100 Fun Facts About Monk

Adrian Monk works as a private consultant to the police department of which city?

San Francisco's police discharged Monk when his wife's death left him unable to work, or even to leave his house for years; he consults on their cases hoping to be reinstated.

Which actor plays Adrian Monk, a role that earned him a Golden Globe in 2003?

Tony Shalhoub got the part after the script had sat uncast for two years; the executive who bought it said he was someone who could "bring the humor and passion of Monk to life".

What was the profession of Monk's late wife, Trudy?

A journalist, like the woman Captain Stottlemeyer marries in the final season: she is another Trudy, so he goes on calling her T.K. out of concern for his friend.

Which Will & Grace star plays the TV host profiling Monk in the show's 100th episode?

Eric McCormack hosts In Focus, a news magazine covering Monk's 100th case; watching the broadcast, Monk realises one of the murders had a second killer.

Who is credited as the creator of Monk and wrote the pilot?

Andy Breckman built the show on Sherlock Holmes and hid a tribute in his two policemen: the first two letters of Leland, Stottlemeyer, Randy and Deacon, the lieutenant's surname in the pilot, spell Lestrade.

Which Seinfeld actor was once under consideration to play Adrian Monk?

Michael Richards, Seinfeld's Kramer, was considered while the script sat unmade for two years, but there was concern that viewers used to seeing him play for laughs would not accept him in a part as tragic as it is funny.

How did Monk's wife Trudy die?

A car bomb killed Trudy in a parking garage in December 1997, and for years Monk believed it had been meant for him, until a jailed enemy told him she was the target all along.

Who was Monk's nurse and assistant for the first three seasons?

Sharona Fleming, a single mother, nursed Monk back to work after the years he spent shut away following his wife's death; when she quits in the pilot, he cannot face the case until she is talked into coming back.

How was Monk's first assistant written out after Bitty Schram left in season three?

She remarried her ex-husband and moved back east with her son; off screen, network and actress both called the exit a change of creative direction, amid reports of contract talks.

In Natalie Teeger's first episode, what are the intruders really after in her daughter's fish tank?

A moon rock, swapped for a fake at a museum and smuggled out in an aquarium kit that Natalie's daughter happened to buy; the pet fish was the red herring of the episode's title.

Monk's assistant Natalie Teeger comes from a wealthy family that made its fortune in which product?

Toothpaste: Natalie was born a Davenport, of Davenport Toothpaste, but fell out with her wealthy parents over her marriage to a Navy pilot and was tending bar when Monk met her.

Which actor plays Captain Leland Stottlemeyer?

Ted Levine is best known as the serial killer Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs, yet he spent all eight seasons here on the other side of the law as Monk's exasperated captain.

What does Randy Disher do after quitting the force in season four?

Relaunch his rock band: The Randy Disher Project, formed in high school, gets back together to record a song, then breaks up again, and he goes back to the police.

In the Monk finale, Randy Disher takes a job as chief of police in Summit, in which state?

New Jersey is home to Monk's first assistant: after a reunion kiss earlier in the final season, Randy reveals in the last episode that he is moving there to live with her.

Who was Monk's psychiatrist for the first six seasons?

Dr. Charles Kroger was written out after actor Stanley Kamel died of a heart attack in April 2008: rather than recast the part, the writers had the character die the same way.

Monk claims to have 312 phobias; which everyday drink is among the very worst of them?

Milk comes third when Monk reels off his fears in order for the captain: germs, needles, milk, and only then death, snakes, mushrooms and heights.

Which brand of bottled water is the only kind Monk will drink in the first five seasons?

Sierra Springs is the only water Monk trusts, so when his luggage is stolen on a case in Mexico he goes days without drinking rather than touch another brand.

Which instrument does Adrian Monk play?

Clarinet: it comes out when Willie Nelson, cleared of murder by Monk, joins him at Trudy's grave to play 'Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain'.

Who wrote and performed 'It's a Jungle Out There', the theme song used from season two onward?

Randy Newman's song replaced an instrumental theme after one season, and the show joked about it: a superfan makes Monk promise that if he ever gets a TV show, he will never change its theme.

Which rapper guest-starred as murder suspect Murderuss and recorded his own version of the Monk theme?

Snoop Dogg's hip-hop cover ran over the opening credits of his 2007 episode, and when a crowd boos Monk's summation off the stage, his character delivers it as a rap instead.

Monk's star won three Emmys in the role, each for lead actor in which kind of series?

