JANUS
'QUINCY, M.E.'"CRIB JOB"
MILO JANUS
'COLUMBO'
"EXERCISE IN FATALITY"
THEORY OF "RELATEEVEETY"
Father & Son
Allow me to introduce a former railroad man, Mr. Janus. We don't know his first name, but I'm going to put forward the suggestion that his name was Milo. That's because I'm proposing a theory of relateeveety for him - that he is the father of Milo Janus the physical fitness advocate, making him Milo Janus, Jr. (although it never came up in his TV showcase.) Milo Janus Jr. gave his name to a franchise of owner-operated fitness centers and made a very substantial side profit from bilking those owners from the overpriced equipment he forced them to buy.
One of those owners, Gene Stafford, balked at this arrangement and began to investigate the financial paper trail. He was going to cause trouble for Janus and so Milo Junior put into motion an elaborate plan to kill Stafford.
As neither character mentioned their relationship, I also believe that they had been estranged for many years. This would be evident just from the fact that the elder Janus was living in a building recently condemned by the city of Los Angeles and he only had a month in which to move out. Had he and his son been on better terms, Milo Junior would surely have helped him out long before this change in his life. But by this point in Mr. Janus' life, his son had been in prison for about three years already. And most of the fortune he had accrued had been spent on his defense at the trial.
Father & Son
As neither character mentioned their relationship, I also believe that they had been estranged for many years. This would be evident just from the fact that the elder Janus was living in a building recently condemned by the city of Los Angeles and he only had a month in which to move out. Had he and his son been on better terms, Milo Junior would surely have helped him out long before this change in his life. But by this point in Mr. Janus' life, his son had been in prison for about three years already. And most of the fortune he had accrued had been spent on his defense at the trial.
(O'BSERVATION: According to the Ultimate Lt. Columbo Site, Milo Janus would have had the case dismissed due to insufficient evidence. However, I think Columbo nailed him dead to rights.)
Sadly, Milo Janus, Sr. died not long after the medical examiner Dr. R. Quincy had interviewed him about an old friend of his, nicknamed Browny. It was probably his heart that gave out because of the stressful exertion during his forced relocation.
O'BSERVATIONS:
Janus was played by Frank Faylen, best known in Toobworld for the role of Herbert T. Gillis, the father of Dobie Gillis. For movie-lovers, perhaps he is most recognized by the many fans of "It's A Wonderful Life" in which he played Ernie (which is why I'm running this today, as part of the Christmas season.)
Sadly, Milo Janus, Sr. died not long after the medical examiner Dr. R. Quincy had interviewed him about an old friend of his, nicknamed Browny. It was probably his heart that gave out because of the stressful exertion during his forced relocation.
Janus was played by Frank Faylen, best known in Toobworld for the role of Herbert T. Gillis, the father of Dobie Gillis. For movie-lovers, perhaps he is most recognized by the many fans of "It's A Wonderful Life" in which he played Ernie (which is why I'm running this today, as part of the Christmas season.)
Robert Conrad played Milo Janus in the 'Coumbo' episode.
The 'Quincy' appearance was Frank Faylen's last role; he died seven years later. Because that eviction from his home provided a plausible splainin for Janus' death, I figured this would be one case where the TV character didn't live as long as the actor who portrayed him.
BCnU!
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