Adam-12 has been described as a "Dragnet on wheels." Like Dragnet, it was created by Jack Webb and dramatizes stories based on actual police cases. Unlike plainclothesman Sgt. Joe Friday and his sidekick, Officer Bill Gannon, however, its heroes are the uniformed cops of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Adam-12 is the police radio designation of a cruiser manned by Senior Officer Peter Malloy and rookie Jim Reed. We talked to Kent McCord, who plays Reed, in his dressing room at Universal City Studios one hot day when production was scheduled to run from noon to midnight. They were working late that day because much of the action on the show takes place on the streets of Los Angeles after dark.
McCord looks--and sounds--like a cop. So does his partner, Malloy, played by Martin Milner. "The patrol car gives our show a completely different feeling from that of Dragnet," said McCord. "The guys in the cars are dealing with people and situations first-hand. Dragnet is always after the fact.
"Martin and I, as well as all the writers on the show, went out with actual police officers before we did the first show. I've ridden with them more than a dozen times. At first it was just an assignment. Then I began to look forward to it. It really gives you first-hand information on what is taking place in the streets. A lot of things happen to cops that people don't know about.
"An A-car," McCord explained, "is a two-man car. An L-car is a one-man car. And '12', he added, "is the district of the division we work in. Adam is our phonetic call.
"I think the show will give viewers some insight into what takes place in patrol cars. There's never been a uniformed type of series quite like this," McCord said. "We'll have some comedy, but it's not a farce like Car 54, Where Are You?"
Considerable concern has been expressed this season about the amount of violence on the home screen. "Has this affected Adam-12", we asked?
"Not at all," McCord replied. "The policy of the L.A. Police Department is, 'Don't draw your gun unless you're going to kill.' We do one story in which a cop is killed, but we don't show the shooting. In all the times I rode with the police department, I only saw guns drawn once. That was when an armed robbery was taking place."
"I don't think we've doctored the series at all," he emphasized, "though violence takes place all around you when you're driving in an A-car."
McCord's conversation is laced with the argot of cops--a "415 call," we learned, means disturbing the peace; a "502" means drunk and disorderly.
"I visited the communications center in downtown L.A. and was amazed at the number of calls coming in," McCord continued. "They keep fantastic records of calls, times, how much time is spent investigating calls." He told us that a "DR" is the abbreviation for "daily report." A "DO" is the "daily occurence" report. It includes everything that's happened for an officer coming on duty.
We asked an obvious question after this brief course in police procedure: "Has your own idea of cops changed?"
"Oh, yes," McCord responded. "It's a great experience to get out in the field. We also have a technical advisor on the show. He's there so we'll have authenticity."
McCord was a football star before he became an actor--and had planned to be a coach. "I went to Baldwin Park High School (in suburban L.A.)," he said. "My interests there were my girl friend (now his wife) and football."
He was offered 20 football scholarships and chose to go to nearby Citrus Junior College. Through mutual friends, he met Rick Nelson in 1961--and played on Rick's football team in a game against the Elvis Presley gridders.
"Rick and I became good friends. I started hanging around the Ozzie and Harriett set on my days off from school," McCord recalled. Eventually he got on camera as Rick's fraternity brother, a role he played in 45 episodes of the long-running series. "In 1964 I finally decided to become an actor," he said. "I've worked and studied hard since then."
McCord has held a number of jobs. "I started working for my dad in his gas station when I was 10. I made 50 cents an hour pumping gas and washing windshields. I also worked at an airport, pumping gas, washing planes, and cleaning up, all through high school."
Was he ever involved with the police? "Oh, I got into my share of mischief when I was young," he said, smiling evasively. "I hope we stay away from sermons and messages on the show, though. The message will be there in what takes place. I'm glad to be doing the show", he added. "I hope some good will come from it."
He looked as though it was about time for him to get back in his A-car. We thanked him, gave him an abbreviated salute, and left.
