Wild Wild West

"Night of the Feathered Fury," #6617

Agents West and Gordon meet with Colonel Armstrong who presents to them Gerda Sharff, a former employee of their sworn enemy, Count Manzeppi. Although Gerda professes her desire to escape the evil clutches of her former master, the agents are skeptical. The meeting is soon interrupted by the sound of an organ grinder outside and a performing monkey which enters through a window, throwing a bomb. When the smoke clears, Gerda is gone and only a souvenir - a toy chicken - remains. Outside, they discover a message from Count Manzeppi, warning them to stop meddling in his affairs.

A favorite villain on the series, Victor Buono appeared as Wing Fat in the pilot episode, "The Night of the Inferno" and as Count Manzeppi in two episodes, "The Night of the Eccentrics" and this sequel. He was born in 1938 in San Diego and worked in stock theatre and television (The Untouchables and Batman are among his credits) before making his sensational screen debut in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), opposite Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Due to his immense size and weight (over 300 pounds), he was mostly cast as a heavy in a variety of American and international productions like The Strangler, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Mad Butcher and a Matt Helm movie (as a Chinese villain stealing U.S. missle technology).

Directed by Robert Sparr
Written by Henry Sharp
Count Manzeppi: Victor Buono
Luther Coyle: George Murdock
Benji: Hideo Imamura
Armstrong: Oliver McGowan
Gerda: Michele Carey
* The above information was compiled from The Wild Wild West: The Series by Susan E. Kesler (Arnett Press), "Michael Garrison's Wild Wild West," an article by Robert Alan Crick in Epi-Log Journal #11 and other sources.

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