Comedy: nearly every episode opens with a murder, yet Monk competed as a comedy, and its star was nominated eight years running, winning in 2003, 2005 and 2006.

Which actor plays Monk's agoraphobic brother Ambrose?

John Turturro's Ambrose stays out of touch for seven years because he blames himself: Trudy was killed while out buying his cough medicine.

What does Ambrose Monk do for a living?

Writes owner's manuals: it is work Ambrose can do without stepping outside the house he has not left in decades, and he turns them out in seven languages he taught himself.

Monk's father Jack walked out on the family when he went out to fetch what?

Chinese food: Jack says the fortune cookie read 'Stand by your man', which he took as a sign to keep driving; he resurfaces decades later as a long-haul trucker.

Who is Harold Krenshaw?

A fellow OCD patient and Monk's rival, Harold feuds with him over everything from waiting-room magazines to their therapist's attention, until being locked in a car trunk together makes them friends.

Which of these actors played the villain Dale 'the Whale' Biederbeck in season two?

Tim Curry wore a fat suit for the part, in an episode where the jailed Dale offers Monk a deal: clear him of a prison poisoning and he will tell what he knows about Trudy's murder.

The 800-pound Dale the Whale cannot leave his bed, so who carries out the murder he is suspected of?

His doctor: the physician was a fugitive living under a false name, and Dale, who had found him out, blackmailed him into killing the judge who had ruled against him.

In the Monk pilot, a gunman opens fire at a mayoral candidate's rally and kills whom?

His bodyguard, and not by mistake: Monk works out that he was the real target, shot because he had refused to kill a campaign volunteer who caught an aide embezzling.

In 'Mr. Monk Takes a Vacation', who witnesses a hotel-room murder through a telescope?

Benjy, the young son of Monk's nurse, sees a stabbing through a coin-operated telescope at their beach resort, but the room turns out spotless and only Monk believes him.

In Monk's two-part finale, who is revealed to be 'The Judge' who ordered Trudy's death?

Ethan Rickover, a real judge played by Craig T. Nelson, killed to bury an old affair with Trudy when he was nominated to the court of appeals.

What is the name of Trudy's long-lost daughter, whom Monk meets in the finale?

Molly Evans was born years before Trudy met Monk, and Trudy's own tape says the baby lived only minutes; he finds her grown up and working as a film critic.

In the Monk finale, a hitman poisons Monk by tampering with which everyday item?

His hand wipes carried the toxin, which is why no test of his food found it; the truth came out only when Natalie, who had handled them too, fell ill with the same symptoms.

Monk's finale drew 9.4 million viewers in 2009, then a record for a scripted drama on what kind of TV?

Basic cable had never drawn so many to a scripted drama: part one had pulled in 5.8 million, but 9.4 million came back to watch Monk finally solve his wife's murder.

On which streaming service did the 2023 film Mr. Monk's Last Case premiere?

Peacock had already reunited the cast in 2020 for a short lockdown sketch, and the film picks up that thread: the pandemic has undone years of Monk's progress.

In Mr. Monk's Last Case, which billionaire does Monk's stepdaughter's fiancé accuse of murder before he dies?

Rick Eden, played by James Purefoy, never touches the bungee cord: he has the groom's tape measure swapped for one whose inches are slightly off, so the cord the victim cuts himself is too long.

Which is the only Monk episode title not to begin 'Mr. Monk'?

Happy Birthday, Mr. Monk breaks the pattern for his 50th, an episode Natalie spends trying to spring a surprise party on him.

Where was the Monk pilot filmed in 2001?

Vancouver hosted only the pilot: the show moved to Toronto for the rest of season one and to Los Angeles after that, visiting the city where it is set just for the odd landmark shot.

For most of the series, the man hired to kill Monk's wife is known only by which physical trait?

A six-fingered hand was the only lead for years; when Monk finally corners the man in season six, he is shot dead before he can say who gave the order, and Monk is framed for it.

What was the title of the ten-episode web prequel to Monk that USA Network launched in 2009?

Little Monk follows Adrian and Ambrose through middle school, where the brothers solve playground mysteries such as a missing bracelet and a stolen coin changer.

Which comedian plays Marci Maven, the obsessive fan who decides Monk is her new favourite detective?

Sarah Silverman first plays Marci in season two as the devotee of a TV cop show; once Monk unmasks its star as a killer, she switches her devotion to him and returns twice more.

Before Monk, the show's star spent six years playing cab driver Antonio Scarpacci on which sitcom?

