Arthur Dietrich

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Detective Arthur P. Dietrich is a fictional character on the TV series Barney Miller. He was a police officer with the New York City 12th precinct and was played by Steve Landesberg. He was brought in to replace the retiring Det. Phil Fish, played by Abe Vigoda.

Dietrich had a highly intellectual approach to life, as well as an ability to relate almost any event to an obscure sociological, literary or philosophical topic. For example, he once made a special weekend trip to Pennsylvania to attend the Goethe Festival, from which he returned with the quip, "Take my soul - please!"

Dietrich's deadpan and unflappable know-it-all persona proved to be a major irritant to Det. Ron Harris, with whom he was partnered in stake-outs and other situations in which they found themselves in close quarters.

In one episode, it was revealed that Arthur Dietrich, before becoming a police officer, had been an actor and a teacher. Dietrich said he had also been a lumberjack and a beekeeper, though this might have been a joke.