René Magritte (1898–1967), http://www.nerowolfe.org/pdf/stout/home_family/correspondence/1962_07_18_Ian_Fleming.pdf, "In Harness Again! [125], The stage production was authorized by the estate of Rex Stout; Stout's daughter, Rebecca Stout Bradbury, attended the opening. "If The Red Box is any indication, many more will be. Don Francks portrayed Archie Goodwin, and Cec Linder played Inspector Cramer. Marko Vukčić – A fellow Montenegrin whom Wolfe has known since childhood, possibly a blood relative (since "vuk" means "wolf"). Like Wolfe, he has developed an extraordinary memory and can recite verbatim conversations that go on for hours. Archie Goodwin is the narrator of all the Nero Wolfe stories and a central character in them. Like most other things in Wolfe's life, his beer drinking is bound by ritual. ", Reading is central to Nero Wolfe's life, and books are central to the plots of many of the stories. The episodes were colorful period pieces, set primarily in the 1940s–1950s. The whole series became available on DVD in 2007. He often dog-ears a page to mark his place. I suggest beginning with autobiographical sketches from each of us, and here is mine. "[2]:49, According to the same memo, Wolfe's height is 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and his weight is 272 lb (123 kg). Jaffe/Braunstein Films, Ltd., secured the rights to the Nero Wolfe stories in 1998. On weekdays, Fritz serves Wolfe his breakfast in his bedroom. Others have fond memories of the series, and it may even have been their introduction to Nero Wolfe. J. Archie has frequent reason to note that he needs at least eight hours' sleep each night, and prefers more. Santos Ortega assumed the role when the suspense drama moved to ABC (July 5 – September 27, 1943; January 21 – July 14, 1944). Wolfe is reticent about his youth, but apparently he was athletic, fit, and adventurous. "[1]:554[y], "When Columbia pictures bought the screen rights to Fer-de-Lance for $7,500 and secured the option to buy further stories in the series, it was thought the role would go to Walter Connolly. Nero Wolfe has been portrayed in four radio drama series on five different networks. "Meet Nero Wolfe is an above average minor A picture, a solid mystery, and unfailingly entertaining", reported Scarlet Street magazine in 2002 when it revisited the film. Once he burned up a cookbook because it said to remove the hide from a ham end before putting it in the pot with lima beans. Real people, for example, J. Edgar Hoover (notably in The Doorbell Rang), Walter Winchell and Texas Guinan are also mentioned. Wolfe and Archie call men to take care of the plants and repair the windows before notifying the police.[24]. Each of these floors also includes one spare bedroom, used on occasion to house a variety of clients, witnesses, and sometimes even culprits. Writing as Archie Goodwin, Ken Darby suggests that "the actual location was on East 22nd Street in the Gramercy Park District. Lunch and dinner are served in the dining room, on the opposite side of the first-floor hallway from the front room and the office. A series of novels and short stories by Rex Todhunter Stout, beloved for their unique blending of the classic and hardboiled mystery genres. After the death of Rex Stout's widow in October 1984,[48] the Stout estate approved the continuation of the Nero Wolfe series. [j] The series settled on "914" for the brownstone's address. ", Wolfe was drinking beer and looking at pictures of snowflakes in a book someone had sent him from Czechoslovakia. I am a naturalized American citizen. Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books (novels and novella/short story collections) are listed below in order of publication. Vukčić owns the high-class Rusterman's Restaurant in Manhattan. The stories have been adapted for film, radio, television and the stage. The short-lived adventures of portly detective Nero Wolfe, who would rather eat and tend to his orchids than hit the streets tracking down leads. Nero Wolfe is the brainchild of Rex Stout, a prolific American mystery writer who wrote 33 novels and 39 novellas about Nero and his assistant, Archie Goodwin between the years of 1934 and 1975. Everyone who wrote for “Nero Wolfe” was collaborating with Rex Stout. They were also responsible for a successful adaptation of The Red Box, presented at Park Square Theatre in 2014. Nero Wolfe is not the first armchair detective in fiction. The series comprises eight episodes, listed in order of appearance: The Teatro del Stabile del Giallo in Rome presented a stage adaptation of "Christmas Party" November 14 – December 20, 2009. [s] But there is no doubt that Archie was an important addition to the genre of detective fiction. Goldsborough's approach was faithful to the Rex Stout works, but he added his own touches, including an updated frame of reference (Archie now uses a personal computer to file Wolfe's germination records; Wolfe's ancient elevator is finally replaced by a more efficient model; etc.). Rex Stout (1886-1975) was an American author of detective fiction, most famous for his series featuring detective Nero Wolfe.Aside from his Nero Wolfe series (which fills up the lion’s share of his prolific bibliography), he wrote one other series called Tecumseh Fox, many standalone novels, several short story collections and even a Nero Wolfe cookbook. Regularly scheduled mealtimes for lunch and dinner are part of Wolfe's daily routine. Archie's bedroom is one floor above Wolfe's,[p] and his room and board at the brownstone are part of his compensation. Wolfe's address, as mentioned above, is also fictional. [129], This article is about Rex Stout's fictional detective. 