A young Rita Hayworth (then Rita Cansino) portrays Maria Maringola, who sets the story in motion when she asks for Wolfe's help in finding her missing brother, Carlo. First published in, Bourne, Michael, "An Informal Interview with Rex Stout"; 1998, James A. Stout revealed the reason for the discrepancy in a 1940 letter cited by his authorized biographer, John McAleer: "In the original draft of Over My Dead Body Nero was a Montenegrin by birth, and it all fitted previous hints as to his background; but violent protests from The American Magazine, supported by Farrar & Rinehart, caused his cradle to be transported five thousand miles. 0. In an early story, Wolfe tells a guest that luncheon is served daily at 1 p.m. and dinner at 8 p.m., although later stories suggest that lunchtime may have been changed to 1:15 or 1:30, at least on Fridays. Clients must accommodate themselves to this schedule", wrote Rex Stout's biographer John J. McAleer. Browse and shop for books, home décor, toys, gifts and more on indigo.ca. Rate. In 1986 journalist Robert Goldsborough published the first of seven Nero Wolfe mysteries issued by Bantam Books. Thanks for uploading this great series! The project was recast with William Conrad stepping into the role of Nero Wolfe and Lee Horsley portraying Archie Goodwin. Archie's room is on the second floor in the first three novels: "I believe Stout uses such crude statements to have us feel how objectionable they are", Gotwald wrote, adding that Archie's ethnic slur in chapter 2 of, But the admonition apparently did not take hold. Besides the varying street addresses, he retained minor inconsistencies, and catching them is one of the pleasures of readers of the Nero Wolfe stories. and Shatner in The World of Suzie Wong. Certainly there is no mention of it in any of the stories, although a painting of Sherlock Holmes does hang over Archie Goodwin's desk in Nero Wolfe's office. The brownstone has three floors plus a large basement with living quarters, a rooftop greenhouse also with living quarters, and a small elevator, used almost exclusively by Wolfe. According to, Lewis Hewitt – well-heeled orchid fancier, for whom Wolfe did a favor (as told in ", Nathaniel Parker – Wolfe's lawyer (or occasionally a client's lawyer, on Wolfe's recommendation) when only a lawyer will do. 2. eps are also worth searching out. on November 18, 2009. [1]:488[114], A series of Russian Nero Wolfe TV movies was made from 2001 2005. Like Wolfe, he has developed an extraordinary memory and can recite verbatim conversations that go on for hours. I have to admit, however, that there’s another reason I’ll never leave: the cooking of our home chef, Fritz Brenner, who also gets credit for having improved my palate. [115], The first season (Niro Vulf i Archi Gudvin) (Russian: Ниро Вульф и Арчи Гудвин) comprises five episodes, listed in order of appearance:[115], The second season (Noviye Priklucheniya Niro Vulfa i Archi Gudvina) (Russian: Новые приключения Ниро Вульфа и Арчи Гудвина) comprises four episodes, listed in order of appearance:[115], On April 5, 2012, the RAI network in Italy began a new Nero Wolfe series starring Francesco Pannofino as Nero Wolfe and Pietro Sermonti as Archie Goodwin. Both actors were then starring on Broadway—the Vienna-born Kasznar in Noel Coward's Look After Lulu! Nov 18, 2017 - Explore Ursula Bielski's board "Nero Wolfe", followed by 127 people on Pinterest. Wolfe also has a rule against discussing business at the table, sometimes bent but very rarely overtly broken. Columbia Pictures adapted the first Nero Wolfe novel, Fer-de-Lance, for the screen in 1936. "I haven't kept score, but I would say that of the two hundred or so books he reads in a year not more than five or six get an A," Archie writes. [1]:254 In one of many conversations with his authorized biographer, Rex Stout told John McAleer that he himself had wanted Charles Laughton to play Nero Wolfe: In 1974 McAleer interviewed Laughton's widow, Elsa Lanchester. The readers are introduced to the the book’s main character, Nero Wolfe. He is both a gourmand and a gourmet, enjoying generous helpings of Fritz's cuisine three times a day. [123][124], "For audiences who might not be familiar with Wolfe and his trusty assistant Archie Goodwin, it's a terrific introduction to the characters and the milieu", wrote the Saint Paul Pioneer Press. Rate. Archie goes dancing at the Flamingo Club, which is now the name of more than one place in the New York City area, but the one in the books antedates them. 5.0 out of 5 stars The Nero Wolfe Mysteries. Wolfe either takes to bed and eats nothing but bread and onion soup, or else he consults with Fritz on menus and the preparation of nonstop meals. 