A 300-pound genius who won't leave his house solves crimes while his hot assistant does the legwork.
60 minSeason 1 • Episode 14
LatestTwo paid killers track Nero and Archie.
Nero Wolfe enjoys a life of refined self-indulgence in his comfortable Manhattan brownstone — reading, dining, spending regular hours in his rooftop plant rooms, and only reluctantly involving himself in the detection of crime. Famously sedentary, Wolfe relies on his legman Archie Goodwin to collect the clues and the suspects in any case at hand, while he spars with his live-in chef Fritz Brenner and bickers with his resident orchid nurse Theodore Horstmann. Often assisted by freelance detective Saul Panzer, Wolfe and Archie customarily gather the suspects in Wolfe's office and present the solution to the exasperated Inspector Cramer of Manhattan Homicide.
Acting
William Conrad's magnificent, theatrical pomposity.
Production
That absurdly lavish brownstone set—Wolfe's gilded cage.
Creator
Rex Stout
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
William Conrad wore a fat suit and padding—he wasn't actually Wolfe-sized, but committed to the bit.
This was the SECOND Wolfe series in two years; a 1979 Paramount+ pilot with Thayer David flopped so hard they recast everything.
US
