Johnny Midnight is an American crime drama

Police procedural

The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...

 that aired for one season in syndicated

Television syndication

In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...

 from January to December 1960. The series stars Edmond O'Brien

Edmond O'Brien

Edmond O'Brien was an American actor who is perhaps best remembered for his role in D.O.A. and his Oscar winning role in The Barefoot Contessa...

 as the title character.

Synopsis

O'Brien portrayed Johnny Midnight, a New York City actor turned private detective. Midnight's cases frequently focused upon Times Square

Times Square

Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...

 and Broadway, where he had triumphed earlier on stage. Midnight lives in a plush Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 penthouse

Penthouse apartment

A penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...

. O'Brien narrated

Narrator

A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...

 the crime drama in the terse style associated with Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey Bogart

Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....

 or Walter Winchell

Walter Winchell

Walter Winchell was an American newspaper and radio gossip commentator.-Professional career:Born Walter Weinschel in New York City, he left school in the sixth grade and started performing in a vaudeville troupe known as Gus Edwards' "Newsboys Sextet."His career in journalism was begun by posting...

. The theme song of the series is "Lullaby of Broadway

Lullaby of Broadway (song)

"Lullaby of Broadway" is a popular song with music written by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin, published in 1935. The song was introduced by Wini Shaw in the musical film, Gold Diggers of 1935, and, in an unusual move, it was used as background music in a sequence in the Bette Davis film...

".

The supporting cast included Arthur Batanides

Arthur Batanides

Arthur Batanides was an American film and television actor, originally from Tacoma, Washington.In the 1959-1960 season, Batanides appeared in a supporting role as police Sergeant Olivera in the syndicated crime drama, Johnny Midnight, starring Edmond O'Brien as a New York City actor-turned-private...

 as Sergeant Lupo Olvera, Barney Phillips

Barney Phillips

Barney Phillips was an American film, radio and television actor.-Biography and career:He was born Bernard Philip Ofner in St. Louis, Missouri, to Harry Nathan Ofner, a commercial salesman for the leather industry, and Leona Frank Ofner, a naturalized citizen of German origin, who went by the...

 as Lieutenant Sam Geller, and Yuki Shimoda

Yuki Shimoda

Yuki Shimoda was an American actor best known for his starring role as Ko Wakatsuki in the NBC movie of the week, Farewell to Manzanar in 1976. He also co-starred in a 1960s television series, Johnny Midnight , with Edmond O'Brien. He was a star of the silver screen, early television and the stage...

 as Uki, Midnight's wise-cracking Japanese manservant.

Other guest roles were filled by Parley Baer

Parley Baer

Parley Edward Baer was an American actor in film, television, and radio.-Radio:Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Baer had a circus background, but began his radio career at Utah station KSL...

, Whitney Blake

Whitney Blake

Whitney Blake was an American film and television actress, director and producer.Blake was born as Nancy Ann Whitney in 1926 in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California, the first child of Martha Mae Wilkerson and Harry Whitney...

, Walter Burke

Walter Burke

Walter Burke was a prolific Irish-American character actor, of stage, film, and television. His small stature, and distinctive voice and face, made him easily recognizable in even the most minor of roles.- Early life :...

, Russ Conway

Russ Conway (actor)

Russ Conway was a Canadian-American character actor who appeared on film and television between 1947 and 1975.-Early years:...

, Billy De Wolfe

Billy De Wolfe

Billy De Wolfe was an American character actor. He was active in films from the mid-1940s until his death in 1974. He was a good friend of Doris Day from the time of their meeting during the filming of Tea for Two until his death...

, Joe Flynn

Joe Flynn (US actor)

Joseph A. Flynn was an American character actor. He was best known for his role in the 1960s ABC television situation comedy, McHale's Navy. He was also a frequent guest star on 1960s TV shows such as Batman and appeared in several Walt Disney film comedies...

, Connie Hines

Connie Hines

Connie Hines was an American actress, best known for playing Alan Young's wife, Carol Post, on the 1960s syndicated and then CBS sitcom Mister Ed.- Biography :...

, DeForest Kelley

DeForest Kelley

Jackson DeForest Kelley was an American actor known for his iconic roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise in the television and film series Star Trek.-Early life:...

, Viveca Lindfors

Viveca Lindfors

Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors , better known under her professional name of Viveca Lindfors, was a Swedish stage and film actress.-Life and career:...

, Tyler McVey

Tyler McVey

Tyler McVey was an American character actor.-Early life and career:McVey was born in Bay City on Saginaw Bay in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. His first screen role, uncredited, came at the age of 39 in 1951, when he portrayed Brady in the The Day the Earth Stood Still...

, Jay Novello

Jay Novello

Jay Novello was an American radio, film, and television character actor.Born in Chicago as Michael Romano, of Italian descent, Novello began his career as a radio actor, playing Jack Packard on the Hollywood version of I Love a Mystery for a brief period, circa 1944...

, J. Pat O'Malley

J. Pat O'Malley

James Patrick O'Malley was an English singer and character actor, who appeared in many American films and television programs during the 1940s–1970s, using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley...

, Jacqueline Scott

Jacqueline Scott

Jacqueline Scott is an American actress who has appeared in several films and television programs as well as guest starring in over one hundred television shows...

, Robert F. Simon

Robert F. Simon

Robert F. Simon was an American character actor, often portraying military or authority figure roles. Though his face was recognized by audiences, he was mostly unknown by name...

, and William Schallert

William Schallert

William Joseph Schallert is an American actor who has appeared in many films and in such television series as The Smurfs, The Rat Patrol, Gunsmoke, The Patty Duke Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Waltons, Bonanza, Leave It to Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Love, American Style, Get...

.

Production notes

Jack Chertok

Jack Chertok

Jack Chertok was an American film and television producer perhaps best known to modern viewers as producer for the 182 black and white episodes of The Lone Ranger.-Career:...

 produced

Television producer

The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...

 the program, prior to his association with the sitcom My Favorite Martian

My Favorite Martian

My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...

. Guest stars included Lurene Tuttle

Lurene Tuttle

Lurene Tuttle was a character actress, who made transitions from vaudeville to radio, to films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's most versatile actresses...

, Adam West

Adam West

William West Anderson , better known by the stage name Adam West, is an American actor best known for his lead role in the Batman TV series and the film of the same name...

 and Doug McClure

Doug McClure

Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...

.