Central
Dispatch
THE
Volume
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Jerry Pickard has sent us another of his great interviews. Just how lucky is this guy? He gets to meet and talk with those who were actually acquainted with the show.
ACCENT/ASCENT TO STARDOM
by Jerry Pickard, UH '72 (uhalum@yahoo.com)
One has to hand it to Hans, who appeared in eight
hours of Five-0 between the fourth and last seasons. Very possibly, if Leonard Freeman
hadn't chosen to stay at the prestigious Colony Surf Hotel (elegantly tucked
away down near the Natatorium end of
Our face-to-face took place in May '04, across Hans'
enormous, uncluttered desk in attractive and wall-bedecked offices on
Hans has been Consul since '76, proudly pointing out
that of the 38 nations represented with such governmental outlets in the
A fluent master of five languages and trained in his native Austria at a young age in the finer, more gracious nuances of the hotel/hospitality field, Hans moved to Honolulu and the Colony Surf in '70. He remained at the latter until '80; during the decade, he had the chance to meet many of the show's guest stars. Including, he said, acclaimed Austrian actress Maria Pershy (who told him she was thrilled to have a role in Five-0 but had found Jack Lord rather hard to work with). At any rate, back to Mr. Freeman's 'discovery' of Hans' potential as a featured performer.
The episode, actually a two-parter, was 'The Ninety-Second War.' It needed someone with a Teutonic brogue, as did certain other shows' plots, and Hans was tapped. At first, however, he demurred, pointing out that he could see himself only as an 'innkeeper, selling soup and renting beds.' But Leonard persisted, Hans read for Bob Sweeney, and the part of Charbonne was his. He found the entire process both 'a nice thing to do,' and 'far out and different,' completely contrary to the less exacting business of running hotels and such. Playing a Swiss banker with a German accent meant spending a full President's Day in a downtown financial institution.
It was fascinating, he said, learning how a television show is filmed, from the terminology used, the lighting, the camera angles, importance of camera distance, and the number of takes needed to get a particular scene 'just right' in the director's view. He remembers being totally shocked that first time, when he was told that for all the effort from 0800-1800 hrs, only about two and one-half minutes of usable footage had been captured for the episode.
Part of the difficulty was that, because of double-imaging needed to show the audience that there was both the real McGarrett and an imposter interacting at the same time, a drawn gun kept crossing an imaginary line, resulting in numerous repetitions of the scene before the desired effect was achieved. Hans pointed out that his episode dialogues were almost always with Jack Lord in each of the eight shows.
Jack was patient as they would go over their lines, with fun being poked at Hans for being a 'Kraut' (which of course was untrue, as he is Austrian). The realization came with its characteristic rapidity, that on the set Jack was the 'absolute ruler,' totally feared and respected (at least outwardly) by everyone around.
Hans felt most if not all who were involved with the show, recognized that because of Jack's extremely strong perfectionistic tendencies, the end product was outstandingly good and thus they had jobs. But still, in Hans' eyes, Lord was basically a tyrant, with behaviors and actions bordering on sheer ruthlessness much of the time. This could produce extreme tension, of course.
There was an occasion, when '30,000 Rooms and I Have the Key' was being filmed (interestingly, Hans played himself as a hotel manager), when Jack Lord repeatedly flubbed a line. It was to be delivered along the wording of 'Mr. Strasser, I have men all around the outside of your hotel and every one has one of these (flashing a picture of the elusive crook).' The air was thick as the re-takes piled up, and Hans worried that when Jack did get it right, Hans might muff his response and then things would become very explosive. However, it all worked out okay in due course.
Fortunately, away from the
Other reminiscences seemed to pour forward as we talked: - he appreciated that his characters were never 'knocked off' to join dead bodies on the ground by the end of his episodes, and that he always had 'non-crook' roles - in 'Presenting...In the Center Ring...Murder,' he played what he felt was his least attractive character, a circus director, and James MacArthur coached him, telling him, 'Hans, you've got to look like a very horny circus ring-master!'
He recalled playing tennis with MacArthur on the roof of a discount store not far from his current location, where they called themselves members of the 'Pay-less Country Club!'
The quality of the catering supplied at the Studios and on location was absolutely top-notch, which, from a professional who operated the first-class dining facilities at Michel's @ The Colony Surf, was a profound endorsement.
Any time he returned to Austria for a visit after being on the series, those who knew him invariably made quite hilarious references to his appearances...which he enjoyed - his mother-in-law, who lived in England when the show was on, commented the first time that she saw his performance 'Oh, Hans is certainly getting fatter.'
Hans being less follicley-challenged than at present, his make-up artist always 'painted in' additional hair for the filmings...much to his wife's amusement when he'd go home after a shoot.
For 'East
My time was not overly long with Hans; as one might expect, he continues to juggle a number of activities (including being on various boards such as the Great Aloha Run with Carole Kai). But he was gracious enough to meet with your humble scribe, and he certainly provided some memorable clips from those feisty days of Five-0 yore! Aloha, und Guten Tag!
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A fan of the show sent this summary of one of the episodes.
