Jerry Cotton | |
---|---|
![]() | |
First appearance | "Ich suchte den Gangster-Chef" (I Sought the Gang Boss, 1954) |
Created by | Jerry Cotton (various authors including Rolf Kalmuczak & Heinz Werner Höber |
Portrayed by | George Nader (1965–69) Christian Tramitz (2007) |
In-universe information | |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | FBI Agent |
Affiliation | Phil Decker |
Nationality | American |
Jerry Cotton is the titular character of a series of pulp magazine-type crime novels. The novels have been written by many different writers in German-speaking countries and in Finland over the course of several decades.
The novels center around the adventures of FBI agent Jerry Cotton, which take place in and around New York City. In 1954 the first novel appeared as no. 68: "Ich suchte den Gangster-Chef" (I Sought the Gang Boss) in the series "Bastei Kriminalroman". The pseudonym "Jerry Cotton" was developed in 1956 and the first novella with this name on the front page appeared with the title "Ich jagte den Diamanten-Hai" (I hunted the Diamond Shark). In 2014 the series reached the 3000th edition, "Goodbye New York!". In 2022 it reached the 3400th edition, "Bloody Legacy". The total number of copies sold has been quoted at approximately 930 million.
In Finnish versions of Jerry Cotton, he is said to have been born and raised on a farm in Harpersville, Connecticut. There is also some reference to his father having been a blacksmith or Jerry himself having been a blacksmith's apprentice before joining the police academy.
A group of over 100 authors write for the magazines, sold in many kiosks and over newsagents. Rolf Kalmuczak, who is the major author behind this name, made the TKKG series famous as Stefan Wolf.
One could summarise the motto of the series as "Crime without Sex", as women arise as characters only once in a while. Important figures of the series include, besides Cotton, his partner Phil Decker , FBI-chief John D. High, veteran agent Neville, Annie Geraldo, Zeerookah, June Clark, Roby O'Hara, Myrna, Windermeere and his Smith & Wesson, a 38 Caliber Smith & Wesson Special. Jerry Cotton drives a red Jaguar E-type, built in 1966.
Even though some people[ who? ] regard Jerry Cotton novels as trivial literature, the FBI agent has a faithful fan community (just like his equally long-lived science-fiction counterpart, Perry Rhodan ). Several Jerry Cotton novels were adapted as radio plays.
One of the few official FBI pages in German states that Jerry Cotton indeed is a fictional agent and therefore it does not make sense to write fan-letters to him.
Prominent authors who admit cooperation with the Jerry Cotton series include:
Starting in the 1960s, a series of eight films based on the Cotton novels were made, the first four in black-and-white, the last four in color. The character of Jerry Cotton was played by American actor George Nader, and his companion Phil Decker was played by the German actor Heinz Weiß. The director of the films was Harald Reinl. The film's music was composed by Peter Thomas including the "Jerry Cotton March", that also was released on a soundtrack-single. In the 1990s the soundtracks of the movies were re-released on CDs.
The bracketed links refer to the pages at IMDb.
In 2007 Constantin Film AG and Rat Pack Filmproduktion released a new German feature film titled Jerry Cotton , directed by Cyrill Boss and Philipp Stennert, starring Christian Tramitz as the protagonist, Christian Ulmen (as Phil Decker), Mónica Cruz as the leading lady and Christiane Paul, Heino Ferch and Moritz Bleibtreu as their counterparts. The film met general expectations by gaining a lot of new attention for Jerry Cotton and the classic series of novels of the same name.
Rolf Kalmuczak was a German author. He was an editor of daily papers, freelance contributor at Stern, lector and one of the authors of the Jerry Cotton series. Since 1966 he had used more than 100 pseudonyms, written some 160 youth books, 36 film scripts, 170 paperback crime novels, and 200 booklet-novels. He admits that he wrote the TKKG book series as "Stefan Wolf". Rolf Kalmuczak was married with one daughter and lived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Peter Thomas was a German composer and arranger with an active career of more than 50 years. He was known for his TV and film soundtracks such as Raumpatrouille, the Edgar Wallace movies film series, and the Jerry Cotton film series.
Kommissar X or Commissioner X is a German crime fiction series of books from the Pabel Moewig publishing house. "Kommissar X" is a private detective named Joe Louis Walker who was a counterpart of the German crime fiction FBI Special Agent Jerry Cotton. In addition to the vast collection of books, between 1965 and 1971 seven Kommissar X films were made with Tony Kendall as the laid back swinging New York City private eye Joe Walker balanced against the serious muscular New York City Police Captain Tom Rowland played by Brad Harris.
Richard Heinrich Ludwig Münch was a German actor, best known for portraying Alfred Jodl in Patton (1970). He also portrayed General Erich Marcks in The Longest Day (1962).
Rainer Brandt is a German film actor. He appeared in 40 films between 1959 and 1986. He was born in Berlin, Germany.
Death in the Red Jaguar is a 1968 West German thriller film directed by Harald Reinl and starring George Nader, Heinz Weiss, and Daniela Surina. It was part of the Jerry Cotton series of films.
Dead Body on Broadway is a 1969 German thriller film directed by Harald Reinl and starring George Nader, Heinz Weiss and Heidy Bohlen. It was part of the series of films portraying FBI agent Jerry Cotton.
Death and Diamonds is a 1968 German thriller film directed by Harald Reinl and starring George Nader, Carl Möhner, and Heinz Weiss. It was part of the Jerry Cotton series of films about an FBI agent.
The Trap Snaps Shut at Midnight is a 1966 West German thriller film directed by Harald Philipp and starring George Nader, Horst Frank and Heinz Weiss. It was the fourth film in the Jerry Cotton series.
Die Rechnung – eiskalt serviert is a 1966 West German thriller film directed by Helmut Ashley and starring George Nader, Yvonne Monlaur, and Heinz Weiss. It was the fourth film in the Jerry Cotton series.
Helmut Ashley or Helmuth Ashley was an Austrian cinematographer, television and film director.
Ullrich Haupt was an American-born German actor. His father, also named Ullrich Haupt, was a German actor who worked in Hollywood films, but he returned to Germany following his father's death in 1931.
Tready Softly/The Violin Case Murders is a 1965 German thriller film directed by Fritz Umgelter and starring George Nader, Heinz Weiss and Sylvia Pascal. It is the first in the Jerry Cotton series of films.
Manhattan Night of Murder is a 1965 German thriller film directed by Harald Philipp and starring George Nader, Heinz Weiss and Monika Grimm. It was the second of the Jerry Cotton series of films, depicting the adventures of an FBI agent.
Birke Bruck is a German film and television actress.
Phil Decker is a fictional character in Heinz Werner Höber's Jerry Cotton novels. He is Cotton's sidekick and a fellow FBI agent.
Gert Günther Hoffmann was a German actor and director. He achieved fame in German film and television as a voice actor in dubbing.
Franz Xaver Lederle is a German cinematographer. He shot several entries in the Jerry Cotton series of films for Constantin Film during the 1960s.
Heinz Willeg (1918–1991) was a German film producer. During the 1960s he produced a number of crime and thriller films including the Jerry Cotton series starring George Nader.