Murder, She Wrote was an American mystery series which aired on CBS from 1984 to 1996. Starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher, the series was spun off into four made for TV movies and a series of books ghost written by Donald Bain.
One of the longest-running television series for CBS, the series received a total of twelve Best Actress Emmy Award-nominations for Lansbury, which was a record, although she never won. The Jessica Fletcher character became so popular that she guest starred on an episode of Magnum, P.I., and she was named number 64 in Bravo's list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.
References[]
- A Sesame Street script for the "Fairytale Detective" segment (originally produced in 1989 for Episode 2613 but unaired until Episode 3386) describes detective Miss Marble as a "cross between Angela Lansbury and Mother Goose."
- While Ace Hart investigates murder attempts in the Dog City episode "Radio Daze," suspect Spot reads a copy of Murder She Barked.
- In the Dinosaurs episode "Network Genius," the Antediluvian Broadcasting Company's line up, following the ratings hike from simply running a test pattern, includes "Test Pattern She Wrote."
- On the first episode of Muppets Tonight, Gonzo looks over the new KMUP evening line-up. One of the shows on the schedule is "Murder She Faxed."
- In a taped presentation for promotion for Muppets Tonight, Gonzo suggested a surefire alternative: "Roseanne's Funniest Home Improvements, She Wrote."[1]
Muppet Mentions[]
- The seventh season episode "From the Horse's Mouth" features Jessica's private eye friend Harry McGraw. He interviews suspect Althea, who derisively refers to the victim's daughter as Miss Piggy.
Connections[]
- John Astin appeared in multiple episodes
- Ned Beatty appeared in "The Murder Of Sherlock Holmes" (1984)
- Milton Berle appeared in "Broadway Malady" (1985)
- LeVar Burton played Dave Robinson in "Death Takes a Dive" (1987)
- Bill Capizzi appeared in "Death Takes a Dive" (1987)
- James Coco appeared in "We're Off to Kill the Wizard" (1984)
- Juliana Donald appeared in "Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble" (1989)
- Jamie Farr appeared in "A Little Night Work" (1988)
- Conchata Ferrell appeared in "Something Borrowed, Someone Blue" (1989)
- Harvey Fierstein appeared in "The Dead File" (1992)
- Buddy Hackett appeared in "No Laughing Murder" (1987)
- Nicholas Hammond appeared in "Murder in the Afternoon" (1985)
- Page Hannah appeared in "The Sins of Castle Cove" (1989)
- Neil Patrick Harris appeared in "Lone Witness" (1993)
- Mariette Hartley appeared in "Night of the Coyote" (1992)
- Tippi Hedren appeared in "Bloodlines" (1993)
- Florence Henderson appeared in two episodes
- Pat Hingle appeared in three episodes
- Chaim Jeraffi appeared in "Death 'N Denial" (1995)
- Shirley Jones appeared in two episodes
- Martin Landau appeared in "Birds of a Feather" (1984)
- Brandon Maggart appeared in "Ballad for a Blue Lady" (1990)
- Julianna Margulies appeared in "Murder at a Discount" (1993)
- Jean Marsh appeared in "Murder in White" (1993)
- Anne Meara appeared in two episodes
- Roger Miller appeared in "It's A Dog's Life" (1984)
- Pat Morita appeared in "Kendo Killing" (1996)
- Megan Mullally appeared in "Coal Miner's Slaughter" (1988)
- Leslie Nielsen appeared in two episodes
- Jerry Orbach played Harry McGraw (1985-1991)
- Richard Paul played Mayor Sam Booth (1986-1992)
- Donna Pescow appeared in "Keep the Home Fries Burning" (1986)
- Joaquin Phoenix appeared in "We're Off to Kill the Wizard" (1984)
- Lynn Redgrave appeared in "It's a Dog's Life" (1984)
- Rex Robbins appeared in "Obituary for a Dead Anchor" (1986)
- Reni Santoni appeared in two episodes
- Tom Selleck played Thomas Magnum in "Magnum on Ice" (1986)
- Dinah Shore appeared in "Alma Murder" (1989)
- Kevin Sorbo appeared in "A Virtual Murder" (1993)
- Robert Stack appeared in "Christopher Bundy - Died On Sunday" (1986)
- John Standing appeared in two episodes
- Connie Stevens appeared in two episodes
- Jerry Stiller appeared in "When The Fat Lady Sings" (1989)
- Loretta Swit appeared in "Portrait of Death" (1994)
- George Takei appeared in "The Bottom Line is Murder" (1987)
- Jeffrey Tambor appeared in "Harbinger of Death" (1988)
- Jay Underwood appeared in two episodes
- Jean Vander Pyl appeared in "One Good Bid Deserves a Murder" (1985)
- Fred Willard appeared in "The Taxman Cometh" (1991)