“Once Upon A Time...”
by H. A. Collins
Recently, I had the good fortune to come across a copy of the “First Draft” of Leonard Freeman’s script for the Five-0 episode “Once Upon A Time.” For many fans, this first-season story (original air dates February 19th and 26th, 1969) is a favorite. And, why not? It has just about everything: drama; pathos; touches of humor; a wonderfully strong character to play against McGarrett. Even a “disconnect” that so many Five-0 fans enjoy catching (more on that later). And, it was a two-parter. What could be better than that?
By way of refresher, here’s a summary of the plot: McGarrett’s nephew, the only child of Steve’s younger sister and her husband, is diagnosed with inoperable cancer. Little Tommy Whalen, just an infant, seems destined for death. And, Mary Ann McGarrett Whalen is coming apart at the seams as a result of the terrible news. Steve, along with Mary Ann’s husband, Tom, have done their best to hold her together, but she is devastated.
Until she finds C. L. Freemont,
a Doctor of Naturopathy. A healer. The good doctor promises that Tommy can and will
be healed by her methods - just as she claims to have cured dozens of other
cancer patients. Desperate for any possible miracle, Mary Ann buys into the
expensive daily treatments with Freemont’s “wonder machine.” As his baby’s life
and his family’s finances slip away, Tom Whalen calls McGarrett
for help. It is up to McGarrett to fly to
That’s the part familiar to most fans. But, I was
surprised to learn that Leonard Freeman's original concept (written on
First, the initial script was for a standard one-hour episode, rather than the two hours it ultimately became. Left out of the first draft was the entire search by McGarrett for other patients who’d been treated by Dr. Freemont and died - including the scene at the L.A. Hall of Records with Steve plowing through endless death certificates; and his tireless efforts running around Los Angeles to find that “perfect case.” Gone was his quest to have her convicted of murder. He will settle for fraud - although he still says, in the famous scene in his office with Danny Williams, that “it ought to be murder, a hundred counts!” And, we see nothing of Walter Grant, his family members, his exhumation, or his inconclusive autopsy to establish diabetes, rather than vitamin deficiency, as his cause of death.
Instead, we see a scene in which Steve and officers from the LAPD raid Dr. Freemont’s office, rip out her treatment machines, and “lock up the joint.”
Perhaps more important than these differences is the way in which the episode’s ending was changed from first version to final one. In the ending scene we’re accustomed to seeing, Mary Ann finally recognizes the truth about Freemont when Steve’s courtroom trick bears fruit. By substituting vegetable dye for his own blood, McGarrett, as a “volunteer” to test her diagnosis and treatment machine, exposes Freemont for the fraud that she is. And, Mary Ann finally acknowledges that reality by chasing after her brother when he leaves the courtroom. In a heartfelt embrace, she lets him know that he was right - not only about Freemont’s quackery, but also in pursuing the doctor even against Mary Ann’s pleas for him to stop.
The originally planned ending was not quite so sentimental. When Freemont is tripped up in court by her own ego, Steve walks to his sister in the spectator section and says, “I’m sorry. But now at least you see her for what she is. Maybe now you can stop torturing yourself about Tommy. Now you know the truth.”
But, Mary Ann Whalen doesn’t buy it. Instead, she responds, “What truth? The truth of a shabby courtroom trick, used to destroy a saint? I’m not crying, just for my dead child, I’m crying for her, too...You crucified her, Steve. You crucified a saint. Congratulations.” And, it is she who storms from the courtroom, followed by her helpless and ineffective husband.
And, a defeated but still defiant and hateful Dr. Freemont stares at McGarrett, who tries to come to grips with his hollow victory. Zipser, the Food and Drug Administration attorney prosecuting Freemont, shakes McGarrett’s hand and says in a consoling voice, “In time, Steve.”
“I hope,” McGarrett replies.
Zipser repeats, “Time,”
And, Steve just replies, “Yeah.”
As the judge is instructing the jury, McGarrett gathers his things and leaves, and the camera fades to the credits.
It’s always interesting to watch a Five-0 episode written by Leonard Freeman, since he was the show’s creator, and supplied the original artistic vision for the character McGarrett. And, despite the changes noted above, I was surprised at how much of the dialogue translated directly from the first draft script into the actual production. In most respects, the words the characters spoke underwent very little modification in the script editing and filming process for “Once Upon A Time.”
There was, however, one aspect of this script on which we may assume Jack Lord had a significant impact. (This episode was heavily promoted in hopes of producing an Emmy nomination for Lord as best actor in a dramatic series, but, unfortunately, such nomination did not materialize.) For the pivotal scene in McGarrett’s office, after Steve learns that his nephew has died, Freeman set the stage this way: “Interior of McGarrett’s office - insert cigarette butt glowing fire-red in the darkness. Pull back to establish McGarrett, silent, unmoving, somehow lost, he sits behind desk in shadowed, unlighted room. On the desk top an ashtray full of dead butts, one crumpled empty pack, a second ripped open and cigarettes spilled over desk.” And, instead of tears during and after McGarrett’s famous monologue about Tommy going into a coma, Steve was supposed to fiercely grind out a cigarette.