Wings first cast him for a single episode as a waiter; the producers liked him so much that the character returned the next season as a cab driver and stayed to the end.

Which broadcast network developed Monk for two years before letting it go to USA?

ABC let the script go but, in an unusual deal, kept the right to rerun the finished show, so the network that passed on Monk ended up airing it anyway.

Which USA Network detective show did Monk become a lead-in for when it moved to 9 pm in 2006?

Psych, about a fake psychic who solves crimes, premiered straight after Monk's season opener in July 2006, and the two shows stayed paired until Monk ended in 2009.

Which composer wrote Monk's jazzy season-one theme, winner of the 2003 Emmy for main title music?

Jeff Beal's theme won that Emmy months after the show had replaced it for season two, but he stayed on to score every season and came back for the 2023 film.

What was the title of the song written for the Monk series finale that won a 2010 Emmy?

When I'm Gone plays over a closing montage of past and present characters; it went on sale three days before the last episode aired and won the Emmy for original music and lyrics.

Which actor plays Dr. Neven Bell, Monk's psychiatrist in the final two seasons?

Héctor Elizondo's Dr. Bell wins Monk over at their first meeting by appearing at exactly eleven o'clock with his favourite brand of bottled water already on hand.

What is the occupation of Kevin Dorfman, Monk's talkative upstairs neighbour?

Accountant Kevin Dorfman wins $43 million in the lottery in his first episode, and is murdered in season seven for noticing something odd in a magician's luggage receipts.

In season eight, what does Monk do soon after finally being reinstated as a police detective?

Turns in his badge: after twelve years of wanting it back, he finds he was happier as a consultant, free to pick his cases and say what he thinks.

In the Monk finale, what does he finally open after twelve years to learn why Trudy was killed?

Her last Christmas gift, left under the tree on the morning she died, holds a videotape in which she tells him of an affair from before they met and of the man she had come to fear.

Which comedian guest-stars as the cult leader who brainwashes Monk in season six?

Howie Mandel lives with OCD and a fear of germs himself, yet here he plays the man out to cure Monk of his; he called the series "a self-help show for me".

Which country music legend is accused of shooting his business manager in Monk's first season?

Willie Nelson plays himself, and Monk is sure he is innocent. Monk calls himself Nelson's second-biggest fan, because Trudy was the biggest.

Which rapper plays murder suspect Murderuss in Monk and delivers the detective's summation as a rap?

Snoop Dogg plays Murderuss, who takes over after Monk is booed off the stage. Snoop also recorded his own cover of the show's theme song.

A teenage Jennifer Lawrence makes a brief early TV appearance in Monk's 'Mr. Monk and the Big Game' as what?

The team mascot was one of the future Oscar winner's earliest screen roles. In the episode, Monk helps Natalie coach a school basketball team whose coach has been electrocuted.

Which instrument does Adrian Monk play in the show's pilot episode?

The clarinet is Monk's instrument, heard in the pilot. Later in season one a country star he idolises invites him to sit in with the band.

A music producer is shot in his locked panic room in Monk; what kind of pet is caught holding the gun?

A chimpanzee is caught with the murder weapon. Monk's nurse steals it from police custody to save it from being put down, then hides it at Monk's house.

Which rock band appears as itself in Monk, giving the detective a tip while he is stuck in a traffic jam?

Korn turn up in the jam, which began when a car overturned with a dead body behind the wheel. Monk, Natalie and her daughter Julie are caught in the middle of it.

What job does Jack Monk have when he finally reappears in his son Adrian's life after decades away?

Truck driver Jack rolls into town at Christmas, and Adrian joins him on the road. By the end, Jack has taught his grown son to ride a bike.

After a 'miracle fountain' seems to cure him in Monk, what does Captain Stottlemeyer quit the police to join?

A monastery takes in Stottlemeyer after he drinks from the fountain and feels healed. Meanwhile three homeless men hire Monk to prove their friend was murdered.

In 'Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico', an autopsy suggests a student who died while skydiving was actually killed how?

By drowning, in mid-air, is the autopsy's baffling verdict. Monk meanwhile goes days without a drink because his favourite bottled water isn't sold there.

In Monk's seventh season, why does the detective think his hundredth case is the moment to retire?

It is a nice even number, he reasons, until Natalie points out that a second killer makes the case technically his 101st.

Which comedian plays Marci Maven, the obsessive superfan who turns up in three Monk episodes?

