Rex Stout's fictional detective Nero Wolfe, corpulent connoisseur of gourmet food and avid reader and gardener, was the subject of two feature films and four different radio series but until March 1959 had not inspired a pilot for an intended CBS series in the wake of PERRY MASON. Swiss-born Kurt Kasznar was cast as Wolfe, his busy assistant Archie Goodwin in the capable hands of Canadian-born William Shatner, the story a sluggish whodunit in which an athletic scientist is believed to have died of a heart attack brought on at the exact moment of a Cape Canaveral launch. This Wolfe is mostly bedridden with a cold (typically loathe to do any work beyond his own home), and for the first half Shatner enjoys the opportunity to shine as he conducts interviews when not flirting with the opposite sex. The network decided to pass on what was considered a successful presentation, regarded as too short to squeeze into a half hour like PERRY MASON, and as late as the fall of 1960 Shatner remained hopeful for an eventual series (both actors ended up in science fiction shows, STAR TREK and LAND OF THE GIANTS).
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