Mannix

I was 8 years old when MANNIX went on the air and 16 when it ended. It was a major part of my formative years and still one of THE best TV detective series in my opinion (2nd perhaps only to THE ROCKFORD FILES). MANNIX was created, written by and with a now-classic music score by the folks who brought you COLUMBO and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. The opening split-screen montage was new and impressive for 1967 and the theme was one of the most memorable TV instrumentals of its day. 

Mike Conners, a small-time actor with a forgettable previous TV series, was MANNIX. Mannix was the square peg that didn't quite fit into one of the round holes at the high tech computer detective agency, Intertech, run by Joe Campanella's Lew Wickersham, based not so loosely on Universal's head honcho, Lew Wasserman. 

MANNIX was popular enough to merit a number of tie-ins such as paperback novels, Viewmaster reels, model kits and soundtrack albums.

 From the second season on, with no explanation, Joe Mannix was a more typical PI, complete with Gail Fisher as his secretary and  sometimes sidekick, Peggy.
  

MANNIX went out on a high note with still good scripts and performances in 1975. Reruns were already going on around the country and continued for many years afterwards before, in more recent years, the series has become available on DVD.