(the informal poll results)
Jim Rockford 42.42%
Other: 21.21% (Laura Holt, Columbo were mentioned)
Phillip Marlowe 18.18%
Sam Spade 9.09%
Harry Orwell 6.06%
Spenser 3.03%
Of course, there is no right answer. Everyone has a different opinion.
Personally, I vote for Sam Spade, because he could take a kick to the head and still function. A tough guy in a trench coat.
And he disarmed ‘the gunsel’ of TWO 1911s, which put him in solid with his boss!
I am surprised no one mentioned Mike Hammer?
Guffaw in AZ 
I was a huge fan of the early Spenser Wallace (Catskill Eagle and Looking for Rachel Wallace particular favorites) but the TV series of the same character, not so much. You had some great choices.
Posted by Brigid | April 8, 2014, 5:35 pmYes, the TV show paled the Spenser novels.
Thank you.
You can tell I spent much of my misspent youth nose buried in TV and books. And going to the movies.
Posted by guffaw1952 | April 8, 2014, 6:22 pmdon’t type when you’re tired. Early Spencer NOVELS. 🙂
Posted by Brigid | April 8, 2014, 5:36 pmI checked. Robert B. Parker’s character IS spelled SPENSER.
Posted by guffaw1952 | April 8, 2014, 6:23 pmMost folks are too young to have read Spillane… I like Mike Hammer too!
Posted by oldnfo | April 9, 2014, 2:46 am(at the risk of sounding old)
I know about, read about, watched films from, stuff prior to my birth! It’s part of history and popular culture.
I suppose if Mike Hammer et al is available on Kindle…
Posted by guffaw1952 | April 9, 2014, 10:25 amDang, i got this one wrong. My initial thought was 3.14159……
Posted by juvat | April 9, 2014, 1:43 pmYeah, yeah, yeah…
.263….
for your penance, go divide something by 0 for a while…
Posted by guffaw1952 | April 9, 2014, 2:50 pm