Darren McGavin swore off ''search and seek'' shows after he starred in The Night Stalker (1972)
"No more cops and robbers series for me," said McGavin.
Though the life of a gumshoe was all well and good for Carl Kolchak, actor Darren McGavin wasn’t interested in acting in any more crime dramas.
The actor starred in popular TV films like The Night Stalker (1972). In the film, McGavin played a reporter hunting down the truth behind a seemingly supernatural crime.
But after the film came out, the actor told The Macon News that he had turned a corner in his career.
“No more cops and robbers series for me,” said McGavin. “I’ve turned down four cops and robbers series this week. Search and seek, that’s all it is today. Everybody’s a private detective: doctors are private detectives, lawyers are private detectives, private detectives are private detectives.”
McGavin had played his fair share of investigators. Previously, the actor had starred in the short-lived series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, where he played a private detective. McGavin’s change of heart wasn’t due to any lack of faith in the genre. Rather, he felt that television was oversaturated with crime and detective stories. “Look at the plot structure of the stories you see on TV,” said the actor. “They’re all detective stories: which is the guilty disease?”
Of course, McGavin would have to eat his own words in 1974 when he began starring in the television adaptation series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. However, the actor was true to his word in branching out into various television shows. He later received an Emmy nomination for a recurring role on Murphy Brown.
