That's one dangerously sexy redhead, indeed. The show received 21 Emmy nominations its first season. Hunter was often the shows comic relief. And wed react a little bit off camera. Sergeant Belker (Bruce Weitz) takes the opportunity to go undercover and dismantle their extortion and gambling racket that turns out to be much more ruthless and violent than expected. We could put a human face on these people. I spoke a few times with Barbra Bosson. Conrad died on November 22, 1983, during the series fourth season. That part was John LaRue, but when I read the script I could see the He appeared in leading roles in war movies, noir films, and gangster flicks alike. According to IMDb , Hill Street Blues captured the lives and work of the staff of an inner-city police precinct. It ran for seven seasons, from 1981-1987. Steven Bochco, co-creator: I didnt particularly want to do another cop show. Frank Furillo. The pilot of Hill Street Blues was tested both at the ASI Theater and on cable. After the hostage-taker is killed by a police sniper and Goldblume is rescued, he tells his Lieutenant Howard, "The guy had ideas.". was canceled but Kiel told me the huge success brought big increases in pay to the actors and the producers decided to do another show, The writers occasionally mined the actors actual experiences for Hill Street stories: alcoholism, ethnic stereotyping, sexual politics. Other material was taken from the Archive of American Television, which interviewed Steven Bochco in 2002 and Daniel J. Travanti in 2004; a 1983 Playboy interview with Bochco and the cast; and Grant Tinkers 1994 memoir, Tinker in Television. The quotations have been edited and condensed. I was the last person to go in, and I auditioned and sure enough I got the part. Sikking and Bochco were good friends whose children were also pals (the actor tells Yahoo TV he and Bochco still have regular dinners together). Before he became a Hollywood actor, Dolph Sweet served on B-24 bombers during World War II. Joe: (laughing): I was never a bow tie man but I think I may still have one or two hanging around at home. Despite his talent and fame, Tierney was notoriously difficult to work with, and his struggles with alcoholism and proclivity towards public brawling always kept him just shy of stardom. And (the network) said OK. Now were stuck with it. Then he had to deal with it. When I got there, I went over to the offices and they were in the middle of a casting session. towards Steven (Bochco) and Michael Kozoll. Another athlete-turned-actor on "Hill Street Blues": Michael Warren, a standout player on UCLA's 1967 and 1968 national champion basketball teams. In the theatre everything is much more intermit, with a stronger connection and Here are twelve "Hill Street Blues" actors you may not know passed away. Can you imagine having the power to give a boil to anybody in this cast? Buntz was fired from the PD and moved to Beverly Hills to become a private eye in the short-lived "Blues" spinoff "Beverly Hills Buntz," a comedy created by David Milch and Jeffrey Lewis. Because "Hill Street Blues" wasn't a typical cop show, the theme song wasn't the usual loud, hard-driving cop-drama theme song. And when the writers made his exit permanent Coffey was shot and killed on duty in "Larry of Arabia" Marinaro hosted a "Watch Joe Coffey Die Party," attended by co-stars Sikking, Thomas, and Weitz, as well as his old NFL pal Joe Namath. Many episodes can be grouped together as self-contained story arcs that build out the characters and their relationships as they try to fight crime in the city. He was a lonely guy with this pretentious uniform who wanted to fall in love and wanted to be a friend and didnt have the guts to go out and get it. While he had appeared in many TV movies in the 1970s and 1980s, "Hill Street Blues"marked Prosky's first and only regular television role. In Season 5, actor Robert Prosky was brought in to play Sgt. Weitz had to convince a reluctant Grant Tinker he could play the snarling undercover cop. there is instant gratification from the audience's response to your work. "Hill Street Blues" launched the TV career of "NYPD Blue" and "Deadwood" creator David Milch. He suffers a fatal heart attack during a heated romantic encounter with his girlfriend, Grace, played by Barbara Babcock. He moved to NY from LA to be with me, and acting was only occasional, so Bob When "Hill Street Blues" co-creators Bochco and Michael Kozoll were asked to create a cop show for MTM and NBC, they were already at work developing another series, a drama that would revolve around the guests at a luxury hotel. While the situation deteriorates as all hostage situations do, the idealistic Goldblume is nevertheless impressed by Calvin. We stuck intensely powerful melodrama side by side with almost slapstick farcical fall-down clowning. There are all these actors waiting around. WebKiel Martin . wanted to pursue, so I moved out to Hollywood, got an agent, and once I had one, you know, I tried to get parts. meet you and find out more about it. With rare exceptions, every episode of the show took place over the course of a single day, beginning with roll call and ending with the characters played byDaniel J. Travanti and Veronica Hamel discussing the events of the day, usually in the context of pillow talk. Bruce's golf tournaments and had really nice conversations with them. Thomas, who won an Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series statue in 1985, went on to direct the HBO comedy "Dream On" and the network's classic adaptation of "The Late Shift," the book about the David Letterman/Jay Leno "Tonight Show" battle, as well as "The Brady Bunch Movie" and Howard Stern's autobiographical "Private Parts. Kiel Urban Mueller (July 26, 1944 December 28, 1990), known professionally as Kiel Martin, was an American actor best known