This page contains spoilers for Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building. Proceed with caution!
Sazz Pataki was a recurring character in Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, and Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building. She was Charles' stunt double when he was on Brazzos, doubling for him in stunts.
She was played by Jane Lynch.
History[]
Childhood[]
Sazz came from a long line of stunt workers, including her father, who taught her how to play in danger safely. She honed this skill and used it to become a stunt worker herself.[2]
Visiting Charles[]
Sazz was Charles' stunt double on Brazzos. In season six, Charles's girlfriend Cookie cheated on him with Sazz, who she then began a relationship with. Cookie left Sazz after twenty years together. Sazz visits Charles in New York every year when the stunt awards happen. During one such visit, Sazz met Charles's new girlfriend, Jan. Sazz looked at their evidence board and said she had some thoughts. She told them it was a crime of passion because Tim was drugged and then shot. She believed the glasses from the bag were the source of the poison. When Charles, Mabel, and Oliver had to go to a meeting to discuss whether or not they should be evicted, Sazz offered to stay with Jan. When they returned, Sazz was helping Jan remove her shirt, but just to change her bandages.
Sazz later returned to Charles's place to check on him and encouraged him to go to Jan's performance even though she'd told him not to.[3]
Breaking Up with Jan[]
When Brazzos was rebooted, Sazz once again acted as Charles's stunt double, though he insisted he didn't need one as his character used a wheelchair. When Charles realized he had to break up with Jan, who believed they were still together, he sent Sazz to do that. When Sazz did so, she aroused Jan with her break-up speech.[4]
Charles' Engagement[]
When Sazz learned that Charles and Joy were engaged, she came to visit and brought them a fondue set. When she caught on to some tension between Joy and Charles, she asked Charles about it. He admitted that he suspected Joy was Ben's murderer, so Sazz had them play a game where she, posing as Joy, made statements, and he evaluated if they were normal or creepy. At the end of the game, she realized he was afraid to be happy and that was why he was struggling with Joy.[1]
Final Days[]
On the day that Sazz died, she visited Dr. Maggie, a chiropractor, in the back of Concussion, a stunt worker bar. She told Dr. Maggie that she was looking forward to her retirement, as she was changing career paths. She'd purchased a lot where they once filmed Brazzos and was planning to build a trampoline park there, to train the next generation of stunt workers.[5]
Death[]
Sazz came to the Death Rattle Dazzle afterparty at the Arconia, where she told Charles she had something a bit sensitive to talk to him about when he had time. She later went to get more wine from Charles's place.[6] On her way, she called Bev Melon and told her there was a problem with her movie and Bev needed to call her back.[7] However, when she got to Charles's place, she was shot in the chest through the window, possibly by someone who mistook her for Charles. As she bled, she took her hand to get some blood on her fingers and started writing something on the floor beside her.[6] She wrote "Tap In," which she said to Charles when it was time for her to do the stunt and him to take a break, indicating she knew the bullet was meant for Charles.[2]
Her body was burned in the old incinerator at the Arconia but her metal joints remained. Her phone was also stolen, presumably by the murderer.[8]
Personality[]
Sazz is very vivacious and funny. She is a touch self-absorbed; she comes to Charles for commiseration after her girlfriend (who she stole from Charles) left her. She is very intelligent, immediately noting that Tim Kono's murder was premeditated and suggesting that the glasses were poisoned. She likes to tell stories about herself and all the stunts she has done, and is slightly dismissive of Charles's "stunts". However, despite being somewhat full of herself, she is very likeable and was popular on the set of Brazzos. She has a kind heart, and is very fond of Charles underneath the teasing - having spent twenty years doubling him, she knows him very well. She believes he is a wonderful person, although he has a low opinion of himself.
Relationships[]
Charles-Haden Savage[]
Charles is Sazz's long time stunt double and friend. Sazz was Charles' stunt double for over 20 years. While their relationship could seem antagonistic and awkward, the two genuinely cared for each other. Sazz admitted that she owed a great amount of gratitude to Charles as it was thanks to being his stunt double that she was able to make her career. Charles admitted that he was always envious of Sazz due to how much more popular she was than him during their partnership. Their friendship seemed to have fallen apart for some time though, after Sazz had an affair with Charles' girlfriend Cookie. Sazz tried to make their relationship better over the years but Charles remained bitter over Sazz's betrayal.