1. [88], Nero Wolfe was co-produced by Gordon Duff and Otis L. Guernsey, Jr.,[89] with Edwin Fadiman as executive producer. That would have made it cumbersome and would seem to have centered attention on the characters rather than the stories. The former law clerk’s body was found floating in the East River. "[44]:12[q] In the first Wolfe novel, Archie uses a racially biased term, for which Wolfe chides him,[r] but by the time that A Right to Die was published in 1964, racial epithets were mostly used by Stout's antagonistic characters. [5], Some Wold Newton theorists have suggested the French thief Arsène Lupin as the father of Nero Wolfe. The orchids and the orchid rooms sometimes are focal points in the stories. Three actors portrayed Nero Wolfe over the course of the 1943–44 radio series, The Adventures of Nero Wolfe. [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. 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. 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. I was born in Montenegro and spent my early boyhood there. Shad roe is frequently the first course, followed by roasted or braised duck, another Wolfe favorite. "Sale 10864, Lot 117. "[127], Park Square Theatre in Saint Paul, Minnesota, commissioned a world-premiere stage adaptation of the Might as Well Be Dead to be presented June 16 – July 30, 2017. Player #1489294 Rex Stout wrote many stories. In this one, Archie goes home. Viola Brothers Shore wrote a parody titled "A Case of Facsimile" (1948) in which Nerissa Wolfe, Alan Vanneman, a published writer of two novel-length Sherlock Holmes pastiches, also wrote, The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at, Nero Wolfe is one of 12 famous fictional detectives depicted in a set of, Nero Wolfe is a character that appears in, Nero Wolfe is highlighted in volume 17 of the, This page was last edited on 18 April 2021, at 19:27. In a practice reminiscent of the mystery movie series of the 1930s and 1940s, the show rarely used guest stars in the roles of victims, killers and suspects, but instead used the same ensemble of supporting actors each week. 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. Allen Sabinson became a programming consultant for A&E in 1999, and was named the network's senior vice president for programming in spring 2001. After the publication of Fer-de-Lance in 1934, several Hollywood studios were interested in the movie rights. [84], On September 15, 1949, Rex Stout wrote a confidential memo to Edwin Fadiman, who represented his radio, film and television interests. He abandons his cherished daily habits for a time and, despite his physical bulk, engages in strenuous outdoor activity in mountain terrain. For forty years, Archie takes notes at his desk, the client sits in the red chair and the other principals distribute themselves in the yellow chairs, and Wolfe presides from his custom-made throne. Love of freedom is his outstanding trait. For other uses, see, Manhattan brownstone used for exteriors in A&E TV's, Designed to look like a book, a boxed set of Nero Wolfe recipes was created by, An Outline of Man's Knowledge of the Modern World, Новые приключения Ниро Вульфа и Арчи Гудвина, Rex Stout prepared a confidential memo dated September 14, 1949 to assist the producers of the Sydney Greenstreet radio series, "I starved to death in 1916," Wolfe states in the first chapter of, In most of the corpus, it is seven steps from the sidewalk to the stoop (for example, ", Wolfe has another chair in the bedroom that is nearly as good as the one in the office. '"Wolfe grunted. Stout was playfully erratic about details in the stories. [128] The second stage production to be authorized by the estate of Rex Stout, the play was written by Joseph Goodrich and directed by Peter Moore. Years link to year-in-literature articles. They should roll their own. A Marley revolver (also Carley, in Die Like A Dog) is Archie's weapon of choice. I know exactly what is coming and how it is all going to end, but it doesn't matter. "That readers have proved endlessly fascinated with the topography of Wolfe's brownstone temple should not be surprising", wrote J. Kenneth Van Dover in At Wolfe's Door: It is the center from