Sarah Silverman's Marci first appears as a fan of a TV crime drama. She later outbids Natalie for a date with Monk at a police bachelor auction.

In Monk, the man hired to kill Trudy is identified for years only by which physical oddity?

Six fingers on one hand, the right, is all a dying accomplice can recall of the man who hired him. Monk finally comes face to face with him in the season six finale.

Which animals is Monk's tough, no-nonsense nurse revealed to fear in the episode 'Mr. Monk Goes to the Circus'?

Elephants are her one phobia. Monk dismisses the fear as silly, so his furious nurse takes up smoking, and then she watches a circus elephant kill its trainer.

Monk's finale was basic cable's most-watched drama series episode until which show beat it in 2012?

The Walking Dead took the record in 2012, three years after Monk's two-part farewell. Monk had been among cable's highest-rated series since its early seasons.

What job does Natalie Teeger quit to become Monk's assistant after he solves the break-ins at her home?

Bartender was one of several odd jobs Natalie held as a widowed single mother. She had also spent two years dealing blackjack in Las Vegas.

Which star won an Emmy for playing an actor who shadows Monk before portraying him in a TV movie?

Stanley Tucci had himself been considered for the role of Monk before the series began. His character loses himself so deeply in his parts that he complicates two murder inquiries.

Which sitcom star plays Marty Eels, the small-time private eye who keeps beating Monk to the answers?

Jason Alexander's Marty Eels arrives at a jewellery robbery with uncannily accurate insights, even knowing where the missing manager is. Monk sets out to expose him as a fraud.

To which city do Monk and the police fly at the start of season three to chase a lead on Trudy's murder?

New York is where a dying man admits he was hired to help kill Trudy. First, though, the NYPD wants an ambassador's shooting solved, and Monk gets lost in the city.

In 'Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine', what is the cost of the new pills that finally quiet Monk's phobias?

He can't solve cases on the drug, which brings a drastic personality change along with the calm. A citywide manhunt for the captain's shooter has to wait for the real Monk.

After a blow to the head in Monk's fourth season, the amnesiac detective wakes up in a small town in which state?

Wyoming is where Monk comes round after being robbed, knocked out and shipped out of the city. A lonely woman there claims to be his wife.

Which undercover job in Monk's fifth season suits the detective so well that he neglects the murder case?

Butler to a wealthy heir played by Sean Astin is the job Monk can't put down. Natalie had sent him in after her parents' rich neighbours died suspiciously.

In Monk's fifth season, what does Randy Disher inherit from his uncle Harvey that makes him quit the police?

A farm comes to Disher after Harvey apparently takes his own life over the death of his prize pig. Disher soon suspects a neighbour of murder, and Monk joins him to investigate.

In Monk's seventh season, the detective hallucinates his therapist beside him while trapped aboard what?

A submarine puts to sea on a surprise exercise with Monk and Natalie still aboard. Monk ends up stuck in a ballast tank that is filling with water.

After a secret visit to a hypnotist in Monk's seventh season, the detective starts behaving like what?

A young child, about six, is what Monk becomes after the session. His new innocence ends up helping to show what really happened to a missing actress.

How does Monk end up in a wheelchair during the season seven episode 'Mr. Monk on Wheels'?

His assistant shoots him in the leg by accident: Natalie spins round too fast with a suspect's pistol. She then has to look after him around the clock.

What did Trudy leave for Monk, in case she came to harm, that finally exposes her killer in the finale?

A videotape names the man Trudy was due to meet in a parking garage. It lay unopened for twelve years inside the last Christmas present she gave Monk.

In the Monk finale, where does Natalie work out that the poison slowly killing the detective was hidden?

In his hand wipes, Natalie realises, after she falls ill with the same symptoms while cleaning his apartment. The discovery lets the hospital prepare an antidote.

What job does Trudy's long-lost daughter have when Monk finally meets her at the end of the series?

Film critic for a local paper is her job, so she writes for a living just as Trudy did. She talks Monk out of retiring, telling him other people still need his help.

Which actor plays the respected judge unmasked as the man behind Trudy's murder in Monk's two-part finale?

Craig T. Nelson's judge had just been nominated to the state Supreme Court. Monk forces him at gunpoint to dig up his own garden, where a murdered midwife lies buried.

What does Monk do soon after finally winning reinstatement as a police detective in the last season?

He turns in his badge after realising he was happier as his own boss. He hands it back only once he has beaten his fear of heights to catch a killer window-washer.

Monk was first pictured as a goofy, physical detective in the mould of which film character?

