Hill Street Blues had an extensive ensemble cast, in some ways large even compared to the primetime soap operas which had arisen in the same era. Dallas may have had more characters, but outside of a small handful everyone else was just incidental with temporary subplots being largely driven by in-and-out guest stars; Hill Street‘s ensemble consisted of as many as fifteen main cast members at a time, with as many as a dozen additional major recurring characters (who themselves often had key recurring storylines) alongside them.
Today, we’re going to introduce those members of the pilot episode cast who, at some point, were listed as main cast members in the credits (even if not here in the pilot), and also introduce our format for the individual episode posts. The reason for the cast introduction is to get the main repertory out of the way in regard to trivia; guest stars and later recurring characters will be dealt with in the episode in which they first appear.
Before starting that, though, a note: in some ways, this show practically killed the careers of almost everyone involved in it. It’s bizarre to contemplate, especially as revered and honored as the cast members were, but of the 21 actors who received main credit billing during the show’s run, only a few went on to greater or equal fame following the show’s cancellation — and all of them were among the second wave of headliners who began filtering into the cast beginning in season five.
Typecasting probably played a role, but in a few cases the lure of working behind the camera also had an effect. With that, the main cast. Except as noted, all main cast members listed appeared in all 144 episodes.
We start not with the headliner, but with Michael Conrad, for two reasons. One, each post will begin with Roll Call, where we’ll detail each show’s cold open (which is, well, the station roll call, led by Conrad as Sergeant Phil Esterhaus) before launching into the general recap. Conrad was, in many ways, the heart and soul of the program. His gravelly baritone opened nearly every episode, and his manner of speaking, which was surreal “in the extremis” — and his even more surreal off-the-job life — gave the series much of its charm and humor, although the subplot of Esterhaus dating a high school senior was bizarre and probably not something that could ever happen on network television today.
Conrad was the first original main-billed cast member to leave the show before it ended, although not for professional reasons; he passed away in November 1983 after a battle with urethral cancer. As such, Conrad only appeared in 71 of the show’s 144 episodes. Aside from Hill Street, Conrad was likely best known for his co-starring turn with Burt Reynolds in the original version of The Longest Yard; he played Nate Scarboro, the role Reynolds himself would play in the Adam Sandler remake. He also co-starred on the one-season Judd Hirsch cop show Delvecchio, along with two other Hill Street cast members. Conrad was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmys in all four seasons in which he appeared, winning in both 1981 and 1982.
After the recap, we’ll spotlight some of the quirks of the show in categories, several of which are inextricably tied to a specific character — but not all.
One character who doesn’t support a special category is the series lead, Captain Frank Furillo, played by Daniel J. Travanti. Furillo was a Good Cop, sensitive to the needs of the community and a strong leader in the squad room. One of the key facets of Travanti’s performance was his ability to be impish, comforting, or gentle when needed, and if you’re watching or have watched the series you’ll understand exactly what I mean. Although Conrad was the heart of the show before his death, Travanti was the skeleton; while Conrad’s soothing presence and the absurd personal plotlines centered on Esterhaus gave the show its feel, Furillo was naturally the center around which the tornado spun.
Travanti had made guest appearances on a raft of television shows prior to landing the role, as well as a few film appearances. But Hill Street was his first steady work, earning him five Oustanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series nominations, winning twice. During the show’s run, he also starred as John Walsh (of America’s Most Wanted fame) in the self-titled television movie about Walsh’s murdered son Adam, which resulted in Travanti being nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor Emmys in two separate categories in 1983. In 1986, he also portrayed Edward R. Murrow in the HBO biopic about the seminal television newsman. After Hill Street’s cancellation, Travanti went on to star in the putrid science fiction film Millennium alongside Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl Ladd, and put in an appearance in the Sean Connery vehicle Just Cause. But his film career was over by the mid-90s. On television, he later starred in the short-lived series Missing Persons, did a turn as the President on Prison Break, and had a recurring role on the Kelsey Grammer drama Boss.
Veronica Hamel portrayed the series female lead, public defender Joyce Davenport. Hamel, a former model who had originally been (allegedly, at least) offered the role of Kelly Garrett on Charlie’s Angels, had also never had a steady gig prior to Hill Street; her highest-profile previous role had been as Suzanne Constantine in the film Beyond the Poseidon Adventure. She never would lead a film or be a series regular again despite five Emmy nominations. Her post-Hill Street career included a large number of made-for-television movies, including a strange turn as Lily Munster in Here Come the Munsters. More recently, however, Hamel did have brief recurring roles on Third Watch and on Lost (as Jack Shephard’s mother). Davenport’s routine lawyersplaining in each episode — mostly toward Furillo, but sometimes to his subordinates — will be highlighted under the heading Look, Pizza Man (for reasons which will become apparent). Hamel is credited for all 144 episodes, but there are two episodes in which she didn’t actually appear.
