Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!
It has been my increasing suspicion that male
secretaries really get a bad rap on Perry. After seeing it confirmed for
the third time, I decided it was time to make an official write-up.
Frankly, I am bewildered by the trend. Every time
we’ve seen a male secretary, it seems that he’s a crook in some way, whether or
not he’s the murderer. What’s the deal? Were they so rare in those days,
perhaps even often misunderstood in a career position usually filled by women,
that it seemed an intriguing thing to make them the bad guys? It doesn’t seem
to have been confined solely to Perry, either; I saw another one in the Lady
Beryl episode of the Ronald Howard version of Sherlock Holmes.
Of course, there were crooked women secretaries on
Perry too, but at least with them we also saw many who were good. At
this point I can only think of one good male secretary, and we never actually
saw him! (For that matter, we don’t even know for sure if he’s a secretary,
although it seemed to be strongly implied.)
Our first introduction to a male secretary was
William Schallert’s character in episode 5, The Sulky Girl. Though not
the murderer, he was aware of the murder and was an accessory. He called out
the window, pretending to be the dead man in order to give the illusion that he
was still alive, and allowed an innocent person to be tried for the murder.
Next there was a male secretary in season 2’s The
Spanish Cross. Also an accessory, he stole the titular object and was aware
of who murdered his boss, but said nothing. And he even said that he liked the
boy who ended up accused of both the theft and the murder. Cheap wretch; he
certainly had a brilliant way of showing it!
And just the other night I saw Charles Aidman
play a male secretary in The Gallant Grafter. He was the actual
murderer. He was also carrying on with the wife of his boss. That poor man, he
had to deal with the double blows of both his wife and his friend and secretary
betraying him! And when he was accused of murder, it was due to a frame those
two set up.
All three male secretaries seemed like very
likable people at first. I was disappointed in all of them, though perhaps
particularly William Schallert’s character. Quiet and unassuming, he seemed a
meek soul, not someone who would be involved in criminal activities. Of course,
that’s often a type to watch out for in mysteries.
I’m unsure if there are any other male
secretaries actually seen on the series. Can anyone here think of any? Were
there ever any who were good guys? I suppose I could count the General’s trusty
aide in The Positive Negative, but I didn’t think he was ever actually
referred to as a secretary (although he likely handled many similar duties).
With so many rotten apples, it’s all the more
reason why Hamilton’s supposed secretary Leon should have been shown. There should
have been at least one decent male secretary to represent the profession.
Albeit, to get technical, we know so little about
Leon that it’s possible he’s no good either. But it’s much nicer to think that he’s
an honest person, for more reasons than one. Hamilton is put down so much in
the series that he certainly doesn’t need another blow in the form of a
dishonest secretary. And I really like the idea that Leon is as important and
loyal to Hamilton as Della is to Perry, where work-related matters are
concerned.
As a parting, I have always loved to make “fan
art” for my favorite series as well as fanfiction. It’s difficult for me to
illustrate any live-action show, but I’ve really wanted to try. Hence, several
weeks ago I tackled the idea and fought to draw a decent Hamilton and my image
of Leon. I had to re-draw Hamilton several times before it looked halfway good.
Leon was much easier, but he didn’t come out exactly as I’d wanted. Further
details on the link, for anyone interested:
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