Hercule Poirot is a Belgian detective character featured in almost 100 works by English mystery writer Agatha Christie. First appearing in 1916's The Mysterious Affair at Styles, the perfectionist character is noted for his waxed black mustache, meticulous dress and powerful "grey cells" of the brain.http://www.poirot.us/poirot.php Often described as one of the greatest detectives in literature, Poirot is a refugee from World War I who began his career as a police officer. Creator Agatha Christie said she felt it was fitting to have a character with a good knowledge of police proceedings to come from a professional background, particularly since he became a renowned private detective.http://www.agathachristie.com/story-explorer/characters/poirot/

The Belgian character starred in 33 novels and 54 short stories, including Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express.http://www.agathachristie.com/story-explorer/characters/poirot/ As a great believer in observation and the power of the mind, Poirot often sat and meditated on "placing the puzzle pieces correctly" to solve a crime.http://www.agathachristie.com/story-explorer/characters/poirot/ His status as one of the best in crime fiction history was confirmed upon his death in 1975. Poirot became the only fictional character to be honored with a New York Times front-page obituary.http://www.agathachristie.com/story-explorer/characters/poirot/ The article said news of the detective's death, given by "Dame Agatha", was not unexpected as he had been ill. He died at an unknown age in England.http://www.poirot.us/obituary.php The novel Curtain, his last starring role, was released two months later.http://www.poirot.us/obituary.php

Hercule Poirot has been portrayed by many actors, including Tony Randall (The Alphabet Murders, 1965), Albert Finney (Murder on the Orient Express, 1974) and Peter Ustinov (six films from Death on the Nile in 1978 to Appointment with Death in 1988).http://www.agathachristie.com/story-explorer/characters/poirot/ http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0013286/ He made his on-film debut in 1931's Alibi, based on the stage play of the same name.http://www.poirot.us/ptvfilm.php

The actor synonymous with Hercule Poirot is David Suchet.http://www.poirot.us/ptvfilm.php The Englishman has starred as the detective in more than 60 telemovies under the Agatha Christie: Poirot title. With the first in 1989, the telefilms continue to be filmed today. David Suchet said he read everything Agatha Christie wrote about the character and has been dedicated to staying faithful to the source material.http://www.poirot.us/ptvfilm.php He noted Poirot's characteristics from the writings for a full character profile.http://www.poirot.us/suchet.php