Dick Tracy

Billy Jo Jive's heroes: Dick Tracy, Sherlock Holmes, and Shaft

Baby Scooter draws "Scooter Tracy"

Dick Tracy is a syndicated newspaper comic strip, which has been running since 1931. Created by Chestor Gould, the strip focuses on the titular detective, a jutting-chinned crusader who has fought gangsters, Nazis, and a vast Rogue's Gallery of grotesques such as Flattop and Pruneface, most of whom were killed in gory fashion.

The strip, which introduced the concept of a two-way wrist television, has been adapted for radio, film serials, television, low-budget movies in the 1940s, and a high-profile 1990 feature film.

References

• In "Billy Jo Jive" segments on Sesame Street, the opening sequence always shows an array of posters and images on Billy's wall, starting with a Dick Tracy comic strip, along with Sherlock Holmes and Shaft.

• In another Sesame Street segment, the Two-Headed Monster finds different ways to use a newspaper, until the paper's owner comes to read the comic section. He proceeds to read a Dick Tracy comic with the monster.

• In the Muppet Babies episode "Comic Capers," Scooter briefly becomes Scooter Tracy in the song "The Sunday Funnies."

Connections

• Charles Durning played Chief Brandon in the 1990 film
• Bob Hope played Flattop in the Command Performance spoof "Dick Tracy in B-Flat" (1945)
• Will Lee played Reg Rof in the Dick Tracy TV episode "The Mole" (1950)
• Abe Levitow directed installments of The Dick Tracy Show (1960-1961)
• John Moschitta, Jr. played a radio announcer in the 1990 film
• Mandy Patinkin played 88 Keys in the 1990 film
• Dinah Shore played Tess Trueheart in the Command Performance spoof "Dick Tracy in B-Flat" (1945)
• Dick Van Dyke played D.A. Fletcher in the 1990 film