Private Eye

NEW YORK -- Thomas Corbally, a businessman and New York socialite with ties to the rich and famous through a private investigation firm, died April 15 in Manhattan from complications of heart disease. He was 83. Mr. Corbally had long been associated with Kroll Associates, a security consulting firm. He counted as friends Hollywood stars, business leaders, and such luminaries as Mother Teresa, Sir Jimmy Goldsmith of Britain, and King Hussein of Jordan. During World War II, he served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services.

By Matthew Gilbert Masterpiece Mystery! 9 p.m., Channel 2 The first of three "Case Histories" mysteries premieres tonight. These movies are based on the novels by Kate Atkinson. Jason Isaacs (pictured) from the "Harry Potter" movies and the midseason series "Awake" stars as an ex-cop private eye in Edinburgh. Our America With Lisa Ling 10 p.m., OWN The second season of this series about American life begins tonight with Ling looking into why people post their homemade sex tapes online.

The story goes that when screenwriter Shane Black was coming up in Hollywood 15 years ago, he and his housemates used to throw bashes that regularly devolved into precise re-creations of classic fight scenes from Hong Kong action movies on their front lawn. His directorial debut "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" takes a similar approach to the hard-boiled detective genre: It's a merry deconstructive delight and easily the best party in town. It's also a surprisingly confident comeback for Black -- the kid who made millions penning boom-boom buddy films like "Lethal Weapon" in the late 1980s -- and a...

LOS ANGELES — Greg Goossen — a former Major League catcher who was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers at 18 and led a colorful life after his baseball career by working as a private detective, boxing trainer, and character actor — has died. He was 65. His brother, Michael, said Monday that one of Mr. Goossen’s daughters found him dead last Saturday at his Sherman Oaks home after he did not show up for a photo session related to his induction into his high school’s Hall of Fame.

LOS ANGELES — Greg Goossen — a former Major League catcher who was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers at 18 and led a colorful life after his baseball career by working as a private detective, boxing trainer, and character actor — has died. He was 65. His brother, Michael, said Monday that one of Mr. Goossen’s daughters found him dead last Saturday at his Sherman Oaks home after he did not show up for a photo session related to his induction into his high school’s Hall of Fame.

By Matthew Gilbert Masterpiece Mystery! 9 p.m., Channel 2 The first of three "Case Histories" mysteries premieres tonight. These movies are based on the novels by Kate Atkinson. Jason Isaacs (pictured) from the "Harry Potter" movies and the midseason series "Awake" stars as an ex-cop private eye in Edinburgh. Our America With Lisa Ling 10 p.m., OWN The second season of this series about American life begins tonight with Ling looking into why people post their homemade sex tapes online.

In a way, I suppose, you could say that Thomas Pynchon has gone on holiday to write a playful private eye story. But that would mislead. For one thing, Pynchon’s masterpieces - “V.,’’ “Gravity’s Rainbow’’ - cannot be understood, or even got through, unless they are taken as you would take a fun-house ride. Only such a ride can achieve his graver destinations: destinies, in fact, and as consequential as can be credible in an era of disassociation. For another, “Inherent Vice,’’ seemingly a confection of spoofs on its genre, belongs to a wider group as well: the personal-liberation...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Three private investigators who obtained confidential telephone records as part of Hewlett-Packard's boardroom spying probe pleaded not guilty yesterday to identity theft and other felony charges. Ronald DeLia of Massachusetts-based Security Outsourcing Solutions Inc., Matthew DePante of Florida-based Action Research Group Inc., and Bryan Wagner of Colorado were arraigned in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Each was released on personal recognizance.

A hotbed of documentary filmmaking for decades, the Boston area is home to at least three great working documentarians. Frederick Wiseman, still going strong at 82, is the tireless recording angel of institutions large, small, and in between. Errol Morris, who's part philosopher, part private eye, must be the world's only practicing forensic epistemologist. Some day he's going to make a movie called "CSI: The Universe. " Ross McElwee, the least known of the three, may have made the single most influential documentary among them.

Comedy Central is presenting "Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied" at 9, a one-hour stand-up performance in which the comic/actress rants on subjects ranging from airport searches to outrageous sitcom parts she's been offered. Samuel L. Jackson, Jeffrey Wright, and Richard Roundtree star in "Shaft," the 2000 crime drama about the nephew of the famous private eye of the same name from the 1970s movies. On WSBK-TV (Channel 38) at 8. Joan's plans to attend a White Stripes concert with Adam turn sour after he becomes interested in someone else.

In a way, I suppose, you could say that Thomas Pynchon has gone on holiday to write a playful private eye story. But that would mislead. For one thing, Pynchon’s masterpieces - “V.,’’ “Gravity’s Rainbow’’ - cannot be understood, or even got through, unless they are taken as you would take a fun-house ride. Only such a ride can achieve his graver destinations: destinies, in fact, and as consequential as can be credible in an era of disassociation. For another, “Inherent Vice,’’ seemingly a confection of spoofs on its genre, belongs to a wider group as well: the personal-liberation...

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Three private investigators who obtained confidential telephone records as part of Hewlett-Packard's boardroom spying probe pleaded not guilty yesterday to identity theft and other felony charges. Ronald DeLia of Massachusetts-based Security Outsourcing Solutions Inc., Matthew DePante of Florida-based Action Research Group Inc., and Bryan Wagner of Colorado were arraigned in Santa Clara County Superior Court. Each was released on personal recognizance.

The story goes that when screenwriter Shane Black was coming up in Hollywood 15 years ago, he and his housemates used to throw bashes that regularly devolved into precise re-creations of classic fight scenes from Hong Kong action movies on their front lawn. His directorial debut "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" takes a similar approach to the hard-boiled detective genre: It's a merry deconstructive delight and easily the best party in town. It's also a surprisingly confident comeback for Black -- the kid who made millions penning boom-boom buddy films like "Lethal Weapon" in the...

NEW YORK -- Thomas Corbally, a businessman and New York socialite with ties to the rich and famous through a private investigation firm, died April 15 in Manhattan from complications of heart disease. He was 83. Mr. Corbally had long been associated with Kroll Associates, a security consulting firm. He counted as friends Hollywood stars, business leaders, and such luminaries as Mother Teresa, Sir Jimmy Goldsmith of Britain, and King Hussein of Jordan. During World War II, he served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services.

Entourage Tomorrow at 10:30 p.m., HBO When a series like “Entourage’’ doesn’t have a season-long plot arc, it can feel pointless. This latest string of episodes, which finishes up tomorrow night, has played like a whole lot of wheel-spinning. Eric’s back and forth with Sloan and Ashley was endless, Vince was mostly in the background, and Turtle’s relationship with Jamie-Lynn was kind of “so what?’’ Guests in the finale include Matt Damon and LeBron James.

WASHINGTON - Bruce Ivins, the Army scientist accused of masterminding the 2001 anthrax attacks, e-mailed himself last year, saying he knew who the killer was, according to court documents unsealed yesterday. "Yes! Yes! Yes!!!!!!!" Ivins wrote in the e-mail dated Sept. 7, 2007, according to an FBI affidavit. "I finally know who mailed the anthrax letters in the fall of 2001. I've pieced it together! "I'm not looking forward to everybody getting dragged through the mud, but at least it will all be over," Ivins allegedly wrote.