CENTRAL DISPATCH
THE HAWAII FIVE-0 NEWSLETTER
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Volume 4 January, 2002 Issue 13
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Meet James MacArthur
by Cindy Kimura
BEYOND MY WILDEST DREAMS
It
was a normal Sunday night in January and I was on-line chatting with some
friends when I heard my phone ring. As I ran to the other room to answer it, I
thought to myself it might be my husband, for he likes to tease me about the
phone not being in the computer room. I
answered saying, “Yes” facetiously positive that it was my husband.
When
a man's voice said “Hello”, I knew instantly it wasn’t my husband. The
voice was very familiar to me. It was James MacArthur! The cool deep voice was
unmistakable.
”This is Jim
MacArthur. You wrote me about doing an interview for the Five-0 newsletter,”
he said to me.
I quickly tried to
breathe and to think at the same time, but I was only half successful.
Jim however carried on, for I had become a babbling idiot. After many
letters, emails and phone calls we worked things out and were finally able to
meet.
We
had agreed to meet at a restaurant in June near his home.
When I met him outside and I placed a white orchid lei around his neck,
which is a Hawaiian way to say hello. He
in turn kissed me on the cheek and hugged me.
This made it very difficult for me to think.
Soon we were seated at a quiet table where he sat across from me. His deep blue eyes still had that ever-present twinkle which showed through his glasses as we ordered lunch and began the interview.
When I asked him how
much of the character of Dan Williams was Jim MacArthur. Jim surprised me when
he said, “Dan Williams was Jim MacArthur. Since Leonard Freeman didn’t have
a “bible” for the show, it was basically come as you are. I had worked with
Leonard Freeman the year before in Hang’em High.”
In fact he wasn’t
sure why they were unhappy with the actor who had done the pilot. Who he thought
was perfectly acceptable. So Jim was offered the role from the powers that be.
Jim described Hawaii
Five-0 as crime driven. “The rat of the week,” he laughed. There wasn’t
much character development. “There were very few episodes dealing with the
characters,” and generally was centered on the guest star and crime of each
episode, unlike, Hill Street Blues, which was character centered. “I think
they gave Jack a Naval background.” But much of the main characters history
was never mentioned.
“Different time,
different era,” Jim said regarding Hawaii Five-0 and the way the show handled
its main characters. However, the first season Five-0 didn’t take advantage of
its location. “Remember I think the first season we had a couple of shows shot
at night and someone said ‘what the hell are you doing that for? If you’re
in Detroit shoot at night. You’re in a beautiful place even criminals can look
good’ and that’s what we did. You can put a dead body on the beach in the
morning just as you can on a alley, right?” From that point on Five-0 took
advantage of its location and the rest is history.
“Five-0 was a
morality piece, good versus evil. Crime of the week.” Jim said as he described
Hawaii Five-0. “The only thing Lennie said that every week the good guys were
gonna win.” Remembering the show debuted in the turbulent sixties. “The
Vietnam war was going on, there were protests. Lennie didn’t want gray. He
wanted it to be black and white. When you turn on Hawaii Five-0 justice and good
will triumph,” Jim said with a flourish. “ There’s going to be the good
guys and the bad guys and the good guys are gonna win.” Jim went on to say
that Hawaii Five-0 was a number one show in many countries. “It was very
satisfying when you become a number one show in the states, and then go on to
become a number one show in England, Germany and then Japan. I think it went to
become the number one show in 80 or 100 countries. My word when a show goes on
that long, you can only hope.” He went on about Hawaii Five-0’s longevity
and how it became a hit worldwide.
Jim never considered
himself a sex symbol; although I did inform him that many women would have
disagreed. “No,” he stated. “Gary Cooper’s a sex symbol, not me.” He
has a wonderful quote from one of Bob Hope’s shows that sums up his
feelings,” ‘Tonight we have Tom Selleck with us. I don’t know why we need
him we only need one sex symbol ", Jim laughed when he said it. “I love
that line.” Which pretty much
sums up his feelings on how he considered himself. Although he stays in shape
and looks good for a 64 year old as the photo testifies at least in my opinion.
When Jim thinks of
Hawaii, he thinks of “home”. He still maintains a home there and goes back
quite often. The ironic part is he lives in the community which protested the
building of the Diamond Head Studio where Hawaii Five-0 was filmed. “I live in
a community frozen in time. The “Save the Diamond Head Asso
His
first stop when he gets home is to Leonard’s bakery for hot malasadas. “I
get up in the morning drive to Leonard’s and bring home hot malasadas for the
troops.” The first time he tried poi he was
“was expecting more.” He
had heard all about it and thought there would be more to it.