4. Known for rigidly maintaining his personal schedule, Nero Wolfe is most inflexible when it comes to his routine in the rooftop plant rooms. Sidney Greenstreet was perhaps the most famous actor to play Nero Wolfe. He swore he'd let me make it the right way.[111]:88[ae][af]. 4. Meet Nero Wolfe (1936) starred Edward Arnold (photo on right) and Lionel Stander (photo on left) and was loosely based on Fer-de-Lance.. With Timothy Hutton, Maury Chaykin, Colin Fox, Bill Smitrovich. Rate. Carla Lovchen – Wolfe's adopted daughter, who appears in only two stories. Before World War I, he spied for the Austrian government's Evidenzbureau, but had a change of heart when the war began. Luis Van Rooten succeeded Ortega sometime in 1944. [81] The author is credited as appearing along with Gene Reynolds (Archie Goodwin), Robert Eckles (Nero Wolfe), James Daly (narrator), Dennis Hoey (Arthur Conan Doyle), Felix Munro (Edgar Allan Poe), Herbert Voland (M. Dupin) and Jack Sydow. (The 1940 story "Bitter End" suggests the contrary view that Wolfe was unable to prepare his own meals; Fritz's illness with the flu causes a household crisis and forces Wolfe to resort to canned liver pâté for his lunch. You freeze to death. I suggest beginning with autobiographical sketches from each of us, and here is mine. He is a romantic idealist, apt to go in for dashing effects to express his spirited nature. Archie eats his separately in the kitchen, although Wolfe might ask Fritz to send Archie upstairs if he has morning instructions for him. Archie is the lineal descendant of Huck Finn ... Archie is spiritually larger than life. In. [84], On September 15, 1949, Rex Stout wrote a confidential memo to Edwin Fadiman, who represented his radio, film and television interests. On weekdays, Fritz serves Wolfe his breakfast in his bedroom. [20], "If Wolfe had a favorite orchid, it would be the genus Phalaenopsis", Robert M. Hamilton wrote in his article, "The Orchidology of Nero Wolfe", first printed in The Gazette: Journal of the Wolfe Pack (Volume 1, Spring 1979). In 1937, Columbia Pictures released The League of Frightened Men, its adaptation of the second Nero Wolfe novel. Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin have not been served particularly well by movies and TV. The orchids and the orchid rooms sometimes are focal points in the stories. [94] 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). Good believable plots, nice characterizations. Ethelbert Hitchcock – Wolfe's contact in London who handles enquiries to be made in Europe. Stander was a capable actor but, as Archie, Rex thought he had been miscast."[1]:254–255. One of the adaptations, Poka ya ne umer ("Before I Die") (Russian: Пока я не умер), was written by Vladimir Valutsky, screenwriter for a Russian Sherlock Holmes television series in the 1980s. Produced by Casanova Multimedia and Rai Fiction, the eight-episode series, which ran for a single season, began with "La traccia del serpente", an adaptation of Fer-de-Lance set in 1959 in Rome, where Wolfe and Archie reside after leaving the United States. [1]:488 By April 1957 CBS had purchased the rights and was pitching a Nero Wolfe TV series to advertisers. "I always regretted I did not get to play Dora Chapin. The exceptions are few and remarkable. He is extremely fastidious about his clothing and hates to wear, even in private, anything that has been soiled. It is described in the opening chapter of The Second Confession as being on West Thirty-Fifth Street "nearly to 11th Avenue", which would put it in the 500 block. ", Wolfe appears to know his way around the kitchen; in Too Many Cooks (chapter 17), he tells Jerome Berin, "I spend quite a little