Posted 1 year ago
Jack Lord, I Miss You
Eying the publicity for the new Hawaii Five-0 made me cringe. Who was this intern squeaking out, “Book-em Danno”? There must be some mistake! This is McGarrett? A nice guy—friendly, handsome, good boy-friend material (like Paul Rudd in Clueless)—but not McGarrett.
Clearly the producers of the show have done research that leads them to this new McGarrett and so I am obviously at odds with the target audience for this show (18-49?) but I will leave that behind for now and simply move to praise the one, the only, the true McGarrett—Jack Lord.
Jack Lord was born John Joseph Patrick Ryan in 1920 of (big surprise) Irish-American parents. His bio is worth a read but let me just highlight a few points. Scrappy guy — Goes to public highschool, gets a football scholarship to NYU (OK, not a football powerhouse) where he gets a Fine Arts degree (painting), goes into the Merchant Marines, pays his way to an acting career by working as a car salesman and ends up on Broadway (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, others.) before going west for movie work. I have to admit to being surprised at all this substance, but I suppose like many I tend to minimize people who become famous for one big thing (Sammy Davis Jr., for instance. A great singer, a great performer—if you only knew him for Candy Man…)
He plays the CIA operative Felix Leiter in Dr. No but the role gets recast in later films when Lord demanded more money, co-star billing, and a bigger role. I love stuff like this - the guy was managing his career, trying to get the most out of the situation. I admire his efforts — in the end, how great would it have been to be Felix Leiter in a string of Bond movies? Lord may have been audacious in trying to turn this small character into something grander and he probably lost out on some extra cash, but was it such a big loss to his career? I doubt it. And I think it was worth the try to get a better role, more visibility.
He was offered the role of Captain Kirk in the Star Trek television series. Lord asked for 50 percent ownership of the show (!!) and Rodenberry passed, and the role went to Shatner. The guy’s got balls!
In the early to mid 1960’s he bounces around doing guest appearances on all the big television shows (Bonanza, The Fugitive, Man From Uncle, etc.)and then in 1968 Hawaii Five-0 arrives.
The self-righteous McGarrett is hard to like really. He’s on an desert island of certitude, and he doesn’t want any visitors. Lord has a reptilian, assertive, macho quality—he’s a big, tall guy who moves well—reminds me of Mitchum. But Mitchum cultivated a deep dark side that in the end makes him a more interesting actor.
Lord’s McGarrett is a workaholic, with little evident private life (in one episode his sister falls prey to a unethical healer who claims to be able to cure her son’s cancer), so without encumbrances he is free to act out his morality play of good vs. evil.
There’s nothing so new about the singularly focused detective. Certainly TV had its fill: Dragnet, Elliot Ness and The Untouchables. But McGarrett’s nature seems more at odds with his surroundings and that tension helps give the show more edge. You wonder how Steve stays so pure when surrounded by this island paradise—Hula dancers, drinks with umbrellas, flowers, leisure—it’s like a Puritan landing in the middle of Tahiti. (It’s interesting to note that immediately following the Five-0 12-year run there began a string of detectives who were less idealized: Columbo, Kojak, Macmillan and Wife (His flaw? He had a personal life.)
Surrounded by can-do fellas of little substance McGarrett is the sun and the moon of the show. Danno, Chin-Ho, Kono were just there to be the clean-up crew, the eyes behind the binoculars, the ears on the wire-taps—guys to move cars, hold guns and break down doors. I wonder how long Jack Lord would have lasted as Danny on the show? James MacArthur lasted 10 seasons.
Despite some of these problems with Five-0 the show has an allure: the location was unusual and exotic, the theme was a hit (I still get a mini surge of adrenalin when I hear it), and Lord was undeniably charismatic. He pops on camera, he’s a real star who brought a lot to the table.
Reading between the lines it’s possible to assemble a picture of a royal pain in the ass. Lord would often recite poetry on the set (pretentious?) He became executive producer and was a perfectionist who often had conflicts with network execs over small details. On the other hand, he insisted on hiring local Hawaiian talent which seems obvious now, but at the time might have been considered risky. He retired from television after his twelve-year run, became a reclusive philanthropist who died in leaving a 40 million dollar estate to various Hawaiian charities.
Now I’m going to go watch the new Five-0 and see what’s what…I suspect Jack Lord’s legacy has little to fear.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062568/trivia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Lord
http://www.richmondhillhistory.org/JackLord.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAPYvq0nwiI