for his role as Detective John "J.D." Tierney died in his sleep on February 26, 2002, while suffering from a bout of pneumonia. Menu. they decided to keep me alive! Although some people don't like to look back, I am happy that role made a Late in Season 4, LaRue (Kiel Martin) simply disappears for about four episodes, with one reference to him being sick and then it being "mono, so expect him to be out for a few weeks." But Bochco never flinched. But take my word for it it did not go onto the set. He was 76 years old, per the Los Angeles Times. He then was cremated and his ashes were flown over the gathering and Kotto died seven years later, in 2021. The writers, too, were experts at getting material past the censors. The two wrote a script in 10 days, with a clarity and energy that surprised even its creators. Sadly, he passed away in 2006 due to congestive heart failure. But in Season 6, eager to pursue other acting opportunities and unhappy with the lack of storyline possibilities for his character, Marinaro quit the show. Travanti's Furillo and Veronica Hamel's public defender Joyce Davenport formed the series' signature couple she called him "Pizza Man," because he "delivered" but Bochco and company had planned another romance for "HSB": Lucy Bates and Ed Marinaro's Joe Coffey. HSB.net: Did you get a chance to make changes? dramatic sort of down and dirty, but then Hoblit said he wanted something to go with an idea he had in his head, for a opening garage which earned him his first Emmy nomination. Still, initial ratings were poor and audiences were confused. All the shows that became popular were hybrids of what we did. It was extraordinary in its time. was just incredible! 6. WebKiel Martin succumbed to lung cancer on December 28. Bochco: We did stuff in that show Id never seen before anywhere. Following the conclusion of "Hill Street Blues,"the world was Silva's oyster, and he appeared in four movies in 1988, including "Colors" and "The Night Before." I called Bochco and he and Hoblit come Sammy Davis Jr. was a fan of the show, and wanted to make a guest appearance. His final role was in a 1991 episode of "Homefront,"the short-lived cult drama starring Kyle Chandler and John Slattery. 9. His wife and his son survived the automobile accident. Following "Hill Street Blues,"Hirschfeld made many television appearances across the 1990s and 2000s, including five episodes of "Law &Order," as five different characters. Travanti: What is the key to everything? She told me she was a bunny at the Playboy club for a time. where the music came from, but I am grateful I get the chance to create wonderful art, that can be laid on someone else's What is the key to everything? 24. The Riverside County coroners office said the 46-year-old actor died Friday after suffering a cardiovascular collapse because of lung cancer. Maybe he was unwell at an earlier stage of his life. But the growl was the writers idea and all the hairbags and all that slang was all theirs. the first episode. In the second season episode, The Young, the Beautiful and the Degraded, Martins character LaRue was demoted to the motor pool for falling off the wagon. to do the best we could for them and the script. Then he knew and he said to everybody. The former Yale writing teacher won an Emmy for his first "Blues" script the Season 3 premiere, "Trial by Fury" and went on to become an executive producer on the show, adding Writers Guild awards and a Humanitas Prize to his rsum. Kiel and his mother and He remained in the lead credits, appears in the season finale and of course continued to the end of the show. Calletano's passive leadership style results in derogatory treatment by the men under his command, who call him "Captain Taco"behind his back. He was 91 years old (via The Hollywood Reporter). All Rights Reserved. While critics liked the series, its ratings were abysmal, and renewal was in doubt. Dennis Franz joined the cast. The actor kept his diagnosis private, likely due to the stigma associated with the disease, particularly in the 1980s, but he did confide to co-starCharles Haid that he was suffering from the disease. Throughout the first four seasons, Conrad starred as Sergeant Phil Esterhaus, the wise and paternal authority figure who cared for the safety of the officers under his command. So we used to just brutally go after Michael. stage at Berekely Rep and Magic Theater in the Bay Area. Many actors are. While his wife and son only suffered minor injuries, Silva was killed in the accident (via Los Angeles Times). Tragically, his life and career were cut short when his car was struck by a drunk driver. Pat Corley spent decades working in film and television. There was of course a lot of creative writing going on and so largely you left it up to the writers to look forward. 14. "Steven put a reference to him in one of the shows. LaRue Actor. They had done 13 episodes, and they got an order for four more, and the character of Joe Coffey was in those In one episode, Belker was undercover at a butcher shop. commission for Hill Street he said he could get me a part in it. LaRue, a skilled undercover detective who cuts a little too loose when he's off duty. Joe: Much of the same I guess. Grant Tinker, MTM Enterprises co-founder: Not only did MTM give good creative people the freedom to do their work, but I became justly famous for throwing my body between our producers and network bureaucrats. He died on March 23, 1990, from AIDS, the first of two Hill Street Blues stars to die that year. A Warner Bros. Coffey's girlfriend is sexually assaulted. Not his usual role, he told Playboy in 1983. Of course what you are doing at the moment is the most important thing in The death-during-sex character refers to Sgt. Robert Prosky died in 2008 following complications from heart surgery. Actor Kiel Martin starred in all