Nick and Nora Charles the bantering, romantically involved detective duo has become a well-used trope in literature, stage, screen, and television ever since. The characters first appear in Dashiell Hammett's best-selling last novel "The Thin Man" (1934). Nick is an alcoholic former private detective who retired when he married Nora, a wealthy Nob Hill heiress. Hammett reportedly modeled Nora on his longtime partner Lillian Hellman, and the characters' boozy, flippant dialogue on their relationship. (The novel also mentions that Nick was once a Pinkerton detective, as was Hammett.) The novel is considered one of the seminal texts of the hard-boiled subgenre of mystery novels,
Andrew Arbuckle (actor) Andrew Arbuckle (actor) Andrew Arbuckle (September 5, 1887 – September 21, 1938) was an American stage and film actor. He was the brother of Macklyn Arbuckle and cousin of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Andrew Arbuckle was born in Galveston, Texas, to a family of Scottish descent. His brother Macklyn was 20 years old at the time of Andrew's birth. Andrew first made his film debut in "Little Mary Sunshine" (1916), playing Bob's father. In 1935, he made his last appearance in film "The Dark Angel" in an uncredited role as Mr. Gallop. He appeared in a total 44 films, uncredited in