Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1958 TV series)

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer
StarringDarren McGavin
Bart Burns
Theme music composerDave Kahn
Melvyn Lenard Gordon
Opening theme"Riff Blues"
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes76 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerRichard Irving
Running time30 minutes
Production companyRevue Studios
Original release
NetworkSyndication
ReleaseJanuary 7, 1958 (1958-01-07) 
November 28, 1959 (1959-11-28)

Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is the first syndicated television series based on Spillane's hard-boiled private detective Mike Hammer, played by Darren McGavin. The series was produced from 1957 to 1959, and had a run of 76 episodes over two seasons. Episodes were filmed in black and white and filled a half-hour time slot. As a syndicated television series, original air dates and the order of episodes vary by geographic location – for example, in New York City. The series debuted January 28, 1958, on WCBS-TV, and the first episode aired was "Letter Edged in Blackmail".