Sazz visited Charles during her yearly visit for the stunt awards. While Charles was less than pleased to see Sazz, Sazz was thrilled to see Charles again, wasting no time in hugging her old friend. At first they seemed to be on good terms, with Sazz congratulating Charles on his podcast. Sazz then began making jabs at Charles in good fun, as well as proved herself a more competent detective, once again bringing out Charles' insecurities. However things started to go sour for them when Sazz started flirting with Charles' girlfriend Jan Bellows. When he found the two in a compromising position, which was just Sazz helping Jan apply lotion to her wound, Charles did not take the situation very well.
Sazz visited Charles the next day, apologizing for the confusion as well as assuring him that she had no intention of stealing Jan from Charles, as she revealed that Cookie had left Sazz after 20 years together. Sazz came to Charles to tell him that he and Jan had something special, and that in the decades of partnership the one thing she never understood was why Charles was so self-conscious and insecure as she believed he was a wonderful man who anyone would be lucky to have. Sazz encouraged Charles to see Jan perform at her concert to support her, which Charles eagerly agreed to.
Cookie[]
Cookie is Sazz's ex-wife. Cookie was originally Charles' girlfriend before she and Sazz started an affair. While Sazz felt guilty over ruining her friendship with Charles, she genuinely loved Cookie, devoting herself to Cookie for 20 years. However, Sazz herself would suffer the same heartbreak after Cookie left Sazz for another man.
Jan Bellows[]
After going to the prison to break up with Jan on Charles's behalf, Sazz began dating Jan herself.[4]
Notes and Trivia[]
- Sazz has also doubled for Tilda Swinton and Scott Bakula.
- She preferred joint replacements from Bulgaria.[8]
- She lived in an apartment previously occupied by Charles-Haden Savage.[8]
- She was a ham radio hobbyist.[5]
Gallery[]
Episodic[]
Episode Stills[]
Appearances[]
| Season One | |||||
| #01 | "True Crime" | #05 | "Twist" | #09 | "Double Time" |
| #02 | "Who Is Tim Kono?" | #06 | "To Protect and Serve" | #10 | "Open and Shut" |
| #03 | "How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors?" | #07 | "The Boy from 6B" | ||
| #04 | "The Sting" | #08 | "Fan Fiction" | ||
| Season Two | |||||
| #01 | "Persons of Interest" | #05 | "The Tell" | #09 | "Sparring Partners" |
| #02 | "Framed" | #06 | "Performance Review" | #10 | "I Know Who Did It" |
| #03 | "The Last Day of Bunny Folger" | #07 | "Flipping the Pieces" | ||
| #04 | "Here's Looking at You" | #08 | "Hello, Darkness" | ||
| Season Three | |||||
| #01 | "The Show Must..." | #05 | "Ah, Love!" | #09 | "Thirty" |
| #02 | "The Beat Goes On" | #06 | "Ghost Light" | #10 | "Opening Night" |
| #03 | "Grab Your Hankies" | #07 | "CoBro" | ||
| #04 | "The White Room" | #08 | "Sitzprobe" | ||
| Season Four | |||||
| #01 | "Once Upon a Time in the West" | #05 | "Adaptation" | #09 | "Escape From Planet Klongo" |
| #02 | "Gates of Heaven" | #06 | "Blow-Up" | #10 | "4.10" |
| #03 | "Two for the Road" | #07 | "Valley of the Dolls" | ||
| #04 | "The Stunt Man" | #08 | "Lifeboat" | ||
| List of Characters | ||
| MAIN | Charles-Haden Savage • Oliver Putnam • Mabel Mora • Howard Morris • Jan Bellows • Oscar Torres | |
| RECURRING | Tim Kono • Donna Williams • Sazz Pataki • Teddy Dimas • Theo Dimas • Zoe Cassidy • Ursula • Cinda Canning • Uma Heller • Arnav Kapoor • Bunny Folger • Lester • Poppy White • Ndidi Idoko • Grover Stanley • Amy Huang • Will Putnam • Sam • Paulette • Marv • Alice Banks • Joy Payne • Lucy • Ben Glenroy • Bobo Malone • Cliff DeMeo • Dickie Glenroy • Donna DeMeo • Jonathan Bridgecroft • Kimber Min • K.T. Knoblauer • Loretta Durkin • Tobert • Eugene Levy • Eva Longoria • Zach Galifianakis • Vince Fish • Bev Melon | |
| GUEST | Sting • Roberta Putnam • José Torres • Jimmy Fallon • Silvia Mora • Amy Schumer • Detective Daniel Kreps • Matthew Broderick • Scott Bakula • Doreen | |
References[]
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