Sunset is glorious

It was good to read that the actor Efrem Zimbalist Jnr, who died recently at the age of 90, had continued to play golf and garden until his death (Obituaries, 5 May).

What the obituary perhaps doesn’t stress is that even if Zimbalist himself didn’t care for it, in grey and boring 1950s Britain, 77 Sunset Strip was really the essence of cool.

As a child I was fascinated by the exotically named Efrem and his sophisticated sidekicks, who never seemed to sleep except when temporarily knocked out by a crook.

If Starsky and Hutch were to be repeated on TV I suspect we would now find it dated but given the renewed interest in the 1950s (Mad Men and such) 77 could be an interesting period piece. It certainly left me with a lifelong interest in American detective fiction.

Meanwhile, I’ll bet there are many of a 1950s vintage who will be going about today singing the syncopated title music: 77 Sunset Strip!

(Dr) Mary Brown

Dalvenie Road

Banchory