Just get a load of the Wikipedia lede for Jay J. Armes, who died at 92 on Sept. 19: “An American private investigator and actor. He was known for his prosthetic hands and a line of children's action figures based on his image.” Zowie! The El Paso native lost his hands in a childhood fireworks mishap, and earned degrees in criminology and psychology. He claimed to have signed with 20th Century-Fox and to have appeared in 39 movies and 28 television shows, but that appears to be banana oil (he did appear on a 1973 episode of Hawaii Five-O). In 1958, Armes formed his own private detective agency, and served on the El Paso City Council. The Ideal Toy Company came out with a line of Jay J. Armes action figures, which also had their own Mobile Investigation Unit. And Armes had his own home zoo (chimpanzees! cheetahs! cougars!), because of course he did. One is only stunned that no 1970s detective show was based on him.
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