Wikipedia indicates Mr. and Mrs. North are a fictional amateur detective couple and the subject of 26 novels, a radio series and eventually a television series. This columnist knows better. They were definitely not fictional. Their real names were Peter and Eleanor Cardella. Mr. and Mrs. North were my parents.
They called themselves Mr. and Mrs. North. He was a Philadelphia cop who was working side jobs as an insurance investigator. She was a housewife in an era when that was what married women did.
She loved to go out on jobs with him. He did everything from serving subpoenas to the nitty-gritty, sometimes unsavory things that insurance investigators do. He made sure he only took her on the jobs he didn’t consider dangerous. She never knew that — probably wouldn’t have stood for it. She loved the idea she was sharing his danger, living beyond the life of a housewife, living a little bit on the edge.
In those days, we described someone who dressed well as being "all dooted up." She really "dooted up" for these adventures. She took her role as Mrs. North quite seriously. It was something that changed her normally quiet persona. She got out the hoop earrings for these occasions.
They were quite the handsome couple — she in her best wedgies and him in his suits from Ripley Brothers on South Street. He looked like Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle in "The French Connection," wearing his Stetson with the brim up along with a tan trench coat. In his younger years, his face looked like John Hodiak, a popular B movie actor, who played in a lot of war films. In his later years, he was transformed into Burt Lancaster in "Atlantic City."
Mr. and Mrs. North were inseparable. They needed no other friends, just the company of themselves. They were complete with each other. They were on their own magical island and nothing could touch them. He loved that about them.
They kept the details of their little forays to themselves. They would only mention to their kids that Mr. and Mrs. North had gone out on a job last night. We were left to fill in the details of another marvelous adventure.
There was but one shadow in the their lives. Her health was a constant concern. One minute she was vibrant and healthy, the next she was headed to a hospital for surgery. The surgeons too often had their way with Mrs. North. It seemed to make the moments she was feeling well more precious to all of them. Gradually, the healthy periods grew shorter. Physical illness gave way to mental illness and the darkness moved in.
He began turning down jobs to be with her. It was no fun being Mr. North without his partner. Eventually the insurance jobs went away. He began to spend most of his time just waiting for Mrs. North to come out of her cycle of depression. The waiting could take weeks, even months. He never complained. He was like some sentry standing watch over her. The good times became shorter and shorter, but Mrs. North was worth waiting for.
He loved Atlantic City — the casinos and the boardwalk. He was content to walk the boards eating a slice of pizza, so long as she was beside him. He joked his black Buick automatically headed for the Shore.
In some farflung corner of my mind, they remain young and dashing. I see them getting into the Buick, ready for another adventure. She is incredibly fair with beautiful green eyes and blonde- streaked hair. He is Hodiak in "A Bell for Adano."
In my reverie, Mr. and Mrs. North are always "all dooted up."
