Nero Wolfe

Nero Wolfe had originally been conceived as a starring vehicle for Orson Welles, whom NBC was seriously considering for the lead role while the pilot was being developed in early 1980.

Reports differ on why Orson Welles left the project: some say he wanted the format changed to 90-minute specials filmed at his Los Angeles home, others claim he was unable to learn the dialogue, and still others say he refused to work with Paramount producers who wanted to make Wolfe more 'human.'

Paramount had purchased the entire set of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories for Orson Welles in 1976, but in 1977 Welles withdrew from Paramount's first attempt to adapt Nero Wolfe, an ABC television movie starring Thayer David.

William Conrad was announced as the lead on June 30, 1980, and said he had loved the Nero Wolfe novels for 25 years and appreciated that, unlike his previous role in Cannon, he wouldn't have to do much running.

Actor Lee Horsley recalled that William Conrad had a contract clause limiting his working hours per day; when time was up, Conrad would put on his bedroom slippers and leave the set immediately, even mid-scene, forcing the crew to figure out how to finish filming without him.

The series' sets were designed by John Beckman, whose previous credits included classic films such as Casablanca, Lost Horizon, and The Maltese Falcon.

The orchids for Wolfe's rooftop plant rooms were supplied by Zuma Canyon Orchids of Malibu, California, which registered a hybrid Phalaenopsis named 'Nero Wolfe' with the Royal Horticultural Society just before the series premiered.

NBC scheduled Nero Wolfe on Fridays at 9 p.m. specifically to challenge the hit CBS show The Dukes of Hazzard, a strategy that new entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff later abandoned as flawed after the show was cancelled after only 13 weeks.