Honey West

by John C. Fredriksen

"Honey West" debuted in the fall of 1965, derived from the famous detective novels of the same name. Produced by Aaron Spelling, she was television's first liberated female, a crack private investigator and an expert in martial arts-beholden to no man. The beautiful actress Anne Francis was cast in the central role as the sexy, wise-cracking star, and she is assisted by her cantankerous sidekick, Sam Bolt (John Ericson) and somewhat flaky live-in, Aunt Meg (Irene Hervey). In 30 black-and-white episodes, Honey battles her way through the underworld by dint of her wits, judo prowess, and killer looks, aided by an arsenal of high-tech gimmicks, a sexy Cobra sports car, and an ocelot named Bruce! The result is an unmistakable slice of 1960s Americana, one which cut the template for strong female roles to follow. Celebrated as a cult hit, "Honey West" is a must for any aficionados of crime drama television or just a half-hour of good entertainment. This ground-breaking book examines the series in detail with interviews of the surviving cast members, and listings of websites, addresses, bibliographies, episode synopses, and an appendix. Profusely illustrated.

Honey West debuted in the fall of 1965, derived from the famous detective novels of the same name. Produced by Aaron Spelling, she was television's first liberated female, a crack private investigator and an expert in martial arts-beholden to no man. The beautiful actress Anne Francis was cast in the central role as the sexy, wise-cracking star, and she is assisted by her cantankerous sidekick, Sam Bolt (John Ericson) and somewhat flaky live-in, Aunt Meg (Irene Hervey). In 30 black-and-white episodes, Honey battles her way through the underworld by dint of her wits, judo prowess, and killer looks, aided by an arsenal of high-tech gimmicks, a sexy Cobra sports car, and an ocelot named Bruce! The result is an unmistakable slice of 1960s Americana, one which cut the template for strong female roles to follow. Celebrated as a cult hit, Honey West is a must for any afficionados of crime drama television or just a half-hour of good entertainment. This ground-breaking book examines the series in detail with interviews of the surviving cast members, and listings of websites, addresses, bibliographies, episode synopses, and an appendix. Profusely illustrated.