which moral order emanates, and the details of its layout and its operations are signs of its stability. Wolfe is a well-known amateur orchid grower and has 10,000 plants in the brownstone's greenhouse. It was produced by Paramount Television. Louis Vittes wrote most of the scripts for the 30-minute episodes, basing none of them on Stout's original stories. [75], Mavor Moore starred in the 1982 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation series Nero Wolfe, broadcast January 16 – April 10, 1982. Wolfe's bedroom is on the second floor of the brownstone, and Archie's is on the third. The chair behind Wolfe's desk is custom-built, with special springs to hold his weight; according to Archie, it is the only chair that Wolfe really enjoys sitting in. "Columbia's idea was to keep Arnold busy with low-cost Wolfe films between features. Archie also frequently goes to Manhattan addresses that do not exist, for instance, 171 East 52nd Street in Might As Well Be Dead. ... Wolfe merely moved us, fictionally, from one place to the other in order to preserve his particular brand of privacy. Continuing the invitation, Wolfe says of a certain brandy, "I hope this won't shock you, but the way to do it is to sip it with bites of Fritz's apple pie.". 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. I didn't age the characters because I didn't want to. [95], The series was to air Mondays at 10 p.m. Clients must accommodate themselves to this schedule", wrote Rex Stout's biographer John J. McAleer. At the age of sixteen I decided to move around, and in fourteen years I became acquainted with most of Europe, a little of Africa, and much of Asia, in a variety of roles and activities. Instead Edward Arnold got it", McAleer reported in Rex Stout: A Biography. In The Father Hunt, after Dorothy Sebor provides the information that solves the case, Wolfe tells Archie, "We'll send her some sprays of Phalaenopsis Aphrodite. In a single short story written in 1947, Archie writes, "He weighs between 310 and 390, and he limits his physical movements to what he regards as the irreducible essentials."[3][b]. 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. "For, Letter to John McAleer, quoted in the introduction to. Putting aside the blackface, the play is extremely relevant to contemporary progressive obsessions: it culminates in the killing of a “black” man by a “white” cop (both portrayed by actors in blackface). A facsimile of the brownstone house in which Wolfe lives in the novels ... was found in Grammercy [sic] Square. In the Nero Wolfe mystery “Murder By The Book” by Rex Stout, a desperate Inspector Cramer asks Nero Wolfe for help with the stalled murder case of Leonard Dykes. Carla Lovchen – Wolfe's adopted daughter, who appears in only two stories. The show aired from January 16 to August 25, 1981, lasting for one season & 14 episodes. Goldsborough's first effort, Murder in E Minor, was published in 1986. "I had chased the rights numerous times. Although the Nero Wolfe stories take place contemporaneously with their writing and depict a changing landscape and society, the principal characters in the corpus do not age. When a maestro is murdered, Archie is flabbergaste…, Rex Stout fans will relish this book, a whodunit i…, Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin go back to college t…, Last Coincidence, The, by Goldsborough, Robert, For the men of Madison Avenue, the battle between …, Nero Wolfe and sidekick Archie Goodwin tackle the …, When an unpopular author is found dead, Archie con…, When Archie Goodwin’s life is threatened, Wolfe mu…, Archie Goodwin goes undercover on the waterfront i…. "He drinks beer in the novel but hot chocolate in the picture. Besides the varying street addresses, he retained minor inconsistencies, and catching them is one of the pleasures of readers of the Nero Wolfe stories. "We finally got this opportunity", said Michael Jaffe. Nero Wolfe is a licensed private investigator in New York City. Sherlock Holmes's brother Mycroft appeared in two short stories. Nero Wolfe is a fictional character, a brilliant, oversized, eccentric armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery writer Rex Stout. A semi-fictional revolver brand is the Haskell (mentioned in A Right To Die). For forty years, Wolfe prepares menus with Fritz and pots orchids with Theodore. After 1938, Stout focused solely on the fiction mystery field and exclusively on the Nero Wolfe saga after 1940 through 1975, when he died aged 88. Rex Stout wrote many mediocre books, including many mediocre Nero Wolfe volumes, but in assessing writers as a whole, one should, I believe, only judge writers according to … For forty years, Inspector Cramer and Sergeant Purley Stebbins ring the doorbell, enter the office, and explode with indignation at Wolfe's intractability. [ 78 ] the show aired from January 16 to August 25, 1981, for! 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