Never one to give up, Jim has tried poi in all its forms be it cookies,
fried, etc. Let’s just put it this way, if he goes to a party that has it Jim
will put a small portion on his plate. His second favorite Hawaiian food is poke
(raw fish, soy sauce, green onions, red peppers, and sesame oil) and says you
can’t get decent poke on the mainland “It’s
different from Hawaii and not the same.” Jim’s other favorite is breadfruit,
which you can only get in Hawaii. Jim
had a favorite restaurant, Chacos, but unfortunately its no longer in business.
He used to frequent the place two or three nights a week when the place was open
years ago. “It’s all torn down now,” saying with regret. The restaurant
specialized in Japanese cuisine.
After the show, Jim
lived in Hawaii with his family, the only reason they moved back, was that his
youngest son, Jamie started to speak pidgin. “Okay if you’re going to live
there. But you have to speak Standard English.” He related a story to me of a
man he knew in the camera department from Hawaii who spoke pidgin. The man moved
to the mainland to become a cameraman but it was a hard battle for him on the
mainland until the man had acquired Basic English skills.
Jim was noted for
his practical jokes on the set. However, being the professional he is he never
did a joke when the cameras were rolling. One memorable rehearsal involved Jack
and a whoopee cushion. “Doesn’t that say it all?” he said whiles his eyes
sparkled with glee. “They’d get embarrassed and crimson.” Under further
pressure he finally told me the story. “ We did it to Jack. It wasn’t a very
long shot and in the end Jack sat down in his chair. Jack laughed his ass
off,” Jim now laughing loud and hard as he recalled that incident his face
turning red. “Jack was not a man without humor”. Noting the fact on the show
didn’t have a lot of humor.
Jim attributes Hawaii
Five-0’s success to hard work. “Everyone came to work well prepared. I came
from a theatre background and you don’t go to the theatre not knowing your
lines. Jack was letter perfect. It was hard work.” His friends would kid him
about working half day and then spending time at the beach. It was a grueling
schedule. “Up at 6:30 a.m. sometimes going to 7 p.m. everyone worked hard
which contributed to our success, at least in CBS’s mind.” Jim attributes
the success to Five-0’s hardworking crew and the high production values on the
set.
Jim’s character was
known for being a sharpshooter; in real life, he has hunted most of his life.
“I think the writers incorporated that in the character.”
And considering Jim played a cop wouldn’t be too far of a reach. He
considers himself a law and order type of person. “ Law and order in any
society is essential,” Jim went onto say, “Can you imagine a society without
it.”
After leaving Five-0,
he did a number of appearances on television shows, however he was never
approached to do Magnum P.I.. In fact he was never approached by any of the
other shows filmed there either. “I frankly don’t think I would have done a
Magnum had they asked,” Jim mused. “I knew Don Belasarius and I don’t
think I would have. I think they would have made something cute with it. And I
don’t think I really would have wanted to do something like that, Five-0 is
Five-0. The memory of Five-0 is better the way it was, in my opinion.”
Filming the first year
of Hawaii Five-0, Jim never expected the longevity of the show. “You can only
hope for success. But my word, when a show goes for 11 or 12 years, that’s
unheard of.” To him it was just another job; remember he had traveled all over
the world filming movies. In fact the year before he got Hawaii Five-0 he had
lived in Spain for a year, acquiring a flamenco guitar along with speaking
Spanish. So Hawaii was just another location to him at the time.
However, Jim was
surprised how quickly the show caught on around the world and became a hit. He
recalled an incident when he had on traveled on a German train onto Switzerland,
“You know, the man comes knocking at your compartment door, he opens it and
says ‘Hawaii Fumpf nohl’ in German”, Jim said as he started to laugh as he
recalled the incident.
Jim is eternally
grateful to Leonard Freeman. “He introduced me to Hawaii and to the Polynesian
culture. I mean, I lived in Hawaii for 11 years and then for 11 years afterward.
About the only thing I took from the show was my badge. I gave it to my older
son and I have no idea where it is.”
Jim went to the
convention and still keeps in touch with a few of the fans. “You have to be
pretty hard core to travel to Hawaii, right?” He had lunch with Jerry Picard
when he was in Canada filming a movie and still keeps in touch with him today.
Jerry keeps him posted on things. He also keeps in touch with Mike
Quigley.
