dearlenbaugh wrote:
One of these suspects is Cordwainer Bird, played over-the-top by Sammy Davis Jr. Most fans know that Bird is a pseudonym Ellison used later when he wanted his name taken off the credits of a project. Davis tap-dances his way into the homicide office swinging a dandified, gold-handled cane. After some bi-play with Gene Barry, Davis looks at the cane, then at Burke, and says, "Hey! Didn't I see you. . .?" -- a reference to Gene Barry carrying an identical cane in his previous Bat Masterson series.




Chuckle! That was one of the first in-jokes I ever saw on television. In fact, as I remember the scene, after Captain Burke concludes his interview with Davis' character, Bird, Bird starts to walk out of the office. That's when Burke calls out, "Wait, you forgot this," and holds out the cane. But before handing the cane to Bird, Burke gives it a twirl, just as Gene Barry did as Bat Masterson. That's when Bird spouts, "Didn't I see you . . . ?"


Burke's Law was one of my favourite television series, but I haven't chimed in because you had already described it so well. Unfortunately, the show lost its panache when it was refitted as Amos Burke, Secret Agent in its third season, in order to jump on the spy-craze bandwagon.