, in Box 27, Folder 6 of the Sidney Carroll Papers 1957–1981.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt2g5036xx;style=oac4;view=dsc |title=Finding Aid for the Sidney Carroll papers, 1957–1981 |website=UCLA, Library Special Collections, Performing Arts |publisher=Online Archive of California |access-date=2015-11-01 |quote=Unidentified Projects.}}</ref>}} and directed by Tom Donovan, was filmed in Manhattan in March 1959.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ewald |first=William F. |date=March 10, 1959 |title=On the Air  |newspaper=[[The Herald Bulletin|Anderson Daily Bulletin]] |agency=United Press International}}</ref> The half-hour program concerned the mysterious death of a scientist during a guided missile launch at [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|Cape Canaveral]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Robinson |first=Johnny |date=March 20, 1959 |title=Video Versions |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1913&dat=19590320&id=NuQ0AAAAIBAJ&pg=4692,1787282&hl=en |newspaper=Lewiston Evening Journal |location=[[Lewiston, Maine]] |access-date=2015-11-01 }}</ref> Guest stars include [[Alexander Scourby]] (Mr. Belson), [[Phyllis Hill]] (Leslie Gear), [[George Voskovec]] (Dr. Wohlgang), Eva Seregni (Mrs. Lowenberg), [[Frank Marth]] (Ernest Petchen), [[John McLiam]] (Professor Adams), [[John C. Becher]] (Mr. Faversham), [[Eileen Fulton]] (Receptionist), and Rene Paul (Christian Lowenberg).<ref>{{cite AV media |date=2018 |title=Television's Lost Classics: Volume Two |medium=DVD |publisher=VCI Entertainment |asin=B07D3KSS69 }}</ref>

The series was to air Mondays at 10 p.m. ET beginning in September 1959.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ewald |first=William F. |date=April 8, 1959 |title=Television in Review  |newspaper=United Press International }}</ref> But in April, CBS announced that the new comedy series ''[[Hennesey]]'' would occupy the time slot.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ewald |first=William F. |date=April 9, 1959 |title=Television in Review  |newspaper=United Press International }}</ref>

In June 1959, ''[[The Baltimore Sun|Baltimore Sun]]'' critic Donald Kirkley reported that the ''Nero Wolfe'' pilot had been "in a way, too successful ... Everything seemed to point to a sale of the series. A facsimile of the brownstone house in which Wolfe lives in the novels ... was found in [[Gramercy Park|Grammercy]] {{sic}} Square. But when the film was made and shown around, it was considered too good to be confined to half an hour."<ref name="Kirkley">{{cite news |last=Kirkley |first=Donald |date=June 26, 1959 |title=Look and Listen with Donald Kirkley |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]]  }}</ref> In October 1960, William Shatner was reportedly still working to sell the first television adaptation of Nero Wolfe to the networks.<ref>{{cite news |last=Witte |first=Lawrence |date=October 26, 1960 |title=TV-Radio News Bits  |newspaper=The Evening Independent |location=Massillon, Ohio }}</ref>

The 1959 ''Nero Wolfe'' pilot episode was released on DVD and Blu-ray in October 2018 by VCI Entertainment, in ''Television's Lost Classics: Volume 2''. The four rare pilots on the release were digitally restored in high definition by SabuCat Productions from the best archival film elements available.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mvdb2b.com/s/TelevisionsLostClassicsVolume2RarePilots/VCI9042 |title=Television's Lost Classics Volume 2: Rare Pilots |publisher=[[MVD Entertainment Group]] |access-date=2018-10-18 }}</ref>