Jim also keeps in touch
with other former cast members, Kam Fong, Zulu and Moe Keale. “In fact I was
in Hawaii and was going to call Moe Keale after his heart attack. But he was on
the radio saying he was fine so I never called him,” Jim explained. He also
said Zulu was up to get a new kidney.
Jim has kept up with
modern times and uses his computer as a tool to manage his investments. Being
very active he hasn’t had a chance to surf the web and find all the “Hawaii
Five-0” sites. However recently, a good friend of his recently showed him
Teresa Fogarty’s site. His friend has been exchanging emails with Teresa. “I
haven’t talked to her or emailed her,” he explained.
Jim surprised me when
he happily showed me his combination cell /PDA phone. He also complained of his
high phone bills, the bane of anyone who is connected to the web and he
considers himself proficient on the computer. “I know enough to get by,” he
modestly states. His son on the other hand uses his own computer to talk with
friends. “He uses it all the time to talk to friends since we don’t allow
him to have a phone and we monitor his time.” Jim stated the ever-watchful
parent of his son and the Internet.
Jim is now
happily retired living in the desert and managing his investments. Never one to
sit still, he travels extensively, golf’s and enjoys the time he gets to spend
with his son, Jamie. He is a grandfather of five and is close with his older
son, Charlie and daughter Mary. He is grateful for what Hawaii Five-0 did for
him. But if given a chance, Jim would happily direct a movie.
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Authors
note. Jim obliged me with signing photographs and postcards for friends along
with a second kiss and hug. He graciously bought me lunch, even though I offered
to pay. I was so occupied with the interview that I didn’t get to eat much,
which pained Jim. So, I took my leftovers home and eventually got to eat them
and tasted the food. It was quite good, actually because during the interview I
didn’t really taste anything.
Nightmare Road - An Episode Review
by Catherine Hattrem
This
episode aired on Feb. 18, 1970, towards the end of the second season.
It was written by Jack Turley, and directed by John Newland.
The guest stars were:
Charles Aidman as Dr. John Royce, Pilar Seurat as Theresa Dietrich, Fred
Bier as Merrill Carson, and Ronald Long as Kreuter.
Harry Endo appears as Che Fong, and another actor who appeared regularly
during the run of the show, William F. Bigelow II, appears as Dr. Royce’s
assistant, Dr. Logan.
Pilar Seurat gives a restrained and powerful performance as a woman caught between old associations and new possibilities. Though the whole focus of the show appears to be on Dr. Royce, we are gripped by the pathos of a woman trying to find her way out of a difficult and potentially fatal situation. Her willingness to sacrifice herself for Dr. Royce at the end, as if she finally realizes this is her only way out, draws a deep emotional response from Steve McGarrett.
This episode is well-named…from the opening shots, we are given the impression of being in the midst of a nightmare. We are shown images of odd, unreal, incomprehensible scenes and actions; the man in a white lab coat working with the lines of scientific equations on the blackboard, the other men, also in white, walking through the moving water, Dr. Royce’s explosive response to a puzzling telephone call. All are shown to us in dark lighting, with no explanation given as to what is behind all of this. Here are all the elements of our worst nightmares, and worse is to come. The doctor standing outside of the apartment hears sounds of a struggle, fumbles to get the door unlocked, picks up the gun and shoots the stranger, all in rapid sequence, leaving him and us with a sense of horror, of something completely out of control. But the nightmare isn’t over. After Theresa drags Dr. Royce away, the young man gets up, obviously unhurt, but while one of the men, whom we instinctively know is not trustworthy, is congratulating him on his success, the other man is behind him with a set of pliers and the gun, getting ready to shoot him in the back.
The
nightmare continues for Dr. Royce throughout the show, almost without letup.
Theresa takes him to a strange place, near a noisy, disorganized
construction site, where he is to hide from the police.
The uncle, Kreuter, whom we
recognize from the apartment, informs him of Theresa’s illegal status, and
feeding on Dr. Royce’s own despair, presses him to understand that he is in
serious trouble and there is no way out.
Even as Dr. Royce finally understands the situation, that all of this has
been a ploy to deliver him and his scientific knowledge to a foreign country, he
also understands that Theresa has lied to him about their relationship, these
people will use the situation to their advantage, and they will kill him before
they will let him go.
And the nightmare never does end for him:
even though he has been saved, he is left at the final freeze frame
cradling in his arms the woman who died for him.
Enter
Steve McGarrett.