Of course, Jack Lord, after having smoked for much of his adult life, gave up the habit (reportedly at his wife’s request), and became quite adamant about not showing Five-0 characters smoking. And his wishes apparently won out to produce the changes in this scene.
Perhaps the same was true of McGarrett’s use of alcohol. For when Danny Williams brings in the bottle of booze and announces there’s about “two fingers apiece,” the first draft called for McGarrett to “stare at the cup - again seemingly lost. Now he finds the thing to do. He lifts cup and slowly drains it to the very last drop.” And, later in the scene, when he’s wondering aloud why he cares so much if phony cures bilk people out of millions, McGarrett “crushes the paper cup in his fist and flings it across the room.”
Yet, it didn’t happen that way. Instead, in the final production, Steve ignored Danny’s offer of the cup of alcohol. And, while McGarrett occasionally lifted a glass in toast in other episodes of the show, we also heard and saw him routinely decline to drink because he was a cop. So, it would be interesting to know how, and why, and at whose behest the McGarrett character changed in this regard from concept to “reality.”
And, last but not least, there’s that disconnect I mentioned. In the original script, and in the episode as actually produced, after Dr. Freemont has regaled Steve with her life story and ability to heal the sick if they “believe,” McGarrett asks her whether a six-month old baby “can believe.” The question stops Freemont in her tracks. Yet, in the filmed, two-part episode, when the scene with the Grant family was added, someone must have forgotten that line, because Steve tells the Grants that his nephew is 12-months old, not six.
Well, it just proves that nobody’s perfect. Not even McGarrett.
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"Trivia Corner"
By Janet
Beaulieu (aka Andi Carter )
People frequently wonder
why "
The "change"
happened around 1976 or 1977 and the writers, directors, producers, actors, and
actresses had nothing whatever to do with "the change."
What did happen was
one of those quirks in American history were the populace as a whole got on the
bandwagon about there being too much violence on television. The furor grew to
the point where there were legislative and congressional hearings and a special
committee on "Violence in Television" that just rolled over the three
major TV networks - CBS, NBC, and ABC.
The outcome of the
committee's study and the hearings resulted in the FCC mandating a procedure
that all networks and network affiliates had to follow, which, of course meant
all their shows had to follow the procedure - in order to "save the
children" and "get rid of so much violence on TV."
This caused several
things to happen. First, there was the creation of "Family Viewing", which meant that ALL TV stations were not
allowed to show any violent programming between the hours of
To make matters even
worse, if either of these two specific mandates were violated, a huge fine was
assessed to the offending station. So these stations had no choice but to
knuckle under.
Because of all this,
"
This was also the time
when comedy shows began to pop up with astonishing speed, and initiated what
was, for a good number of years, the preferred type of show for most
TV-watchers.
Yes, "
So for those of you
who have been wondering, "what went wrong" - nothing did. "
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A word from our sponsors:
Anyone interested in copies of
Ron Evans, owner of e/p Partners, www.networksplus.net/caseyguy/epPartners.htm,
also offer VCR tapes of
Hard copies of the newsletter are available.
The
Submissions, which are always welcomed, to the newsletter can be emailed to me at tw1151@comcast.net. Deadlines are one month before each issue. You can find the Central Dispatch on Terri’s Jack Lord Connection located at www.thejacklordconnection.com
2005 Calendars are now available
Debbie has put together two different 2005 calendars for anyone wishing
to buy one. One is of Jack Lord (this is not the 4th season, but a
collection of pictures of Jack Lord) and one is of
See you in July, 2005
Be There! Aloha!
I thought everyone might enjoy some of the items found
in the original fan clubs Iolani Irregulars newsletters,
so I’m starting with a word search puzzle for everyone to enjoy. Thank you to
whoever created this.
|
A
Death In The Family |
Head
To Head |
The Clock Struck Twelve |
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A
Distant Thunder |
Hookman |
The Defector |
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A Gun For
McGarrett |
Image
Of Fear |
The Hostage |
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A
Touch Of Guilt |
Journey
Out Of Limbo |
The Kahuna |
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Anybody
Can Build A Bomb |
Jury
Of One |
The Pagoda Factor |
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Charter
For Death |
Killer
Bee |
The Spirit Is Willie |
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Deadly
Courier |
Legacy
Of Terror |
The Sunday Torch |
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Death
Mask |
Number
One With A Bullet |
The Waterfront Steal |
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Diary
Of A Gun |
Odd
Man In |
The Young Assassins |
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Double
Exposure |
Pig In
A Blanket |
To Kill A Mind |
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Elegy
In A Rainforest |
Ready,
Aim… |
Tread The King’s Shadow |
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Engaged
To Be Buried |
Secret
Witness |
Tsunami |
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Frozen
Assets |
See
How She Runs |
Welcome To Our Branch Office |
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Flash Of
Color, Flash Of Death |
Sing A
Song Of Suspense |
When Does A War End? |
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Good
Help Is Hard To Find |
Study
In Rage |
Woe To Wo Fat |
