In Memoriam, William Talman and Wesley Lau

I’ve been racking my brain for something unique and different I could say today. The idea I had hoped to use hasn’t worked out, so I’ve had to think of something else. And I decided perhaps it’s time to share the memorabilia I’ve crafted for myself featuring the characters created by William Talman and Wesley Lau, the two beloved Perry actors who departed this life on this day in 1968 and 1984, respectively.

I should add immediately: I am making no profit from any of these! It’s pure love for the series, and for anything existing in the physical sense, there is only one of each, just for me. I have not, nor will I ever, sell any of the designs here.

I’ve bemoaned the fact that there are no Perry character shirts. Well, I decided that I wanted some just for me. I crafted several designs, one of which has been turned into a real shirt.

The first one I came up with is humorous, with the famous “Objection!” caption from the Phoenix Wright games atop Hamilton’s head as he exclaims indignantly in court.

The second is a bit humorous too, but was also meant to show my great love for our district attorney. I used a shot of his beautiful smile from the end of The Lover’s Leap. This is the design I have on my shirt.

For Andy, I came up with a bit more of an overtly fangirlish design, utilizing one of my favorite shots of him from The Renegade Refugee. I'm hoping to make this into a real shirt this year.

I also created a keychain, with a plug for the blog on the front and a picture of Raymond Burr and William Talman on the back. I often wear this around on a lanyard when I’m not wearing my Hamilton shirt.

My biggest project was undoubtedly when I decided to make a Hamilton plushie. I first tried to utilize the services of someone who has made plushies for me in the past, but upon having a much more difficult time contacting her, I determined to make it myself. For someone who can sew, but doesn’t like it much, I knew it would be a huge challenge.

I thought for a while that I would have to make the entire plushie from scratch, but then we were at JoAnn’s and Mom noticed a pre-made plushie without clothes or features or hair (or ears). I immediately decided this was the best possible solution. The face shape wouldn’t be quite right for Hamilton, but that was alright. I would do everything I could otherwise to make it a loving tribute to my favorite Perry character.

I based the clothes off of what Hamilton wears in The Twice-Told Twist, during the lunch scene with Perry. I love the blue suit and felt it would make a very nice color combination. I managed to get fabric in just about the right shades of blue for both the suit and the tie, and white for the shirt.

I felt it would be easier for me to sew everything by hand instead of with a machine, when it would be so small. And that is exactly what I did. The pants got a little lop-sided, as did the shirt collar, but overall I think I did pretty well, especially when I used to be extremely sloppy at sewing anything. I was very meticulous here.

The ears were definitely one of the strangest challenges. I have no idea why the plushie was sold without them, so I had to make them. The first attempt was too small and I had to try again. The next attempt went a lot more smoothly, and I was able to get the ears attached without too much trouble.

Then there was the hair. I did not want to try to attach loose hair onto a backing; I wanted something already on a backing. I was just lucky that I found some mohair for sale on eBay. It’s perhaps a bit darker than it should be, but Hamilton’s hair looks darker in the earlier seasons, so I went with it anyway. I sewed it on in pieces and was quite proud of how it came out.

I still haven’t made socks or shoes, both because I really don’t like sewing and was ready to scream by that point and also because I’m a little worried that the black material of the socks might start rubbing off on the plush after a while. That’s what happened with the gloves on another plush of mine (that I didn’t make). But aside from those things, he’s done and has been for over a year.

I have a whole bunch of pictures on a roll of film, but I’m wondering if they’ll even turn out. When I tried to have a few recent pictures taken, I found that they were all extremely light. I have never had that happen with a camera before. It’s like when a printer is running out of ink and prints everything way too light. I tried very hard to darken a couple of them, but the details are still really hard to see. The pictures can be clicked on to see their original size, but I'm afraid that still won't make some details show up well. Oh, I hope that other roll of film is better.

I wanted his expression to be calm, Hamilton on a good day. I based it on a lovely picture of William Talman from before Perry, and practiced a simplified version of it many times over, on paper, before I drew it on the plush with Sharpies.

I have also wanted to make a plush of Andy. My biggest problem is wondering how to do the hair. From asking all around, it seems that for him I would have to work with loose pieces of hair, and I’m not sure I’m brave enough for that adventure. But I’m still looking for a more feasible solution, even a doll wig in the right size and approximate style, because I would really like to have one of him, too!