Somehow, we feel a sense of relief, sanity must return to the situation.
And the others are there as well!
Danno, Chin, and Kono, and Che Fong;
the situation will begin to make sense.
And throughout the show, the moments of relating among the Five-0 team as
they work on the case, finding the answers to the puzzle, are the only sane
moments.
Because
the nightmare continues, Carson, the head of intelligence, doesn’t want Five-0
involved. This
is an important and difficult case, obviously beyond the ability of the
‘locals.’ His
contemptuous and shortsighted attitude is annoying, but Steve has run into this
before. He
behaves professionally, and as always, insists on being given all the
information he thinks he needs, because as always, with anything to do with his
beat, he’s in charge.
Carson backs down, but we are left feeling that he will not be very
cooperative.
Other annoyances crop up, adding to the feeling of being in a nightmare.
Theresa thoughtlessly leaves a clue, the envelope, behind her on the
floor, a surprising mistake for someone who is supposed to be a professional
agent. Carson’s
men attack Kono, and lose the opportunity to track Theresa to Royce.
Carson puts a tail on McGarrett and apparently does nothing else to solve
the case except watch him, up to the final action on the be
There
are mistakes in the script.
We wonder why, with all the experience these men have, Steve is the only
one to recognize the pounding noise on the recording as a pile driver.
Also, we are not told what led them to believe that the particular place
they went to, out of the three possibilities of where pile drivers were being
used, was where Dr. Royce was being held.
When Steve is talking on the car mike with Chin and Kono, we see Kono
responding and hear Chin’s voice, and Steve ends the conversation with them
with ‘over and out’.
It
is the human touches that give relief in a very dark story;
Steve treating Che with courtesy, where Carson is demanding and
rude…the conversation between Steve and Chin about the French
phrase…Steve’s concern for Kono after he has been injured, along with his
stern reminder to Carson that this is America, and he had better act
accordingly…and of course, the scene in the lab where Steve, Che, and Danno
are trying to determine what made the marks on the murder weapon.
We listen with pleasure to Danno’s story about his younger days, making
jewelry, and enjoy the humor in his evaluation of why he chose a different
profession. It
is this earlier experience that helps them determine what caused the marks on
the gun.
Steve’s insistence on having detailed personal information about Dr. Royce pays off, as the evidence begins to point to the possibility that Dr. Royce has been framed. Step by step, the Five-0 team follows the process and save him. And in the end, the human element saves us from the nightmare. Carson has discovered that Theresa had begun the process of becoming an American citizen; perhaps she cared for Dr. Royce after all. Although Carson thinks this no longer matters, now that she is dead, Steve knows differently: this knowledge will help Dr. Royce himself to deal with the nightmare he has experienced and enable him to go on with his life.
What Ever Happened to:
Pilar Seurat
Pilar Seurat, who appeared as Theresa Dietrich in the Hawaii Five-0 episode, ‘Nightmare Road’, died June 2, 2001, of lung cancer. She was born Rita Hernandez on July 25, 1938, in Manilla, Philippines. She was an actress and dancer who played Asian characters in a number of feature films, and did numerous guest appearances on TV. These appearances included roles in Star Trek, Bonanza, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Virginian, Stoney Burke, Wild, Wild West, and others. She is survived by her son, Dean Devlin, a producer, who worked on Independence Day and Godzilla, among other films. (She was in The FBI with Jack Lord in an episode called: Collision Course)
From the Files of Marty Cooper
Jack sent the following items to Marty for her March-April, 1969 newsletter!
VARIETY: Thurs, Jan 16, 1969:
Light and Airy, by Jack Hellman
It has been both hailed and damned, that of the TV personalities, on their own time, making personals. One such recently told a put department, "you know my price," disregarding any help it may prove to the shows ratings and survival. Neither Jack Lord nor CBS were happy with the early showing of Hawaii Five-0. To capitalize on this move to a later hour, CBS planned a 10-city tour for Lord, which he just as willingly accepted. Result: within the space of two national Neilsen reports, he leaped the show from 16.3 and 55th place to 20.4 and 33rd place. Lord not only called on the TV eds and hug a fresh lei on them but he also made appearances on several talk shows including Ed Sullivan. CBS would rather believe that his public appearances accounted for his Neilsen hop than the change in time, which is always confusing to TViewers in the first few weeks. If Lord can hold that rating, he is a certainty for a second season. Showmanship and the desire of the star to help his own show has paid off where it will count the most.
