The San Francisco detective who led the unsuccessful investigation into the Zodiac serial killings – and inspired the Dirty Harry movie – has died.
Dave Toschi died on Saturday aged 86 after suffering from a long illness, his daughter Linda Toschi-Chambers said.
Toschi was famously put on the Zodiac case after a San Francisco taxi driver was shot to death in 1969.
Dave Toschi (pictured in 1976) died on Saturday aged 86 after suffering from a long illness, his daughter Linda Toschi-Chambers said
His original style – bow ties, sharp trench coats and a quick-draw holster for his .38-caliber pistol – inspired Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry character (pictured) from the 1971 movie
He was taken off it nine years later when he acknowledged writing and mailing anonymous fan letters to the San Francisco Chronicle lauding his own work.
But his original style – bow ties, sharp trench coats and a quick-draw holster for his .38-caliber pistol – inspired Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry character from the 1971 movie.
Toschi, however, was not impressed with Eastward’s Harry Callahan and is said to have walked out of a screening of the 1971 film in disgust because it resembled his investigation too closely.
The movie, directed by Don Siegel, follows a San Francisco detective trying to find a serial killer named Scorpio – and is loosely based on the Zodiac investigation.
Callahan is a tough cop who regularly crosses legal and ethical lines in his pursuit of justice.
But creators Harry and Rita Fink only partly based Callahan on Toschi.
Toschi also inspired Steve McQueen’s Lt. Frank Bullitt in the 1968 movie Bullitt.
Speaking 2014, Toschi said: ‘Steve McQueen was a lovely guy.
‘He came to homicide for inspiration while he was filming. He seemed to take to me.
‘He liked the way I wore my holster upside down and put my raincoat over my shoulder.’
Actor Mark Ruffalo (pictured) portrayed Toschi in the 2007 movie Zodiac
Five people were stabbed or shot to death in Northern California in 1968 and 1969, with their killer sending taunting letters and cryptograms to the police and newspapers.
The murderer, dubbed the Zodiac killer because some of his cryptograms included astrological symbols and references, was never caught.
Duffy Jennings covered the grisly murders for the Chronicle and grew close to Toschi.
Jenning said Toschi visited the San Francisco murder scene on the anniversary of the killing for many years in a row to see if he overlooked any clues.
‘The Zodiac case gnawed at him,’ Jennings said. ‘He said it gave him an ulcer.’
Actor Mark Ruffalo portrayed Toschi in the 2007 movie Zodiac.
Toschi was born in San Francisco and graduated from Galileo High School before serving in the Korean War with the US Army.
He returned to San Francisco in 1953 and was hired by the police department, where he worked until retiring in 1985.
Toschi’s family said the retired inspector enjoyed music and books.
He ‘could sing with the best of them,’ said his daughter.
He also inspired Steve McQueen’s Lt. Frank Bullitt (pictured) in the 1968 movie Bullitt, famous for its car chase scene in San Francisco
‘His greatest pleasure was his loving family, and we will miss his keen sense of humor, his gentle guidance and his unconditional love.’
Toschi is survived by his wife, Carol Toschi of San Francisco; two daughters, Toschi-Chambers of San Francisco and Karen Leight of San Mateo County; and two granddaughters, Sarah Leight of Pacifica and Emma Leight of Los Angeles.
Private services were held yesterday.