The Partners and Guest Detectives of Murder, She Wrote in One of My Life’s Passions
She was the sharpest mind in Cabot Cove. But some of the finest episodes came when J.B. Fletcher met someone who could keep pace with her.
Andrew Balzano believes fairness demands it: if a book covers Murder, She Baked, it must also cover Murder, She Wrote. In One of My Life’s Passions: Classics and Mysteries, he calls the role of mystery writer J.B. Fletcher, short for Jessica Beatrice Fletcher, one of Angela Lansbury’s best. He then walks readers through dozens of episodes from the show’s twelve seasons, beginning with its two-part premiere, The Murder of Sherlock Holmes.
As he does, a pattern appears. Many of his favorite episodes are the ones where Jessica teams up with a memorable partner. Balzano repeatedly praises the show’s magnificent casting, and nowhere is that clearer than in the people who stood beside Jessica. He uses one word again and again to describe those pairings: chemistry.
Harry McGraw, Private Eye
Jerry Orbach’s Harry McGraw first teams up with Jessica in Tough Guys Don’t Die, where they must find out who killed Archie Miles of the Miles & McGraw detective agency. Harry promises to balance the books for his late partner, and Jessica points to the clue that does it. Their partnership continues in Double Exposure, which ends with Harry assuring a group of police officers that the scene is not what it looks like while Jessica has a good laugh. They pair up again in From the Horse’s Mouth. Orbach’s scrappy detective proved so popular that he went on to headline his own series, The Law & Harry McGraw.
Michael Haggerty, Man of Mystery
Len Cariou’s Michael Haggerty, a British agent with MI6, brings international intrigue. Balzano notes that their first appearance together is Widow, Weep for Me, the opening episode of season two, set on a tropical island. In One White Rose for Death, Haggerty and Jessica evade East German security police to reach asylum at the British Embassy, and Balzano ranks it among their best episodes together.
The List of Yuri Lementov, with Theodore Bikel in the title role, has them protecting a coded list of five names. Appointment in Athens sends them to Greece to rescue a fellow MI6 agent who has been kidnapped. In J.B. as in Jailbird, Haggerty and nephew Grady keep Jessica safely behind bars while they hunt the real killer.
· What makes two characters work so well together on screen?
· Can a partner bring out a side of the hero we have never seen?
Detectives, Reporters and a Lieutenant’s Hat
Wayne Rogers brings comic relief as Detective Charles Garrett in Deadly Bidding and A Quaking in Aspen. Harry Guardino’s newspaper reporter Haskell Drake makes Deadline for Murder a must-see, and Balzano calls their interactions priceless. Barney Martin’s Lt. Timothy Hanratty first teams up with Jessica in No Accounting for Murder, an episode that ends with the lieutenant distraught over a stolen hat and a mysterious figure strolling away in it to an Irish melody. Their chemistry returns in Smooth Operators.
Even single-episode partners earn praise. Martin Milner’s Sheriff Bodine helps Jessica set a trap in Reflections of the Mind. In Corned Beef and Carnage, a sandwich delivered at 8:00 and still untouched at 9:15 is enough to win her twenty-four hours to clear her niece. In Witness for the Defense, her clash with a celebrated defense attorney becomes, as Balzano writes, outstanding entertainment.
The Heart of the Series
These pairings show why Murder, She Wrote lasted. Jessica could hold her own with anyone, yet she never needed to outshine the people beside her. That generosity is exactly what Balzano admires.
His notes also reveal how carefully the show chose its guest detectives. Many were respected actors in their own right. Each partner brought out a different side of Jessica: her wit alongside Harry, her courage alongside Michael and her sense of fun alongside Charles Garrett. Watching them in sequence feels like meeting old friends again.
A good partner keeps you honest…
A great partner keeps you laughing…
Jessica Fletcher found both, time and again…
In One of My Life’s Passions: Classics and Mysteries, every partnership is a reason to press play again!
