We continue our reviews that focus on Batman actors in other detective and mystery programs as part of our Amazing World of Radio Summer Series, focusing on their old-time radio work. This week, we take a look at Zsa Zsa Gabor, who guest-starred in a 1983 episode of Matt Houston, “The Purrfect Crime.” This episode originally aired January 9, 1983.

Background:

Matt Houston (Lee Horsey) is a Texas oil millionaire who moves to California to oversea off-shore drilling, but focuses most of his time on his hobby—being a private investigator. Horsey played Archie Goodwin in the 1980 Nero Wolfe series (See my review). Pamela Hensley plays his lawyer C.J. Parsons, who assists him on his cases, and, in a typical role for him, George Wydner plays Houston’s business manager whose purpose in the series is to hyperventilate about money.

The Plot:

A Cat Food tycoon who kept exotic cats is killed by his favorite tiger. Murder is suspected and his will bars any of his ex-wives (Gabor, Barbi Benton, Pat Crowley, and Janis Page) from collecting a dime of his money. This appears to be resolved when the police arrest the young, “simple” man  (he’d probably be considered on the autism spectrum today) on the general principle of the police arresting the wrong person without any real evidence or motive.

Matt Houston is not convinced (and who could blame him?) and continues his search for the real killer.

This episode is ludicrous. However, some of it is clearly meant to be. Zsa Zsa Gabor’s character owns a spa (which her character in Batman also did.) She has a protective karate master boyfriend, played by Sonny Bono. Sonny. Bono. His character also announces when he’s about to go into karate fighting mode by screaming, “Karate!”

The episode also included an amusement park chase scene where our hero chases his quarry in a bumper boat and then face plants down a water slide after him in hot pursuit. Some of this is entertainingly goofy, but there are also a few moments of genuinely bad acting and some absurd lines that don’t land.

Horsey attempting to deliver homespun aphorisms is something else. “The kid knows no more about murder than a hog knows about a buggy whip.”

The solution, once you get through a bunch of artificially imposed drama and hoops, is painfully simple. Of course, the question of whodunnit isn’t quite as clear. But based on the limited evidence, it could have been anyone of three of the deceased’s ex-wives. We’re not really given a clue that supports Houston accusing the murderers. But he’s able to prove his theory with a little bit of trickery.

I’ll admit this is my first experience with the series, so I won’t judge it based on this one episode. According to one reviewer of this episode, this was the most goofy episode of the series. That says something, given the description I found of at least one other episode in this series. According to TV Tropes, in one episode, “Matt is abducted by real aliens in an episode where he’s investigating a (fake) claim of abduction covering up a murder. Of course, he doesn’t remember, no one else sees it, and the abduction has no relevance to the rest of the plot at all.”

All in all, while I can’t say I found the plot all that challenging, I was nevertheless entertained. Sonny Bono’s performance is a delight to watch.  The more you appreciate detective programs that go a bit wacky, and enjoy ’80s cheese, the more you’ll like this episode.

Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Matt Houston: The Complete Collection is available on DVD.