Detective Mick Belker was on one hand a certifiable lunatic, but he was also a deeply sensitive character with more than a few self-esteem issues. Bruce Weitz, who played Belker, had one major credit prior to the show: as Paul Snider, the ex-husband and murderer of former Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten in the TV film Death of a Centerfold. His post-Blues career was more successful than the rest of the original cast; Weitz co-starred for two seasons in the Richard Lewis-Jamie Lee Curtis sitcom Anything But Love, later had recurring roles on Judging Amy and ER, and has been an on-again, off-again cast member on General Hospital since 2007 as Anthony Zaccara. Weitz was nominated for the Oustanding Supporting Actor Emmy in each of the show’s first six seasons, winning in 1984. Would You Prefer Internal Injuries? is the heading devoted to Belker’s frequent lapses in decorum at the expense of a collared perp. Like Hamel, Weitz missed two episodes, but was still credited despite his absence.
Joe Spano has also returned to the public eye of late. Spano came to Hill Street with only minor roles to his credit. As Detective Henry Goldblume, Spano portrayed the squad’s chief negotiator and gang liason, famous for not even wanting to carry a loaded gun. Spano was nominated for an Emmy in 1983. After Hill Street, Spano remained in the Bochco stable, most notably appearing in 15 episodes of Murder One and later recurring as Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s cop father on NYPD Blue. He also portrayed the Director of NASA in Apollo 13, and has had a major recurring role on NCIS as FBI agent T.C. Fornell. I’m Unarmed is the heading for Goldblume’s pacifist moments.
Michael Warren, who played Officer Bobby Hill, was the only original cast member with a broad resume of steady television work prior to the show, which is sort of amusing since most people knew Warren as a former UCLA basketball player and teammate of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Warren had had recurring roles on minor unsucessful programs such as Sierra and the Bochco-helmed Paris, and had appeared in the Gabe Kaplan basketball comedy Fast Break as well as putting in a guest appearance on the moralistic basketball-centric TV show White Shadow. After the show’s cancellation, Warren appeared on Bochco products Murder One and City of Angels, and has also had roles on Soul Food and Lincoln Heights. Warren received an Emmy nomination in 1982.
Charles Haid didn’t expect to shoot more than the pilot, and that situation is partially what led to Haid having final featured billing in the main cast. You’ll find out more about that in the first episode post. Haid played Hill’s partner Officer Andy Renko, and it was the pairing of the two as a black-and-white partnership which helped focus the entire show’s take on racial issues. Haid came to the show after a lengthy career as a character actor through the 70s, and he’d also been a member of the Delvecchio cast. After the show, Haid mostly focused on directorial work, helming episodes of nearly every Bochco and Kelley production through the 90s and 00s as well as taking turns behind the camera at ER, Nip/Tuck, and Criminal Minds as well as on Third Watch, where he also played Fire Captain Cathel Finney in ten episodes. Haid was nominated twice for Oustanding Supporting Actor, in 1981 and 1982; he later received directorial nominations for his work on NYPD Blue and Murder One, in 1994 and 1996 respectively.
My Car! is the heading for Hill and Renko’s shenanigans which are purely comic relief rather than plot-centric. Often, this did in fact involve some sort of disaster befalling their police cruiser.
James B. Sikking portrayed the squad’s oafish and reactionary SWAT Sergeant Howard Hunter. The broad comedy which he brought to bear on the role served him well in his next major role as Doctor David Howser alongside Neal Patrick Harris. Sikking also starred in a third Bochco show, the short-lived Brooklyn South. Prior to Hill Street, Sikking had an extensive career playing bit roles on both television and film; he’d appeared in the Oscar-winning film Ordinary People just prior to joining the cast. He also played Captain Styles in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and showed up in a couple of episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Sikking was nominated for an Emmy in 1984, losing to castmate Weitz. Sikking was the third Delvecchio co-star to end up as part of the Hill Street cast. Judas Priest is the heading for Hunter’s malaproprisms, tone-deaf pronouncements, and heavy equipment malfunctions. While credited in all 144 episodes, Sikking was absent for three.