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VARIETY: Wed, Jan 22, 1969
Hawaii Five-0 goes on Nine-week Holiday
Hawaii Five-0, CBS-TV series, is on a nine-week hiatus, to resume shooting for the 1969-1970 season, April 1 on location in Honolulu. During the off period, story editor Frank Barton will set up new script assignments.
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The Hollywood Reporter - Fri. Jan 24, 1969
Hawaii Studio Quarters Sought for Hawaii Five-0
With Hawaii Five-0 on mid-season hiatus, producer Leonard Freeman is off to spend next week in Hawaii to set new studio facilities for the CBS-TV show starring Jack Lord. For the first season, just wound, crew used a converted warehouse to shoot interiors. New plan is to buy or build a permanent studio facility.
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(Not sure where this one came from)
Three CBS-TV Series Get OK to Prep Fall Scripts
Go-ahead on scripts for next season has been given to a trio of CBS-TV series: exec producer Leonard Freeman's Hawaii Five-0 and Paramount TV's Mission: Impossible and Mannix. Greenlight from the network isn't an official renewal, but indicates the three will be back come fall. CBS-TV exec will meet in NY early next week to lock up next falls schedule.
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VARIETY: Mon, Jan. 27 and Tues, Jan 28, 1969
Neilsen Ratings
Hawaii Five-0 was listed in 15th place for the week of January 9th. The best gain was made by Hawaii Five-0 in it's new time, now (as of January 19th) located in 25th place with a rating of 21.1 for an audience share of 39% and assured a second season.
Calendars
Thank you to everyone who
purchased a calendar. We still have a few left if anyone is interested. We
will be making a nice donation to the Jack Lord Memorial Fund. One will be of
screen captures from the second season of Hawaii Five-0, the other pictures of
Jack Lord. Both calendars will be $10 each (postage included, $14 each US funds
for foreign mailings.) Please make out checks and mail them to The Hawaii
Five-0 Fan Club, c/o 682 Durham Road, Adams, TN, 37010.
Jack Lord Memorial
Recently, the Memorial Committee has decided to make a change from the original idea for a memorial sculpture. We will keep you up updated on the new design as well as a target date for the unveiling. Stay tuned.
Anyone wishing to make a donation directly to the Memorial Fund may do so by sending a check or money order to: The Jack Lord Memorial Fund, 999 Kalapake Street, Honolulu, HI, 96825 where vice chairman Doug Mossman will see they are properly recorded. Please include your name, address and telephone number with the donation.
For more information on the memorial, check out the website at www.jacklord.co.uk
And now a word from our sponsors:
Anyone interested in copies of Hawaii Five-0 episodes (mostly all full versions) can contact Barbara Brindle at 105 Warren Road, Sparta, NJ 07871. (phone 973-729-9232 - she does not have email) Barbara's rates are very reasonable and she's very reliable.
You may also find works by Jack Lord and James MacArthur and lots of other actors by contacting Ron Evans at http:www.networksplus.net/caseyguy/epPartners.htm or email requests at caseyguy@networksplus.net. They have over 15,000 episodes of 50s and 60s TV. At e/p Partners, it's the 50s and 60s forever!!!
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The Hawaii Five-0 Newsletter is available in print form. Membership is $10 per year for four issues (foreign subscriptions are $14.00 US funds). Checks for membership may be made out to the H50 Fan Club Newsletter, c/o 142 Castle Street, #3, Great Barrington, MA 01230. The newsletter will be available on the 15th of January, April, July and October yearly. Contributions to the newsletter are always welcome. They can be sent to the H50 Fan Club, c/o 682 Durham Road, Adams, TN 37010 or to our email address at Jlord5@aol.com. Deadlines are one month before each issue. The newsletter will also be available through the Internet and can be accessed at the Hawaii Five-0 Fan club (www.hawaiifive0.org) or The Jack Lord Homepage (www.jacklord.net)
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We are looking for the following Jack Lord episodes on VHS: Dr. Kildare - A Willing Suspension of Disbelief and the movie The True Story of Lynn Stuart. Anyone who may have information about these programs can contact us at either the fan club or email address listed above.
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Memorial contributions can be made to the Jack and Marie Lord Trust c/o Hawaii Community Foundation, 900 Front Street Mall, Suite 1300, Honolulu, HI 96813. This fund was established in 1988 and was set up by the Lord’s to benefit their favorite charities. We have been assured that while personal responses are not possible, Mrs. Lord is made aware of all contributions.
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See you in
April, 2002
Be There, Aloha *************************************************************
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