time in the kitchen myself." [125], The stage production was authorized by the estate of Rex Stout; Stout's daughter, Rebecca Stout Bradbury, attended the opening. Archie also frequently goes to Manhattan addresses that do not exist, for instance, 171 East 52nd Street in Might As Well Be Dead. He abandons his cherished daily habits for a time and, despite his physical bulk, engages in strenuous outdoor activity in mountain terrain. Stout published 33 novels and 41 novellas and short stories featuring Wolfe from 1934 to 1975, with most of them set in New York City. 8.8 (75) 0. [1]:325 With all but one episode in circulation, it is regarded as the series that is most responsible for popularizing Nero Wolfe on radio. Nero Wolfe is shrewd, lazy, acute, authoritative, childish, long-winded, selfish, bulimic, cynical, snobbish and sometimes unbearable. Commentators have noted a coincidence in the names "Sherlock Holmes" and "Nero Wolfe": the same vowels appear in the same order. Try it. He has breakfast in his bedroom while wearing yellow silk pajamas; he hates to discuss work during breakfast, and if forced to do so insists upon not uttering a word until he has finished his glass of orange juice (. They note that in one story Lupin has an affair with the queen of a Balkan principality, which may be Montenegro by another name. After The League of Frightened Men, Rex Stout declined to authorize any more Hollywood adaptations. [16] He never drinks directly from the bottle, but instead pours the beer into a glass and lets the foam settle to an appropriate level before drinking. Nero Wolfe (Series) Book 10 Rex Stout Author (2010) Not Quite Dead Enough Nero Wolfe (Series) Book 10 Rex Stout Author Michael Prichard Narrator (2007) Stop the Presses! A Nero Wolfe Mystery adapted the plots and dialogue of the Stout originals closely; unlike previous Wolfe adaptations, the series retained Archie Goodwin's first-person narration and did not update the stories to contemporary times. [f] Near the desk is a large chair upholstered in red leather, which is usually reserved for Inspector Cramer, a current or prospective client, or the person whom Wolfe and Archie want to question. [50] The books are published by the Mysterious Press.[51]. [95], The series was to air Mondays at 10 p.m. Pre-production materials for Welles's unrealized. [100][ac] Disappointed with the Nero Wolfe movies of the 1930s, Stout was leery of Nero Wolfe film and TV projects in America during his lifetime: "That's something my heirs can fool around with, if they've a mind to", he said. Paramount Television remounted Nero Wolfe as a weekly one-hour series that ran on NBC TV from January through August 1981. ", Wolfe states that "all music is a vestige of barbarism", Wolfe displays a pronounced, almost pathological, dislike for the company of women. 2. I was born in Montenegro and spent my early boyhood there. You, gentlemen, are Americans, much more completely than I am, for I wasn't born here. I actually discovered Nero Wolfe through these radio programs. From February 1969 to February 1971, Italian television broadcast 10 Nero Wolfe TV movies. In, Another fictional creation by Stout, the solo operative, Wolfe receives news of her death in the latter. 5. Clark suggested that the two had an affair in Montenegro in 1892, and that Nero Wolfe was the result. But in The Golden Spiders, Fritz prepares fried chicken for Wolfe, Archie, Saul, Orrie, and Fred. The theme music was composed by Alex North. Vukčić owns the high-class Rusterman's Restaurant in Manhattan. Verified Purchase . Not nice. I am a naturalized American citizen. The Doorbell Rang. Nero Wolfe's first recorded words are, "Where's the beer? 4. 6. Free shipping with orders over $35 and free ship-to-store. Nero Wolfe has been portrayed in four radio drama series on five different networks. In short, Rex had found for Wolfe a nationality that fitted him to perfection."[1]:403. Wolfe likes to solve the crossword puzzle of British newspapers in preference to those of American papers, and hates to be interrupted while so engaged. [105] The producers planned to begin with an ABC-TV movie and hoped to persuade Welles to continue the role in a mini-series.