Previous blog posts have covered the origin of some elements of the Living Black & White™ shows: the inspiration for the characters of Harry and Nigel; the kernel of an idea that was at the root of Full Moon Murders! and Deadline! Here we expand that discussion a bit.
Coffee
Ever notice how often coffee is mentioned in the Harry Hunsacker adventures? It all began with a scene-stealing butler named Sinclair in A Trifle Dead!, who was always in the kitchen…making coffee. The actors who played that role always managed to make it sound very ominous, and so a tradition was born.
- In XSR:Die!, it was the stage manager who was always making coffee.
- In The Frequency of Death!, Killian’s Ironized Coffee was the sponsor of the radio program.
- In Deadline!, we get introduced to some of the coffee lingo of the day: “blonde and sweet”, “with socks on”, etc.
- In Rehearsal For Murder!, our stalwart trio is storm-bound in a house where they only serve tea, much to Lt. Foster’s dismay.
By way of explanation, playwright Kurt Kleinmann says, “Everyone is drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes in movies of that time, so it just made sense to feature a cup of joe whenever possible!”
Alcohol
You also often see characters in movies of that period with a drink in their hand. So you might expect the same in the Living Black and White series. But aside from the occasional lush (in Frequency of Death!, for example), there isn’t much alcohol on stage in these shows.
You see, one of our three intrepid heroes, Nigel in this case, is a recovering alcoholic. Mr. Kleinmann explains, “I wanted Nigel to have some flaw, something that made him less than perfect and perhaps a little tortured.” Nigel’s alcoholism causes him to lose everything: his marriage, a promising stage career, his self-respect. But Harry rescues him, almost literally from the gutter, and a lifelong friendship is born.
There are references to Nigel’s former drinking problem throughout the series of plays, and in deference to his condition, there just isn’t a lot of drinking in these shows.
Harry Is An Orphan
In a nod to the Batman series, Harry’s parents are murdered in a mugging gone wrong when Harry is a young boy. He witnesses the killing, and in one of the Living Black and White plays he gets to capture his parents’ killer so justice can be served.
Without any parental figures in his life, Harry becomes very close to his Uncle Bob, an attorney whose fortunes rise throughout the series from District Attorney to Supreme Court Justice. Harry’s Uncle Bob is never seen but his presence is often felt as he recommends his nephew for countless cases, much to the chagrin of a frazzled Lt Foster.
With his uncle’s financial backing, Harry could easily have become another trust-fund wastrel, frittering away his fortune. But Harry is too childlike to be dazzled by wealth. To him, money is just a tool that can be used for good or evil, and he uses his to fund his crime-fighting career, while never losing sight of his ultimate goal: to be an actor!
More secrets revealed in future blog entries, so stay tuned!