Producer Blake Edwards’ Peter Gunn (1958–1961) appeared on US network television at a time when Beat poetry and bebop jazz were just making their mark on American culture. While Peter Gunn didn’t represent a drastic shift in the reactionary values of US television, the series reconfigured radicalism and counterculture in ways that are reflective of deeper cultural contradictions. In order to explore these issues, this article seeks to explore the industrial and production history of Peter Gunn in relation to its use of bebop jazz, Beat poetry and its representation of law and order.
77 Sunset Strip (1958–1964) ABC. Warner Bros. Television.
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AbbotGJowettG (2015) Peter Gunn. Encyclopedia of Television – Museum of Broadcast Communications. Available at: http://www.museum.tv/eotv_2015.htm (accessed 10 March 2017).
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ArnoldD (2005) Gillespie, John Brinks (Dizzy) (1917–1993). In: LawlorWT (ed.) Beat Culture: Lifestyles, Icons, and Impact. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Inc., pp. 116–117.
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Baywatch (1989–2001) NBC. GTG Entertainment et al.
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BordeRChaumetonE (2002) A Panorama of American Film Noir 1941–53. San Francisco: City Light Books.
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Bourbon Street Beat (1959–1960) ABC. Warner Bros. Television.
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Breakfast at Tiffany’s. EdwardsB (1961) Paramount Pictures.
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BrooksTMarshEF (2003) The Complete Guide to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 8th ed. New York: Random House.
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BrooksTMarshEF (2007) The Complete Guide to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 9th ed. New York: Random House.
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CapsJ (2012) Henry Mancini…Reinventing Film Music. Champagne: Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
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ChartersA (1991) Beat Down to Your Soul: What Was the Beat Generation?New York: Penguin.
Dante (1960–1961) NBC. Four Star Productions and Satyr Productions.
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Dragnet (1951–1959) NBC. Mark VII Ltd.
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DussereE (2006) Out of the past, into the supermarket: consuming film noir. Film Quarterly60(1): 16–27.
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Face the Nation (1954–) CBS. CBS News Productions.
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FarberS (1989) The return of Peter Gunn, private eye. New York Times, 22 April, 50.
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GinsbergA (1956) Howl and Other Poems. San Francisco: City Lights Books.
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GinsbergAMilesB (1995) Howl. New York: Harper Perennial.
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Gunn. Edwards B (1967) Geoffrey Productions.
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HillME (1989) “Peter Gunn”: he’s cool, he’s urbane and he’s back. The Washington Post, 23 April, Y3.
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Jackpot Bowling with Milton Berle (1959–61) NBC. Sagebrush Productions, et al.
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Johnny Staccato (1959–60) NBC. Revue Studios.
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KerouacJ (1957) On The Road. London: Viking Press.
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KleinP (1971) Why you watch what you watch when you watch. TV Guide, 24 July, 6–9.
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LarkaR (1979) Television’s Private Eye: An Examination of Twenty Years Programming of a Particular Genre, 1949–69. New York: Arno Press.
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LenzTO (2003) Changing Images of Law in Film and Television Crime Stories. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
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LidzF (2002a) Stevens was ideal for “Gunn” control. Deseret News, 4 June, 4.
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LidzF (2002b) The private eye by twilight. New York Times, 7 April, 2.
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Life (1959) Big day for bards at bay. Life, 9 September, 105.
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LuhrWLehmanP (1989) Returning to the Scene: Blake Edwards, vol. 2. Athens: Ohio University Press.
34.
Miami Vice (1984–1989) NBC. Michael Mann Productions and Universal Television.
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Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (1958–1960) CBS. Revue Productions.
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Mr. Lucky (1959–1960) CBS. CBS Television Network and Spartan Productions.
37.
NaremoreJ (1998) More than Night: Film Noir in its Contexts. Berkeley: University of California Press.
38.
PalmerRB (2008) Dragnet, film noir, and post-war realism. In: SandersSMSkobleAJ (eds) The Philosophy of TV Noir. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, pp. 33–48.
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Perry Mason (1957–1966) CBS. CBS Television et al.
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Peter Gunn (1958–1961) NBC and ABC. Spartan Productions.
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Richard Diamond, Private Detective. (1949–53) CBS and NBC. Four Star Television.
42.
ShalesT (1978) “Video noir” – TV’s long shadow. The Washington Post, 17 July, L1.
