# Nero Wolfe weighs HOW MUCH? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045 "2017-12-22T15:04:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [December 23, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/61 "2017-12-23T15:22:45Z")
I’ve been trying to think who has the look and attitude to be Archie Goodwin. At first, I was considering Alan Ladd, although he’s a little hard-boiled for the role. Then it hit me: Lloyd Nolan. Yup, Dr. Chegley from the ground-breaking TV sitcom [Julia.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_(TV_series)) I remembered seeing him in some noir B-flicks as a quick-witted Los Angeles P.I. named Michael Shayne. He’d need to lose the always-looking-over-his-shoulder-for-the-cops air, but I’m pretty sure he could have risen to the occasion. Every time he was actually confronted by an Inspector, he let the bravado kick in, and handled himself with grace and aplomb (and wisecracks). Pretty sure he’d have been up to dealing with Cramer. What’s this about there being more than one Zeck story? (I’m only familiar with _In the Best Families_, in which I remember Wolfe being bearded and skinny, but not working as a cabbie.) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/62 "2017-12-23T15:44:05Z")
Zeck is mentioned in the other two books. He’s not the focus of those books. Wolfe’s cases begin to cross into Zeck’s organization. He sends warnings to Wolfe. They finally have their confrontation In The Best Families. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/63 "2017-12-23T15:50:01Z")
Makes sense that Wolfe would have a dangerous adversary. Zeck isn’t in the same league as Professor Moriarty, but he does stir things up for Wolfe. ---
**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:** [December 23, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/64 "2017-12-23T16:23:25Z")
“A seventh of a ton” sounded impressive in the 1940s. Now it’s just a semi-average Ohioan. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/65 "2017-12-23T19:14:39Z")
I removed William Conrad playing him. He was older and overweight by that time, but I could imagine him as overweight but fairly mobile (think Conrad’s “Cannon” character). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/66 "2017-12-23T20:36:54Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Mrs. Plant (v.3.0) does not agree. I believe being strong looking was the definition of handsome at the time, not the present day pretty boys. > :dubious: Timothy Hutton was no “pretty boy”. [https://www.google.com/search?biw=1617&bih=877&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=Er4-WsPENaab0gLUuqTIDw&q=archie+goodwin+nero+wolfe&oq=archie+goodwin+nero+wolfe&gs\_l=psy-ab.3..0.4578.7669.0.7825.11.5.0.6.6.0.89.386.5.5.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.11.405...0i30k1j0i8i30k1j0i24k1.0.aTGOQqUBdQg#imgrc=VO4TnHvCdCFJkM:](https://www.google.com/search?biw=1617&bih=877&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=Er4-WsPENaab0gLUuqTIDw&q=archie+goodwin+nero+wolfe&oq=archie+goodwin+nero+wolfe&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0.4578.7669.0.7825.11.5.0.6.6.0.89.386.5.5.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.11.405...0i30k1j0i8i30k1j0i24k1.0.aTGOQqUBdQg#imgrc=VO4TnHvCdCFJkM:) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/67 "2017-12-24T02:57:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Timothy Hutton was no “pretty boy”. > > [archie goodwin nero wolfe - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?biw=1617&bih=877&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=Er4-WsPENaab0gLUuqTIDw&q=archie+goodwin+nero+wolfe&oq=archie+goodwin+nero+wolfe&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0.4578.7669.0.7825.11.5.0.6.6.0.89.386.5.5.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.11.405...0i30k1j0i8i30k1j0i24k1.0.aTGOQqUBdQg#imgrc=VO4TnHvCdCFJkM:) In fisticuffs, a shoot out, or wise cracks, my money would be on Bogie. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/68 "2017-12-24T02:59:01Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > In fisticuffs, a shoot out, or wise cracks, my money would be on Bogie. > 🙂 Seriously? Fisticuffs maybe or a shoot-out, but Archie is awfully good with wisecracks. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/69 "2017-12-24T03:12:00Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Seriously? Fisticuffs maybe or a shoot-out, but Archie is awfully good with wisecracks. You must not have seen Casablanca. Nazi Colonel Strasser asks Rick about the Germans invading various places. “Could you imagine us in New York?” “Oh, there are certain areas of New York that I wouldn’t advise _anyone_ to invade.” ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/70 "2017-12-24T06:31:00Z")
Don’t I remember Archie describing Wolfe as “a seventh of a ton.” Can’t a lot of NFL linebackers run 40 yards in less than 5 seconds weighing more than that? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/71 "2017-12-24T07:01:06Z")
> [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](#): > > Can’t a lot of NFL linebackers run 40 yards in less than 5 seconds weighing more than that? There’s an enormous difference between a guy in his 20s, who’s in peak athletic condition, and who’s 270 pounds of muscle, and a sedentary 56-year-old who weighs that much (and who, at 5’ 11", is probably a half-foot shorter than the comparable 270-pound NFL linebacker). ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/72 "2017-12-24T07:06:42Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > The third Zeck book is _In the Best Families_. Thanks, I’ll make sure to check for it next time I’m in the library online. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/73 "2017-12-24T07:31:52Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Agatha Christie and other mystery writers found better ways to keep the reader guessing till the end. You’re talking about someone who never gave to the reader information which was actually available to the speaking voice. That’s not a way to keep people guessing, that’s cheating. Compare with Poe or Chesterton, who gave full information. Relevant details could easily be overlooked, but they had been given. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/74 "2017-12-24T18:50:16Z")
**Roderick Femm @36:** I only meant to call **The Rubber Band** one of the lesser _1930s_ novels, in comparison to **The League of Frightened Men** (1935), **Too Many Cooks** (1939), and **Some Buried Caesar** (1940)…which happen to be my three favorite Wolfe novels. I too prefer the earlier books, and rate **The Red Box** and **The Rubber Band** much higher than most of the ‘50s and ‘60s entries. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/75 "2017-12-24T19:46:33Z")
In the first Wolfe book I rad, Archie marvels at Wolfe standing down a bull. Is that Some Buried Caesar? ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/76 "2017-12-24T20:31:25Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > In the first Wolfe book I rad, Archie marvels at Wolfe standing down a bull. Is that Some Buried Caesar? Yep, but not quite. Wolfe and Archie are in the pasture, Wolfe instructs Archie to divert the bull, and while Archie is running for his life and humiliating himself leaping a fence, the boss finds a tall. safe rock to perch on. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/77 "2017-12-24T20:51:19Z")
> [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](#): > > Yep, but not quite. Wolfe and Archie are in the pasture, Wolfe instructs Archie to divert the bull, and while Archie is running for his life and humiliating himself leaping a fence, the boss finds a tall. safe rock to perch on. 🙂 Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/78 "2017-12-24T20:51:26Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Seriously? Fisticuffs maybe or a shoot-out, but Archie is awfully good with wisecracks. And fist, he is compared to a Pro. However, he is not a expert gunman. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/79 "2017-12-24T21:49:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > However, he is not a expert gunman. What do you base that on? While you’re here, are the Goldsborough novels considered to be canon? In one of his novels, one of the things recommending Archie is shooting a guy. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045/80 "2017-12-24T22:33:40Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > What do you base that on? > While you’re here, are the Goldsborough novels considered to be canon? In one of his novels, one of the things recommending Archie is shooting a guy. I think Archie says so himself. Mind you, he is no slouch but not expert. But he is as good as a Pro boxer. I dont think that are canon. But all that means is that Archie is fairly decent with a gun, and apparently fairly fast on the draw. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nero-wolfe-weighs-how-much/805045.md?page=5)