My love for the characters these wonderful men brought to life has certainly resulted in my trying out new methods of showing that love and being creative. I would never spend time engaging in such projects as plushie creation if the characters involved hadn’t deeply touched me.

And of course, I’ve also explored a medium with which I’m very familiar, that of fanfiction stories. I think with every new series I write about, I learn a little more about writing, and writing for the Perry crew has taught me a great deal. I spent and still spend many happy hours watching the character go on their adventures, and it makes me happier still to craft new ones for them to have. I only wish that the actors themselves could have participated in acting out my little adventures. That would have been a dream come true! I like to think that they are aware of and enjoy the stories, at least, even though some of them are very unusual.

I have even occasionally dipped into making fanart with Perry characters, even though I have mountains of trouble drawing anything resembling real people. Hamilton and Andy have both been drawn by me, although the one of Andy didn't turn out very well. I am happy that I managed to do a fairly good one of Amory Fallon, however. And I certainly haven't given up on hoping to get Andy right.

On August 30^th, and on every day, really, I strongly think about and miss our wonderful William Talman and Wesley Lau. Though they were both gone before I was even born, I wish I could have met them. From all that I have been able to find out, they were both people I would have enjoyed knowing—very devoted to family and friends, friendly, good-humored, and fun to be around.

I have tried to take lessons from them, especially in being close to family. I want to thank them both for how they and their characters have touched me and for things I have learned along the way. I may not like sewing, but knowing how to do it better might help me someday! And writing, as always, is my deep passion. I love to express myself, especially when I am inventing new stories for characters I love or otherwise writing about them.

William and Wesley: I know you're both shining wherever you are and whatever you're doing. Stars such as you will never go out.

The Case of the Nine Dolls

I stretched my artistic wings this week to once again attempt passable artwork of live-action people. Previously I failed in an attempt to draw Della and Hamilton together, but this time I managed to draw Amory Fallon and Lieutenant Drumm not too badly. At least, I found it good enough to finish the sketch and post it.

http://meromeroyui.deviantart.com/art/Amory-Fallon-and-Lieutenant-Steve-Drumm-316919168

Most of my notations are below the picture, but one I’ll make here is hands. They are one of the most frustrating things to draw in any picture, no matter the art style. And yet it seems like I’m always drawing them. Occasionally I will hide them, as some other people do, but most of the time I seem to be a glutton for punishment.

And I discovered that I’ve been spelling Chamberlin’s name wrong. I kind of like it better with the second “A”, but since that’s incorrect I’ll be changing his tag and trying to spell it right in future usages both here and in my stories.

I got hold of The Case of the Nine Dolls and finally watched it again at long last. I remember how intrigued I was by it in the past, especially when Perry went to Switzerland! Scenes outside of California are rare, and usually it’s Paul featured in them when it happens. The scene at the toyshop is what I remembered most vividly, although I mistakenly got it in my head that it showed Perry walking down the street.

The plot involves one of Perry’s youngest clients ever, little Peggy Smith, who wants him to find out who she really is and who keeps sending her these dolls from Switzerland. He was planning to go on a fishing trip in Scotland, but he rearranges his plans after being touched by her sweetness and her plight.

While trying to unravel the confusion and the cover-ups, Perry stumbles into what is no doubt the most chilling scene in the entire series. I feel it’s only rivaled by Button’s endangerment in The Missing Button, and even then, I think this one is somehow much more eerie.

After investigating the toyshop where the dolls are purchased and sent to Peggy, and meeting several vacationing Americans who seem oddly interested in the matter, Perry returns to his hotel room and finds that someone has left a broken doll and a note. The note reads, “This can happen to little girls, too.”

I remember always being stunned by that scene. Threats against children are particularly horrifying and sickening, and it seems especially unusual to see one in such an old series.

Alarmed, Perry of course cancels his original ideas to go on to Scotland from Switzerland. He returns home, securing a seat on the same flight as the strange people from the toy store. He chats it up with one of them, Linda. She is aloof and professes no knowledge of any of what’s been happening.

Meanwhile, Paul has been digging and has found a possible connection to Peggy in the Jeffers family. I was rather amused to see that name pop up; Richard Anderson’s character on The Wild Wild West is named Jeffers, and I’m writing a story about him.

