by Linda Kay
Original Air Date: April 8, 1973
Directed by: Lawrence Dobkin
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains spoilers for this episode!
Synopsis: Private detective Barnaby Jones (Buddy Ebsen) hopes to discover the identity of the person who killed one of his clients, but most of the potential suspects have good reasons for not being the killer, especially blind pianist Stanley Lambert (Roddy McDowall)
Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Lambert performs as a lounge pianist in a local bar which Jones visits several times during his investigation. For some reason which is never explained a longhair white cat has a special place on a pillow set upon the piano. Cocktail waitress Gloria (Beverly Powers) brings a glass of milk and pours some out for the kitty.
When Gloria asks Jones if he’ll have anything he answers, “Milk.” “Another pussycat,” she sighs.
Another suspect is Ginny Lind (Marlyn Mason), a guitarist and singer who performs with Lambert.
As Jones talks to Lind, Lambert listens in while petting the cat.
Later in the episode Jones again visits the lounge. This time he pauses to pet the cat on the piano.
Lambert appears to be attached to the cat but is not the cat’s owner, as we never see the cat in his home. On the contrary, the cat appears to be a resident of the bar.
This is clear in the final scene when Jones is in the club for the last time and pours some milk for the cat.
Final Mewsings: Could this have been a modest precursor of the cat cafe?
Many thanks to Nick Wale for letting us know about the cat in this episode.
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