Marilyn Yaquinto - American Mythologies and Hollywood’s Rogue Crimefighters

Cover illustration: Mohamad Itani / Getty Images

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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I wish to thank those who helped get this book done, whether as a fan or critic of such Hollywood fare or who offered robust moral support and hands-on assistance. To my colleagues at Truman State University for their support, friendship, and shared ideas, most notably Elizabeth Clark, Kevin Minch, work husband Jay Self, big brother Mark Smith, guardian angel Dorothea Shipman, Sara Orel, Julie Lochbaum, Christine Harker, and Jocelyn Cullity. To those who first helped me get this project off the ground, my original mentor and friend, Frank Beaver, who first encouraged me to love and study film back in Ann Arbor. To my tireless mentor and generous colleague, Michael T. Martin, whose dedication to honest and rigorous scholarship first brought this book to life, and whose steady encouragement kept it (and me) viable for the decade that followed. My former graduate school professors, Don Kubit and Rob Buffington, who greatly influenced my ability to write and research. Those real-life crimefighters of all stripes who helped inform this work, especially those who may be related to me, spoke to me on background, or generously shared information and inspiration about how they do their jobs.

I wish to thank all others who have also provided help and encouragement, from brainstorming and proofreading to offering suggestions and criticismnot to mention sharing hours (you will never get back) of screening crime sagas, spy dramas, police procedurals, and any show, program, series, or film (and a couple of cartoons) featuring cops, enforcers, secret agents, sheriffs, and assorted other crimefighters (with badges and one shield sporting a white star). To my husband Michael who frequently shared the mind-numbing process of mining research and detailing footnotes, along with being a ceaseless source of love and moral support. To my mother, whose blind faith and more than a few prayers meant more than she will ever know. For their love and support, my brothers, Chris and Mike; my sisters through marriage, Valerie and Lora, the Lippstreuers, and the entire Yaquinto family. There are also my sisters in life, Lorraine Jones and Wendy Piepenberg, along with younger sisters and friends, Allie Shetler, Hannah Rickman, Sara Kluba, and Susan Presley. To those Truman students who helped me grow (and claimed I helped them too): Diane Poelker Carrico, Jessica Scheetz Venker, Ingrid Roettgen, Jackie Yoo, Mary Tomlinson, Meagan Banta-Lewis, and Mary Di Valerio. Special gratitude to those students whose assistance on this specific project kept me (and it) going, Kathleen Gatliff and Aerin Johnson. To my former student and current filmmaker, Rahul Gandotra: remember to mention me at your Oscar acceptance speech. Finally, to my new friends at Encanterra, thank you for all your support during the books home stretch, especially to Pickle for his fabulous finish-the-book gift.