List of Murder, She Wrote characters

Dr. Seth Hazlitt was played by William Windom. He first appeared in the second series. He is Cabot Cove’s leading physician and Jessica Fletcher’s best friend. Under the crusty Maine exterior is a dedicated doctor with real compassion for his patients, a nurturing side that sometimes manifests itself in Seth’s protective tendencies toward Jessica. Seth is a widower, his wife Ruth having died before the series began. In the series four episode "Curse of the Daanau," Seth receives an invitation from his estranged brother's wife. The two reconcile after 30 years only for the brother to be murdered shortly after. NOTE: He first appeared playing the role as one of the friends/ murder's in Funeral at Fifty Mile. 1985

Amos Tupper is the original Sheriff of Cabot Cove and was played by Tom Bosley. Very little is known of Amos's career; he was the Sheriff for the first four seasons and was a deputy prior to that. All that is known about him before his career with the sheriff's department is that he was a bus driver one summer.

He retired as Cabot Cove's sheriff in 1988, moved to Kentucky to live with his sister, and was replaced by Sheriff Mort Metzger.

Charles "Charlie" Garett is a P.I that Jessica encounters very often. He is portrayed by Wayne Rogers.

Mort Metzger was a former NYPD officer who replaced Amos Tupper as Cabot Cove's sheriff, in the mistaken anticipation of living in a more peaceful place with his wife Adele. The character was played by Ron Masak.

Grady Ambrose Fletcher is the nephew of the show's lead character Jessica Fletcher and was played by Michael Horton. Specifically, Grady was the son of Frank Fletcher's late brother. Frank was the husband of Jessica.

It was Grady who, after secretly reading Jessica's first novel The Corpse Danced at Midnight, had it published.

Although Jessica seems to have a neverending collection of nieces and nephews, it is Grady that could be easily considered the closest thing she has to a son. In the series viewers learn that Grady was raised in part by Jessica and her husband Frank, after Grady's parents were killed in a car accident.

Bumbling, but good-natured, Grady seemed to always be moving from accounting job to accounting job. When he did have a job, murder would quickly follow. Usually a too-trusting Grady was accused of the murder and needed his Aunt Jessica to find the real killer.

His job troubles where about as bad as his difficulties with women. Grady, the shy innocent type, frequently had trouble finding a regular girl. He did eventually marry equally shy Donna Mayberry. His job troubles and women troubles converge when he finds out he worked for, and was fired by, Donna's father.

Grady and Donna had a son in the series, whom they name Frank, after Grady's Uncle.

Harry McGraw is an old-school private investigator who becomes friends with Jessica. The character was portrayed by Jerry Orbach and was popular enough to garner his own, short-lived spinoff series in 1987, The Law & Harry McGraw.

Michael Hagarty is a British MI6 agent of Irish origin, who would appear when Jessica least expected him to drag her into a dangerous case. He was played by Len Cariou.

Dennis Stanton played by Keith Michell is a former jewel thief turned insurance claims investigator, who always solves his cases using unusual methods, and sends a copy of the story to his friend Jessica afterwards.

Donna Mayberry Fletcher was played by Debbie Zipp. Donna married Grady Fletcher in an episode of the fifth season called "Something Borrowed, Someone Blue". Donna had appeared previously in two episodes, the first of which was "Just Another Fish Story", in which she was arrested for the murder that had occurred that episode, however it was considered to be self-defense, and married Grady only a year later.

She is a very shy girl and was also an accountant like her father, although it was later discovered that she only pursued that career to make her father happy. She ended up giving up accounting after the first time we saw her to be a normal housewife, much to the horror of her father.

Donna's father was Franklin Mayberry, a very successful and ruthless accountant, whom Grady had at one point worked for and was fired by, although by the time we meet Franklin it seems that he has already forgotten this, as Donna said he probably would have. Donna's mother was Maisie Mayberry, an extremely neurotic woman who spent most of the wedding worrying about one thing or another. Also at the wedding were Donna's paternal Uncle Ben, and her maternal Uncle Ziggy with his new wife Valerie.

Debbie Zipp also appeared in season 3, episode 21, "The Days Dwindle Down" as character Terry.

A Japanese American employee who is friends with Jessica Fletcher.