I’ve been taking my time getting today’s post
done, as I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what I should be writing about!
I have quite a few topics floating around in my mind, but some of them are
being held up by various glitches and frustrations that are preventing me from
learning a bit more about them first. (Such as, concerning the inability to execute one topic, what is wrong
with Yahoo Groups the last couple of days?! I’m having a horrid time loading
the site. Right now it refuses to cooperate. Yesterday it was extremely sluggish.)
With my interest sparking a bit more where both
Sampson and Chamberlain are concerned, I’ve been peering at their actors’
profiles and looking for other things to watch them in. And then I’ve been
running across them by accident, as well; both are quite prolific character
actors. I found it hilarious when, a few hours after watching The Wintry
Wife, I was watching Sea Hunt and suddenly realized, “Oh my gosh!
That’s Chamberlain!”
Robert Karnes, I find, is quite easy to spot from
that distinctive piece of lighter-colored hair standing out against his mostly
dark hair. I’ve stumbled across him on more than one episode of Sea Hunt,
and judging from his resume, he’s been in several old movies and guest-starred
on several old television shows that I’ve been familiar with for years. He’s
even been on The Andy Griffith Show.
It’s been the same story with H.M. Wynant. (And
he’s also one of the few Perry actors playing a recurring character who
is still alive today. And active. Awesome.) I knew someone seemed familiar in The
Wild Wild West episode The Night of the Simian Terror. But until I
saw the cast list it just didn’t click.
That’s usually the case when I’ve run across him
in other Perry episodes. I recognize him, but can’t place where until I
see the name. I’ll probably start finding it easier to spot him in the future,
now that I’m actively looking.
He has quite an impressive roster of Perry
episodes, I see. Like William Boyett, he appeared in every season except season
2. He was in all the other seasons once, save for season 4, of course, where he
was around three times. His characters seem to vary in their involvement with
the cases, and in whether they’re good or bad, if I remember right. I can’t
recall if he was ever the murderer or the victim. (I don’t think so.)
Robert Karnes was only in one other episode of Perry
besides the four in season 4. In season 1, he appeared in The Hesitant
Hostess as a character called Detective Purvis, and I . . . can’t recall
anything about him off-hand.
I do know Robert often played law enforcement
types, even appearing as a co-star in the series The Lawless Years,
which sounds like it might be a more historically accurate version of
some of the events depicted in The Untouchables (more or less). It
follows some police in New York during the Roaring Twenties. And they actually
had the real, main NYPD detective depicted in the show as a technical consultant!
I think I need to try that series.
I still have one Perry episode with
Chamberlain to see. My local station skipped The Nine Dolls again,
despite actually listing it on their schedule this time! Ridiculous! I was
looking forward to seeing it again after all these years. I’ve sent for the
disc from Netflix; I should have it next week unless I rearrange my queue
again. There’s so many things I’m gathering up to see that my queue sees quite
a bit of shifting around.
One oddball thing I’ve noticed about Sampson: his
name is never spoken. You only know who the heck he is by looking at the cast
list. He’s always called “Mr. Prosecutor.” Exactly why is this? I hope the
explanation isn’t something silly, like the network being worried over the
character having a Biblical name. I would kind of doubt that, judging by the
various references to the Biblical Sampson on The Wild Wild West, which
ran on the same network. (But if that was the problem, why didn’t they
change the Perry character’s name to begin with?) I think Sampson is the
only one of Hamilton’s assistants whose name has never been mentioned in the
spoken dialogue at all.
I’ve been tinkering with having both Sampson and
Chamberlain, very occasionally, in my stories ever since my first Perry
mystery. Recently I wrote a random blurb on Livejournal that has them both and
features a bit of interaction with Hamilton. I’m thinking they will most likely
appear with greater prominence in a future mystery, perhaps the very next one,
as I’m wrapping up The Denying Detective at long last.
It really was the writing challenges I took on
for May and June that seriously slowed this story down; that’s obvious from how
fast I’ve been putting out the chapters this month. I think the only thing left
now is the epilogue, and making sure all the last loose ends are tied together.
Then I’ll be starting on the next one, which I think I’ve been calling The
Malevolent Mugging. While Andy and his double Amory Fallon will dominate
the main plot, I may run a cocurrent subplot with Hamilton, Sampson, and
Chamberlain.
Sampson and Chamberlain may have a scene or two
to themselves to interact in; I’m kind of fascinated to see how they might
communicate with each other. Chamberlain certainly seems to be more of a
veteran prosecutor, while Sampson is a young and impulsive fellow. Save for
that tired gag of Perry being wildly accused in The Waylaid Wolf, Chamberlain
comes across as a mature and skilled person. And even the wild accusation is
handled with dignity, really.
The Livejournal blurb I wrote, while featuring
them both, didn’t really allow for any interaction between them. Sampson is
badly hurt while protecting Hamilton from a sudden and shocking attack.
Chamberlain tends to him while Hamilton tries to catch the assailant, but the
focus is on Hamilton’s point-of-view, and when he gets back, his interaction
with Sampson. I might write an experimental follow-up showing things from
Chamberlain’s point-of-view and allowing for him to interact with Sampson.
One
thing I quickly realized: If those deputies are going to appear in stories with
any prominence, their first names will need to be in there. Chamberlain’s we
already know from The Wintry Wife: Victor. But Sampson’s remains
unknown. And I’ve been discovering that you can’t combine just any name with a
name as cool as Sampson. It’s very difficult to find anything that fits. The
only one I’ve matched up so far as a possibility is Gregory, which seems to
carry enough power to sound good but doesn’t cancel out when combined with
Sampson. And yet I’m not sure it fits the character well enough. Thoughts?
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