Nick and Nora Charles

Nick and Nora Charles, or Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Charles (which is short for his Greek moniker "Charalambides"), are the characters created by Dashiell Hammett in his novel The Thin Man. Nick is a retired private detective and Nora a wealthy society woman whose snobbish family thinks she has married beneath herself; Hammett modeled her on his lover Lillian Hellman. Their banter provides comic relief of the type that would later be seen between John Steed and Emma Peel in The Avengers. The couple have a pet dog, Asta, who is a schnauzer (but became a wire fox terrier when the book was made into a film).

The film adaptation of The Thin Man was a resounding success, and although Hammett never wrote another novel with Nick and Nora Charles, five movie sequels were produced. In the novel, Nick Charles is overweight and out of shape; the "thin man" is in fact the murder victim. However, Nick Charles was portrayed by the slim actor William Powell, naturally confusing the audience into thinking Nick was the title character. The movie producers capitalized on this confusion, and inserted "thin man" in the titles of the sequels to indicate Nick and Nora stories.

A TV show based on the characters ran two seasons in 1957-1959, starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk.

Nick and Nora were the inspirations for the adoptive parents of Mary Marvel, Nick and Nora Bromfield, as well as the relationship between Ralph and Sue Dibny.

Nora is portrayed by Myrna Loy in the adaptations.

Trivia: There is a reference to Nick and Nora in the title of an episode of the Gilmore Girls, Nick and Nora / Sid and Nancy.