The Perry character is a gruff and grouchy old man, a wealthy oil baron. And it so happens that Linda and the others Perry met are related to him. Linda tells him about talking to Perry on the flight home and he is not pleased. When Perry shows up at the house wanting to talk to him, Linda leaves the room. Perry tries to explain about Peggy possibly being Jeffers’ granddaughter, but Jeffers is certain Perry is trying to perpetrate some fraud and orders him out.

When told about the encounter, Peggy is disappointed but accepts it bravely and says he’s probably not a nice man anyway. Perry tries to reassure her that Jeffers is likely very nice. Linda comes in then and asks Perry to stay away from Jeffers. Peggy is brought out of the library in an attempt to soften her heart, but Linda is very oddly repulsed and orders Peggy to keep away from her. She flees the office, leaving everyone stunned. Peggy finally, quietly asks to go back to the boarding school where she’s been living.

Gah, that poor girl. It’s heartbreaking, the way her family treats her. The little girl playing her does an incredible job. Peggy is so sweet and kind and polite. It’s hard to imagine anyone not wanting her.

It doesn’t take long for Jeffers to have a change of heart. He invites Perry back to the house and asks him to bring Peggy. They have a sweet meeting and Jeffers accepts Peggy as his granddaughter.

Things quickly go wrong again, however. Jeffers is killed and Linda is blamed. It comes out that Jeffers was going to change his will and leave everything to Peggy. Everyone in the previous will now has reason to have wanted him dead, but it was Linda whose name Jeffers called out right before he died. And it was Linda, it seems, who was seen running upstairs immediately afterwards.

At the jail before the hearing, Linda finally reveals to Perry why she can’t stand being around Peggy. It seems that Peggy is the daughter of Linda’s best friend and Linda’s fiancé, who ran off together and eloped. Every time Linda sees Peggy, she’s reminded of their betrayal. She hates herself for her feelings, and knows it isn’t Peggy’s fault, but she just can’t bear to so much as look at Peggy.

Chamberlin is the prosecutor for the case. As is usual with him, he handles it with dignity, grace, and maturity. While mostly serious, he does show a bit of a sense of humor, smiling in amusement when one of the witnesses says her husband told her they need a brandy because “it isn’t every day you lose nine million dollars.”

I wonder if this episode was filmed before Chamberlin’s other episodes. It’s harder to see that lighter piece of hair, which I had assumed was a piece that was turning gray. (Although in grayscale it’s hard to tell what the colors are supposed to be.)

The episode is very intense and unique and Peggy is adorable. But seriously, what a crew! I can’t help wondering what on earth happens to her after the episode’s end. It seems she’ll be able to live in the Jeffers mansion, or at least, that’s the implication. But who will be living there with her?

There’s the husband and wife who knew about Peggy’s existence before but were willing to cut her off completely so they could have the money (even though they were fairly well off already). That seems to have been the case with the husband and wife servants, too. And the wife (played by the wonderful Jeanette Nolen, here with a Scottish accent) is the murderer.

And then there’s Linda, who still seems unable to tolerate being around Peggy. At the episode’s end she’s determined to move out of the house. She’s finally won over enough by Peggy’s purity and innocence to bend down and embrace her, which is certainly a vast improvement. But was she won over enough to decide to stay with her? That’s left up to the imagination. The episode ends with the embrace.

When I was younger, I thought the embrace meant definitely that she was going to stay. Seeing it now, I’m just not sure. It’s really ambiguous.

I have to say, I really wish Jeffers hadn’t been killed. It was heartbreaking. He was so happy to finally realize he had a granddaughter, and he was the only one who really wanted Peggy, and then he was murdered. He definitely goes on the short list of good people who were killed off on the series.

Perry and Della both have some adorable interaction with Peggy. Near the beginning of the episode, Della assures Peggy that she’ll come see her at the boarding school. And throughout the episode, it’s Della who brings Peggy to Perry’s office and other locations. I like to think that Della kept up her friendship with Peggy following the episode’s end. I’m sure she would have.

Overall, I still love the episode. But I’m stalled from accepting it into my top tier of favorites due to wondering about Peggy’s fate post-episode and wishing Jeffers hadn’t been the murder victim.

Male secretaries: always the bad guys?!

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:

http://meromeroyui.deviantart.com/art/In-the-district-attorney-s-office-302488403