Tony Shalhoub's 'Monk,' the Compulsive Detective
Actor Tony Shalhoub won an Emmy Award for the TV show Monk and has appeared in several films, including Big Night, Men in Black and Spy Kids. © Steve Azzara/Corbis hide caption
Kojak sucked on a lollipop, Columbo sported a rumpled raincoat. But Monk, the current rage in TV crime solvers, is an altogether different character -- he's an obsessive-compulsive detective who's afraid of dirt, crowded rooms and milk. On Morning Edition, NPR's Renee Montagne gets into the mind of the quirky character with the show's star, Tony Shalhoub.