# Bo Dietl - what is so "legendary" about him? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033 "2013-07-20T13:54:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/1 "2013-07-20T13:54:07Z")
Bo Dietl, the guy in the latest Arby’s ad campaign, is referred to as a “legendary detective”. Am I supposed to know who this guy is? Why is he legendary? I’ve looked at his Wikipedia page and see that he’s written an autobiography or two, a movie was made based on one of his cases, and I can understand that maybe he’s locally famous but nothing that I would consider legendary. Nationally I would guess he is probably more famous for those idiotic Arby’s ads than any police work he’s ever done. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/2 "2013-07-20T14:30:02Z")
“Dietl is a frequent guest of Don Imus on the Imus in the Morning radio program on WABC radio and simulcast on Fox Business Network. He appears regularly on Fox News Channel shows, including The O’Reilly Factor, Hannity, and Geraldo at Large. He has also appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,[2] and had a guest starring role on the NBC crime drama Law & Order. Dietl appears in commercials for Arby’s fast-food restaurants.” And a couple of movies based on his work. Yeah, I wouldn’t know him from a hole in the ground and to some degree it comes across as New Yorkers assuming the rest of the world hangs on everything that happens in their little sphere, but he does get national media exposure. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/3 "2013-07-20T14:43:30Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > “Dietl is a frequent guest of Don Imus on the Imus in the Morning radio program on WABC radio and simulcast on Fox Business Network. He appears regularly on Fox News Channel shows, including The O’Reilly Factor, Hannity, and Geraldo at Large. He has also appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,[2] and had a guest starring role on the NBC crime drama Law & Order. Dietl appears in commercials for Arby’s fast-food restaurants.” > > And a couple of movies based on his work. > > Yeah, I wouldn’t know him from a hole in the ground and to some degree it comes across as New Yorkers assuming the rest of the world hangs on everything that happens in their little sphere, but he does get national media exposure. A small part of me wonders if the dope should boycott Arby’s now, given that it’s in league with Fox. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/4 "2013-07-20T14:50:46Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Yeah, I wouldn’t know him from a hole in the ground and to some degree it comes across as New Yorkers assuming the rest of the world hangs on everything that happens in their little sphere, but he does get national media exposure. He got national exposure for a series of commercials that were supposed to be trading on his national exposure. He’s famous because they say he is. That said, he wrote a book that was mildly popular and then it was turned into a DTV movie. Somebody recognizes him. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/5 "2013-07-20T15:18:22Z")
He’s known for preferring Arby’s rather than a _real_ NYC deli. ---
**Author:** ![Werekoala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7993a0/32.png) [@Werekoala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Werekoala)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/6 "2013-07-20T15:27:01Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > A small part of me wonders if the dope should boycott Arby’s now, given that it’s in league with Fox. Arby’s didn’t appear on those shows, this guy did. So you should boycott him, don’t you think? Don’t you do background checks on everyone who appears in commercials to ensure their purity of political thought? Or any company who’s commercials run on Fox or it’s affiliates? People go on those shows to promote books and such - it’s called marketing and everyone does it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/7 "2013-07-20T16:19:35Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > He’s known for preferring Arby’s rather than a _real_ NYC deli. There you go. He has legendary bad taste. There are manufacturers/restaurants which somehow manage to make food that doesn’t look appetizing even in carefully rendered photo shoots. Arby’s is a good example of this phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/8 "2013-07-20T16:56:30Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > He’s known for preferring Arby’s rather than a _real_ NYC deli. The focus of those commercials is Subway for the rubes who don’t know what a real deli is. I know him primarily from Imus who I have listened to infrequently over the years. He is very successful as a private security consultant. He is probably the most famous person in his field. But that’s not saying much. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/9 "2013-07-20T17:05:38Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Yeah, I wouldn’t know him from a hole in the ground and to some degree it comes across as New Yorkers assuming the rest of the world hangs on everything that happens in their little sphere, but he does get national media exposure. Don’t blame us - it’s got nothing to do with New York really.It’s that Arby’s wants to make him look more important and therefore his endorsement more “valuable”. Kind of how CBS makes a big deal of John Miller’s time at the FBI and the NYPD but doesn’t mention he was in public affairs. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/10 "2013-07-20T17:31:00Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > A small part of me wonders if the dope should boycott Arby’s now, given that it’s in league with Fox. By that logic, the dope would also have to boycott The Daily Show. Somehow, I don’t see that happening. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/11 "2013-07-20T18:32:28Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Don’t blame us - it’s got nothing to do with New York really.It’s that Arby’s wants to make him look more important and therefore his endorsement more “valuable”. Kind of how CBS makes a big deal of John Miller’s time at the FBI and the NYPD but doesn’t mention he was in public affairs. That is not a good characterization of John Miller. He was a well established journalist long before he did his government work. He interviewed Osama Bin Laden before the public knew who he was. Did great work reporting on organized crime. No one ever suggested he was kicking in doors with SWAT. But when he did take his government jobs he wasn’t just some PR flunky. For the NYPD he was a Deputy Police Commissioner. For the LAPD he was the Bureau Chief for Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau which includes emergency services and special investigations. For the FBI he was the Assistant Director for Public Affairs. Some pretty big time positions. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/12 "2013-07-20T19:08:18Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > That is not a good characterization of John Miller. He was a well established journalist long before he did his government work. He interviewed Osama Bin Laden before the public knew who he was. Did great work reporting on organized crime. No one ever suggested he was kicking in doors with SWAT. But when he did take his government jobs he wasn’t just some PR flunky. For the NYPD he was a Deputy Police Commissioner. For the LAPD he was the Bureau Chief for Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau which includes emergency services and special investigations. For the FBI he was the Assistant Director for Public Affairs. Some pretty big time positions. I’m not saying anything bad about John Miller at all - he was absolutely a great reporter. His NYPD and FBI positions were as Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Director of public information/affairs. Big time positions, yes. But they’re not the jobs that a viewer in Oshkosh thinks of when Miller is being interviewed by another reporter with a caption saying “Former Assistant Director FBI” I’m characterizing CBS, not Miller- they could put up a caption that reflects his CBS title just like Arby’s could caption Bo Dietl as a “detective” or “private investigator”. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/13 "2014-01-25T06:18:52Z")
So, I came across this thread from outside of The Dope after reading a story about Mr. Dietl and his work on Murdoch’s wife. Maybe I’m the only one here who ever watched Fox News ( I watched it until a little after 9/11- because then everything changed, of course), but this guy was (is?) like a regular cast member of various Fox News shows. He wasn’t Sean Hannity or Bill O’Reilly or anything, but he was always on their morning show and other programs. He wasn’t just there promoting a book, he was part of their agenda. He was a guest who fit into their political ideology. He was there to promote the GW Bush presidency, the Rudy Guiliani hero myth, the “war on terra” Homeland Security agenda, etc. He was one of their NYC conservative state-worshiping, “tough on crime,” regular reliable go-to guests. He wasn’t an author or celebrity stopping by the talk show promotional circuit. Sure, he did the Daily Show or some other talk show for promotional purposes, but Fox News ( and I think Imus) was his regular hangout. So, when he started doing the Arby’s commercials, I recognized him and also wondered why they wanted that guy doing their spots. It would be like Judge Napolitano doing commercials about the freshness of Five Guys potatoes… or something. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/14 "2014-01-25T10:08:20Z")
Except P.I.s are stereotypically going to nosh on fast food while working a case, and should be stereotypically qualified to recommend the best fast food. Judges, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/15 "2014-01-25T10:13:22Z")
That said, I’ve never heard of him, and I presume that he’s legendary in the same way Bigfoot is legendary – he doesn’t really exist. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/16 "2014-01-25T13:54:03Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > A small part of me wonders if the dope should boycott Arby’s now, given that it’s in league with Fox. A small part of me wonders if you know that “the dope” is not universally for or against anything. mmm ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/17 "2014-01-25T14:13:22Z")
Arby’s??? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/18 "2014-01-25T15:16:00Z")
In their favor they have the Jamocha “shake.” Add some instant coffee and it’s not bad, if you don’t expect it to be anything else than some shit from Arby’s. And curly fries. But yeah, Arby’s is probably as close as we can get to something universally loathed on the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/19 "2014-01-25T16:44:37Z")
Here’s an idea to test the legendary status of some of these “famous for being not quite famous” ads spokestypes: Remake the legendary [From Justin to Kelly (2003)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0339034/) with Bo Dietl and Rula Lenska. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033/20 "2014-01-25T20:46:00Z")
I’ve been boycotting Arby’s for decades. (Assuming that “boycotting” is, for all practical purposes, the same as “not patronizing because the food sucks.”) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bo-dietl-what-is-so-legendary-about-him/664033.md?page=2)