Biographic - Sunday October 18, 2009 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

When Edd Byrnes became a teen sensation on TV show '77 Sunset Strip" playing Kookie, a jive-talking, hair-combining parking attendant with a penchant for amateaur sleuthing, the music biz was quick to cash in. He was teamed with Connie Stevens, a star of spin-off detective show "Hawaiian Eye" and the 1959 novelty hit "Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb" was born. Connie Stevens, who played singer cricket blake on "Hawaiian Eye" enjoyed further chart success, hitting the top 5 in 1960 with "Sixteen Reasons," From Ice T to LL Cool J, a number of music stars have embarked on acting careers and found themselves playing detectives on the small screen. But ever since Edd Byrnes parlayed his popularity as Kookie on the hit 1950s tv show "77 Sunset Strip" into a top 10 hit on the pop charts, a steady procession of actors, who found fame playing detectives, have cultivated music careers. Of the current crop of tv sleuths, Gary Sinise, who stars as Detective Mac Taylor on "CSI: New York" plays bass in the Lt. Dan Band, an outfit named after his character in the movie "Forrest Gump" Jason Schwartzman who plays an amateur detective on the new HBO series "Bored To Death" started out as a drummer with indie rockers Phantom Planet, and currently has a side project band called Coconut Records. The swinging sixties saw the stars of shows as diverse as "Bonanza" "Batman" and "I Dream of Jeanie" on the racks of record stores. But it wasn't until the 1970s that tv detectives enjoyed significant chart success. Telly Savalas earned Emmy and Golden Globe awards for his portrayal of New York City Detective "Kojak." In 1976, David Soul capitalized on his role on "Starsky and Hutch to top the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with Don't Give Up On Us Baby." "Miami Vice" star Don Johnson hit the top 5 in 1986 with his "Heartbeat" single. Bruce Willis soared to stardom as a private eye on the hit show "Moonlighting" springboarding onto the pop charts in 1987 with "Respect Yourself" Perhaps the strangest spinoff came from the police sitcom, "Car54, Where Are You?" So was the appeal of Joe E. Ross as patrolman gunther Toody, Roulette records released the album "Love Songs From A Cop." In 1964, the veteran comic adding his Trademark "Ooh! Ooh!" Exclamations to such classics as "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"

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