 Dom DeLuises character, Melvin P. Thorpe is based on the real  newsman, Marvin Zindler (qv) (b. 1921, d. 7/29/07) who brought  down the real Chicken Ranch. The incident where the sheriff snatches  the wig off Thorpes head and holds it high really happened between  the La Grange county sheriff and Zindler. Zindler also pioneered  "rat and roach" reports about restaurant cleanliness ("Slime in the  Ice Machine!"),