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Murder at the Stratley - The first novel written by
Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart), an author of how-to-books who lived
with his wife Joanna (Mary Frann) at the historic Stratford Inn
in Vermont on the situation comedy NEWHART/CBS/1982-90. (episode No. 139.
Originally aired May 15, 1989)
On page 6 of the
novel, the innkeeper's wife, Johanna (Joanna with an "H") is
bludgeoned to death with a typewriter, dismembered and then
dumped in a lake.
All the novel's characters were poorly veiled
references to everyone in the author's small Vermont town,
despite the author's insistence that nobody in town appeared in
the book.
Because the novel featured a lusty, man-hungry
librarian, Miss Prudence Goddard (Kathy Kinney), the local town
librarian prominently placed "Murder at the Stratley" in the
library's glass display case under the big lamp....Wow! Dick
immodestly called his mystery novel "The Greatest Story Ever
Told."
Some of Dick's previous works were "So You Wanna Plant Plums"
(Dick's first book), "Building Your Own Patio Cover'; "How To Make
Your Dream Bathroom"; Installation & Care Of Your Low-Maintenance
Lawn Sprinkler"; "Let's Build a Barbecue"; "Pillow Talk" (how to make
pillows) and "Shelf Help" (how to build shelves).
Bob also hosted
of a short-lived local cable show at WPIV-TV on Channel 8 called
"Book Talk" where he interviewed authors and discussed their new
books, for example, "Up the Amazon" written by Lloyd Menninger, a
retired Air Force Colonel with delusions of CIA conspiracies
[who purported seeing dinosaurs and extraterrestrials in
Brazil]; and later "Vermont Today" that strove to be an
intelligent audience participation program but sunk to the level
of featuring such guests as Joco Braverman, the owner of the
"World's Smallest Horse."
George, Michael, Dick, Larry & brothers Darryl & Darryl
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