Betty Thomas got her start as part of the Second City troupe in Chicago, where she worked with Bill Murray. Her acting career, however, was relatively brief, with only two credits following the cancellation of Hill Street, on which she played Officer Lucy Bates. During her run on the show, Thomas was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress every single year of the show’s run, winning in 1985 (and famously being upstaged when professional impostor Barry Bremen rushed on stage to accept the award on her behalf, claiming she wasn’t present). Thomas went into directing, getting her start on Bochco properties Hooperman and Doogie Howser, before becoming one of the most financially successful female directors in Hollywood. Thomas directed The Brady Bunch Movie, the Howard Stern biofarce Private Parts, Sandra Bullock’s 28 Days, Eddie Murphy’s Dr. Doolittle, the remake of I Spy, John Tucker Must Die, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel — which was awful, but is the highest grossing film ever directed by a woman at $443 million in box office receipts. Mano a Mano is the heading for Lucy’s frequent encounters with sexism, overt or otherwise. Thomas missed one episode, but was still credited.
Kiel Martin played vice Detective J.D. LaRue, a shady and self-damaging doofus with a heart of gold. Martin took his wife’s name as his stage name when he began acting; he was, for a time, the son-in-law of Dean Martin. Martin had a variety of roles starting as a teenager, and starred in the short-lived program Second Chance after Hill Street’s cancellation. The only main cast member to appear in all seven season without receiving an Emmy nomination, he passed away in 1990, just three years after the show ended, of lung cancer. Like his character, Martin was a recovering alcoholic, a trait he and his character shared with both Travanti and Captain Furillo. Martin missed four consecutive episodes in the middle of the fourth season due to being sent to rehab; he remained in the credits, however. I’m Good For It heads the ubiquitous instances of J.D. trying to weasel something out of someone.
Taurean Blacque made a handful of appearances on television, including a guest spot on Bochco’s Paris, as well as a bit role in Rocky II prior to Hill Street. On the show, he played LaRue’s partner Neal Washington, a street-smart black detective with a laid-back attitude. After the show ended, Blacque had the lead role in the science-fiction film DeepStar Six and starred on the short-lived TV show Savannah before devoting himself to stage productions. A lifelong spokesman for adoption, and especially for the rights of single men to adopt, Blacque was nominated for an Emmy in 1982. What’s Up, Lover? spotlights some of Washington’s dated turns of phrase.
Nicaraguan-born René Enríquez played Lieutenant Ray Calletano, the squad’s earnest Hispanic second-in-command. Enriquez had a long career as a bit player on television prior to the show, but only logged three credits afterward due to his death in 1990 of pancreatic cancer, just nine months before Martin’s passing. Enriquez only appeared in 109 episodes; his illness helped necessitate a plotline in which he became captain at another precinct, after which he became a recurring character. Prior to that, there was also one episode in which he did not appear, despite being credited.
Barbara Bosson was not an original main cast member, mostly being present in the pilot by virtue of being Steven Bochco’s wife. But Fred Silverman liked her so much in the pilot that he insisted she be promoted. She played Fay Furillo, the captain’s shrill and scattered ex-wife. Bosson appeared in 99 episodes, being eased out after Bochco was fired in 1985 (but making three guest appearances thereafter). Despite this, Bosson did receive five Emmy nominations as a member of the cast, and later received another for Murder One; she also held down lead roles in later Bochco productions Hooperman and the ill-advised Cop Rock. Not Now, Fay catalogues the various ways in which the former Mrs. Furillo failed to grasp that her personal problems weren’t more important than little things like hostage situations and manhunts.
Robert Hirschfeld had a few bit parts prior to taking on the role of Khaki Officer Leo Schnitz, a minor role which Hirschfeld adopted for 93 episodes. In season five, Hirschfeld joined the main cast, although he’d leave the show entirely after that season. Post-HSB, Hirschfeld hasn’t done much, although he has appeared as five different characters on Law & Order and portrayed Judge Holzer in an episode of The Sopranos.
Other categories in each post will include Central Booking, where we’ll discuss the episode’s guest stars and appearances of recurring characters; Rap Sheet, where we’ll touch on some of the matters of trivia connected with the episode in question; and Verdict, where we’ll summarize our thoughts on the episode and hand down a final grade.
And with that, we’re off to the first episode: “Hill Street Station”.