seven seasons of "Hill Street Blues" as J.D. If you look at certain shows these days, theyre way beyond their cut-off point. going. Bochco: By the time this thing went on the air, I think we had 11 regulars. I feedback. Weitz: I went to the audition dressed as how I thought the character should dress and loud and pushy. Joe Spano told Playboy he originally read for Renko but ended up as Goldblume, the community relations officer. In the final three episodes of Season 4, Joe Santos stars as Jimmy Lastarza, a mafia goon trying to force video poker machines on local taverns. That's where the coroner comes in. To help alleviate the pressure, the producers got a big guest star to appear in the episode, "Blues in the Night." NYPD Blue. Sweet's final project was the domestic sitcom "Gimme a Break!," which lasted six seasons and saw the star oppositeNell Carter. potential for Belker. Two decades of dominance for the Peacock Network Hill Street was the first cornerstone of its Thursday lineup and the bounty of novelistic TV series we see today. times, I would often have no idea what others actors were doing. But ask about career high points, and Hill Street Blues is tops on the list. He reprised the role in eight made-for-TV movies in the 1990s. A fine example of their dynamic can be seen in Season 7's "A Pound of Flesh" and the heartbreaking final scene between the two characters, where an emotionally spent LaRue cries in his partner's arms. This is a section for those 'fleeting recollections' and other thoughts about HSB by those that were part of it, if you wish to add Discovery Company. But if you see the episodes, you see how much fun we were having. His initial appearance is an inside joke, meant to trick the audience into believing the cast of the series had been replaced with all-new actors only to reveal that these "new" characters are just the never-before-seen cops of the night shift. It was happy, it was sad, it was crazy, it was mean it was nuts. Every once in a while, a TV series comes along that shakes things up, completely shattering the status quo and replacing it with something new. only runs for a few weeks, but it will be fun. I worked in downtown Miami for 25 years and Kiel's dad Karl was a court recorder and would stop All told, Tierney appeared in seven episodes of "Hill Street Blues," including the series finale, "It Ain't Over Till It's Over." Outside of his duty as a cop, his life is marred by poor choices. More than two dozen Emmys, an iconic theme song, a writing staff that would go on to create many other TV hits, and innovative storytelling techniques a large cast, overlapping dialogue, a focus on the characters' personal and work lives, an un-saccharine portrayal of those flawed characters are among "Hill Street Blues'" TV-land legacies. And everybody started crying. But when my NFL career was over, I kind of knew it was something I Bochco: Talk about the early 80s. When I got into the room, I jumped up on Grant Tinkers desk and went after his nose. He died several days later, on March 18, 2016, at the age of 84, per The Hollywood Reporter. His character,Wally Nydorf, is perpetually overworked and behind-schedule, but always makes time to crack a corny joke, usually at the expense of the cadaver he's just examined. Then theyd turn the camera around on us and hed have to do it again. Haid: The goodbye to Esterhaus was one of the most brilliant moments in television. But Haid was a busy man with a recent role in the film Altered States and a medical pilot in the works. at the end of the first season. something here please email us), About Trinidad Silva: Just wanted to add an addendum regarding Trinidad Silva. myself were all involved at some time. Joe: No not to start with, because we were working on our own little bits and of course you don't see the whole. On Hill Street, Sikking played Howard Hunter, the martinet head of the stations SWAT-like squad, the Emergency Action Team. He was magnificent in it, as you Cookies help us deliver our Services. The tune became a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1981, earned a pair of Grammys, and is part of a body of work that inspired Pete Townsend to write the song "Mike Post Theme" for The Who's 2006 album "Endless Wire.". During the filming of the fourth season,Conrad died ofurethral canceron November 22, 1983. AP. LaRue, a self-styled ladies' man, on "Hill Street Blues." Conrad earned critical praise for his performance, winning two Emmy Awards in the Best Supporting Actor category. In comparison to Esterhaus, Jablonski is more bitter and cantankerous than his counterpart. It took audiences a full year to figure out what the hell we were doing. I went home (which was nearby) and within half hour I had written it. His most well-known role is Sergeant Becker in "The Rockford Files,"opposite James Garner, which aired from 1974 until 1980. I remember one day, he just stopped. Sopranos fan? At least he got a happy ending, running away to New Zealand with a female officer, Natalie (Ellen Blake), and enjoying retirement with the love of his life. Guess I'm not the Hollywood type. It was well-written, boldly directed and creatively revolutionary. God bless him. spread from the sky. and displaying his wares, just as he'd done on "Hill Street Blues.". Unusually there were no egos and he told People. So I got Belker and left the door open for Kiel to LaRue. I called him back and I said Id really love to audition for the role of Belker. Loud and pushy year to figure out what the hell we were having situation deteriorates all. Who cuts a little too loose when he 's off duty during the,! Emergency Action Team for Hill Street Blues captured the lives and work of the fourth,! There, I think we had 11 regulars the shows pilot in the accident ( via the Reporter... 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