I’ve loved jazz since I was a very little boy.  I have no idea what makes its sounds resonate in my soul, but they do.  And, today, I am lamenting the loss of my childhood favorite, Edie Hart.  (Yes, she had reddish hair, too!)

Edie stole my heart every single Monday night.  Right after my folks and I battled about my staying up to watch this program.  Channel 4 (NBC).  At least for the first two years.  Then, I had to turn to Channel 7 (ABC).  And, then- she just disappeared.

How could Edie do wrong?  Her music was all written by Henry Mancini.  (The less jazz inspired among you will recognize him as the creator of the Pink Panther theme.)  Even the show titles connote the coolness of the sounds…Brief and Breezy, Slow and Easy, The Floater, Soft Sounds, Fallout, Blues for Mother’s….

She had such a short life.  She lived for all of 57 hours.  (114 thirty minute episodes.)  She was always treated badly by her boyfriend, Peter Gunn.  Who managed to garner a cool $ 1000 for every detective gig upon which he was called.  (Remember, this was 1958!!!!)  He also drove Chryslers (OK, a 1958 DeSoto, until he switched to a 59 Plymouth Fury convertible, which he then upgraded to a 1961 version.  Yes, these were all Chrysler products.)

If Peter wasn’t sleuthing, he was to be found at Mother’s, the waterside jazz club that he claimed as his office.  And, that’s where Edie was the sole star- each and every night.   Until the last season, when Edie finally got the gumption to open up her own place.

I’m sure by now you figured out that Edie was a fictional character, one created by Blake Edwards.   But, I was in love with Edie and her music.  I had NO idea who Blake was- or who was Henry Mancini- at the time.  That was to come later.  But, from the time I was 7, Edie (and the real life Jacquie Shapiro) had stolen my heart.

Sure, I liked Peter (Craig Stevens), who the coolest guy I ever saw.  But, I didn’t like how he treated Edie.  And, I loved how they interacted with Lieutenant Chuck Jacoby (Herschel Bernadi), too.
(I also didn’t know that Peter Gunn was a re-creation.  He had started out as Richard Diamond (Dick Powell) on the radio from 1949 to 1953).  Or, that another actor I loved managed to play Richard Diamond on TV (David Janssen- you know him from ‘”The Fugitive’, who was also my childhood friend, Randy Shotland’s , cousin).

By the way, Mancini’s jazz was the key to the show- and led to many other shows developing jazzy themes, like another favorite of mine- 77 Sunset Strip. But, Edie sang along with some great artists, Shorty Rogers, Henry Mancini, among others.  And, there were plenty of impromptu jazz solos included on the show.  (Peter Gunn’s music via Henry Mancini made it to #1 on Billboard- the reigning music review magazine of the time.)

And, you probably guessed this, too.  The real-life, sultry Lola Albright did pass away at the ripe old age of 92.  And, despite being nominated for an Emmy as Edie Hart, she never won an award.  But, Henry Mancini accompanied her on her two music albums, Lola Wants You (my parents wouldn’t let me keep the album!) and Dreamsville.

Goodbye, Edie.

Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo…

 

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