Oscar-winner Warren Beatty first secured the rights to the comic book character Dick Tracy in the lead up to his 1990 movie adaptation. Decades later, Beatty kept playing Tracy in bizarre late-night specials airing on cable TV, that confounded nearly everyone. Why is one of the most famous movie stars of the 20th century, spending the twilight of his career playing a comic strip detective of dwindling renown? In this episode, we investigate: What’s going on between Warren Beatty and Dick Tracy? This episode was written by Willa Paskin. It was edited by Lacy Roberts and Evan Chung. It was produced by Sofie Kodner. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin, Evan Chung, Katie Shepherd and Max Freedman. Derek John is Executive Producer. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. In this episode, you’ll hear from author and artist Ryan Estrada, journalist Kim Masters, comic book store owner Matt Live, and media lawyer Celia Muller. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com Want more Decoder Ring? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Decoder Ring show page. Or, visit slate.com/decoderplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On a seemingly normal Friday evening In July of 2012, Turner Classic Movies, the cable channel that plays old films all day, was airing a seemingly normal Dick Tracy marathon.
Calling all cars.
Mobilize every truck.
Dick Tracy is a comic strip character, A square jawed detective who's been around for nearly 100 years.
You can recognize him by his outfit.
He always wears an acid yellow trench coat and fedora.
He used to be a household name, appearing in daily newspapers and on the radio and in black and white detective films and serials.
Hello?
Hello Operator?
Dick Tracy speaking.
Get me the police air drone.
Hurry it up.
In 1990, the character got the full Hollywood treatment when the Oscar winning movie star Warren Beatty directed, produced, co, wrote and starred in a high profile adaptation.
Hey, tough guy, you want to try that on somebody your own size?
That movie and some of the old black and white pictures were all part of the TCM marathon, as you'd expect.
But then five minutes before 10pm, TCM ran something unexpected.
Everyone on social media is like the weirdest friggin thing just aired.
Ryan Estrada writes and draws comics all over the world.
When he woke up on the Saturday morning after TCM's Marathon played, he learned he'd missed something bizarre.
Something called Dick Tracy Special.