Inspector Clouseau was the original model. Producer David Hoberman then suggested a detective with obsessive compulsions, drawing on his own habit of avoiding cracks and touching poles.

Where was most of Monk filmed from its second season onward, including the sets for the detective's apartment?

Los Angeles housed the sets for Monk's apartment, the police station and Natalie's house. Late in season four the crew added some location filming in the city where the story is set, including a bounty-hunter chase.

Which actress joined Monk midway through season three as the detective's new assistant, Natalie Teeger?

Traylor Howard had never seen the show when her manager urged her to audition. Its creator later said she saved the series by stepping in at a moment of crisis.

Which actress, later Jan Levinson in The Office, played Monk's late wife Trudy from the third season on?

Melora Hardin replaced Stellina Rusich, who had played Trudy in the first two seasons. She returned to the part for the 2023 reunion film.

Which actress, married to Monk's leading man, guest-starred in five episodes as four different characters?

Brooke Adams has been married to the show's star since 1992. Her Monk roles ranged from an irritated flight attendant to a small-town sheriff he has to woo.

Which comedian, open about his own fear of germs, plays the cult leader who brainwashes Monk in season six?

Howie Mandel was an avid Monk viewer who said the show made him feel less alone with his OCD. His cult leader has Monk so far under that only his psychiatrist can reach him.

In the film Mr. Monk's Last Case, groom-to-be Griffin Briggs dies in a rigged accident during which activity?

Bungee jumping killed Griffin because his tape measure had been swapped for one with the inches slightly off. He cut his own cord too long without knowing it.

What is the profession of Linda Fusco, the girlfriend Captain Stottlemeyer discovers is a killer in Monk?

Real estate agent Linda shot her business partner because he planned to leave and take their clients. The ending hints that the captain had meant to propose to her on a trip to Hawaii.

How is Monk's first psychiatrist written out of the series before season seven?

He dies of a heart attack, as actor Stanley Kamel had in April 2008 between seasons. The first episode aired afterwards closes with a dedication to Kamel.

During a season-two stakeout, why does Monk roll his nurse's Volvo backwards and forwards?

To round off the odometer: it read 99,999 miles, and Monk could not rest until it showed 100,000.

At which university did Adrian Monk study, meeting his future wife Trudy there during his senior year?

UC Berkeley is where they met, and Monk goes back for his 25-year reunion in season five. The captain is booed there when old photos show him in riot gear at a campus protest.

At college, which nickname did Monk earn by defrosting the student-lounge refrigerator every single weekend?

Captain Cool dates from his dormitory days. The name resurfaces when Monk attends his 25-year college reunion, a weekend full of bittersweet memories of Trudy.

What errand was Trudy Monk running for her brother-in-law Ambrose on the day she was killed?

Buying cough medicine for Ambrose took Trudy to the parking garage where she died. He blamed himself and avoided all contact with Adrian for seven years.

In 'Mr. Monk Is Up All Night', why is the detective drawn to a stranger he chases for blocks?

She has Trudy's corneas, transplanted after Trudy's death. Without knowing why, the sleepless Monk had been looking into his wife's eyes.

Trudy Monk's newspaper profile likened the financier Dale 'the Whale' Biederbeck to which conqueror?

Genghis Khan was the comparison, and Dale sued for libel knowing he could not win. He dragged the case out for over a year, and the legal bills cost the Monks their first home.

In the Monk pilot, the character later known as Randy Disher was credited under which surname?

Deacon was a nod to Sherlock Holmes: LEland STottlemeyer plus RAndy DEacon spells out Lestrade, the policeman in those stories.

To reassure Monk, what does Natalie point out about his new psychiatrist's first name?

It is a palindrome: Neven. Monk objects that it is not a perfect one, because only the first N is a capital.

Held hostage by a crooked handyman in Monk's seventh season, how does Natalie call for help?

Morse code smoke signals go up the chimney because there is no other way to reach anyone. Natalie had earlier scolded the captain and Disher for tapping out Morse on a door.

Jack Monk Jr., the detective's con-man half-brother in Monk, is fixated on fleeing to which country?

Paraguay obsesses Jack because he believes its extradition laws would keep him beyond the reach of the police. Monk is furious when he works out the reason.

Monk's season-five episode 'Mr. Monk and the Leper' was broadcast in two versions: colour and what?

Black and white suited a shadowy murder plot written in the style of classic Hollywood film noir. It begins when a missing billionaire comes out of hiding to hire Monk.