Mannix began way back in 1967 and its hard nosed private eye, played by Mike Connors was on CBS for eight seasons. The show was created by Desilu Productions, a company formed by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. During each episode if there was one thing you could count on, it was Mannix getting into a fight. In the show’s eight season run, Mike Connors became one of the highest paid actors on television.
In a 2000 interview on Fox News Channel, Connors said, “”I know that I kept saying I want this character to be as real as possible, to feel the emotions, the ups and the downs, to shed a tear, whatever it took that happens to the average human being.” Variety reported:
Desilu president Lucille Ball convinced CBS not to cancel the show despite initial poor ratings, and it caught on after being retooled into a somewhat more conventional detective series. Mannix’s secretary, played by Gail Fisher, was one of the few African-American actresses on TV at the time. “Here’s Lucy” produced a crossover episode in 1971 with Connors and Ball, called “Lucy and Mannix Are Held Hostage.”
While Mannix might be a little before many people’s time, it was referenced frequently on the show Seinfeld and is highly considered to be a precursor to many cop and detective shows that are on TV today.
Connors himself actually changed his named in the 1950s. He was originally born Krekor Ohanian and was of Armenian descent. Connors had been diagnosed with Leukemia a week ago and died Thursday in a Los Angeles hospital.
His last television appearance was in 2007 on the show Two and a Half Men.
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