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Mike Hammer is a fictional American detective created by the American author Mickey Spillane in the 1947 book I, the Jury (made into a movie in 1953 and 1982). Several movies and radio and television series have been based on the books about Mike Hammer. The actor most closely identified with the character in recent years has been Stacy Keach, who portrayed Hammer in a CBS television series, Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, which ran from 1984–1987 and had a syndicated revival in 1997–1998. (An earlier syndicated version, originally aired in 1957–1958, starred Darren McGavin as Hammer.) Spillane himself played Hammer in a 1963 motion picture adaptation of The Girl Hunters.

While pulp detectives such as Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe are hard-boiled and cynical, Hammer is in many ways the archetypal "hard man": he is brutally violent, misogynistic, and fueled by a genuine rage that never afflicts Raymond Chandler's or Dashiell Hammett's heroes. While other hardboiled heroes bend and manipulate the law, Hammer holds it in total contempt, seeing it as nothing more than an impediment to justice, the one virtue he holds in absolute esteem.

Hammer is also patriotic and anti-communist. The novels are peppered with remarks by Hammer supporting American troops in Korea, and in Survival...Zero Vietnam. In One Lonely Night, where Hammer attends a communist meeting in a park, Hammer's reaction to the speaker's communist propaganda is a paragraph with only one word in it: "Yeah."

So far as violence is concerned, the Hammer novels leave little to the imagination. Writing in the first person, Hammer describes his violent encounters with relish. In all but a few novels, after a beating by Hammer, his victims are often left vomiting after a blow to the stomach or groin, the vomiting being a kind of Spillane signature.

The Washington Times obituary of Spillane said of Hammer, "In a manner similar to Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, Hammer was a cynical loner contemptuous of the "tedious process" of trials, choosing instead to enforce the law on his own terms." [1]

Contents 1 Mike Hammer novels 2 Mike Hammer Television Series 3 Mike Hammer Films 4 Mike Hammer Comic Strip 5 Mike Hammer in other media 6 External links

• I, the Jury (1947)
• My Gun is Quick (1950)
• Vengeance is Mine! (1950)
• One Lonely Night (1951)
• The Big Kill (1951)
• Kiss Me Deadly (1952)
• The Girl Hunters (1962)
• The Snake (1964)
• The Twisted Thing (1966)
• The Body Lovers (1967)
• Survival... Zero! (1970)
• The Killing Man (1989)
• Black Alley (1996)

There have been four serialized television shows based on the exploits of Mike Hammer.

• Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1958 - 1960 ; starring Darren McGavin)
• Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (Jan. 1984 - Jan. 1985 ; starring Stacy Keach)
• The New Mike Hammer (Sept. 1986 - May 1987 ; starring Stacy Keach)
• Mike Hammer, Private Eye (Sept. 1997 - June 1998 ; starring Stacy Keach)

• I, the Jury (United Artists, 1953)

Filmed in 3-D starring Biff Elliot as Mike Hammer.

• Kiss Me Deadly (United Artists, 1955)

Robert Aldrich was the director, Ralph Meeker was cast as Hammer, Maxine Cooper portrayed Hammer's sexy secretary/companion Velda.

• My Gun Is Quick (United Artists, 1957)

Robert Bray was cast as Hammer, with more of the violence originated from the villain rather than the detective.

The film grossed $308,000 with a total of $602 overseas.

• The Girl Hunters (Colorama Features, 1963)

Mickey Spillane was given the rare opportunity to portray his own creation in this film. This is one of the few occasions in film history in which the creator of a literary character was later hired to portray that character in a film.

• I, the Jury (20th Century Fox, 1982)

Armand Assante plays Hammer in this version.

A short-lived comic strip starring Mike Hammer was distributed by Phoenix Features Syndicate from 1953 to 1954. It was entitled "From the Files of... Mike Hammer" and written by Spillane, Ed Robbins and Joe Gill, with art by Ed Robbins. Collections of the strip were published in the 1980s. [2]

• An audiobook version of Spillaine's novel Black Alley, read by actor Stacy Keach, was released by Penguin Audio on November 1, 1996.
• Novels featuring Hammer were referenced several times in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Both Odo and Miles O'Brien were fans.
• The film The Hebrew Hammer makes a reference to Mike Hammer as well.
• The Japanese tv series, 'Detective Mike' stars a young Japanese detective called 'Hama Mike' (Japanese pronunciation of 'Mike Hammer').

• Unofficial Mickey Spillane Mike Hammer Site
• Thrilling Detective Mike Hammer Site
• That Hammer Guy! at Old Time Radio Show Catalog
• Entry on Darren McGavin's website
• Stacy Keach's Official Website
• Mystery novelist Spillane dies - July 18, 2006