Adam-12 Drive All Over Pig is a Three Letter Word

Log 23: Pig is a Three Letter Word, aired Saturday October 11, 1969. I covered the actors in my previous post. This post focuses on locations.

The easiest Valley location to identify was this one because the two apartment buildings are still there (for how much longer?) and Adam-12 love Tujunga Avenue (though they're north of Moorpark this time!)

My recent photo of 5056 Tujunga:

When the car turns the corner, we see a lost corner of North Hollywood:

The Monster Boxing of Los Angeles outrages me to the point I can't stand to look. Had I started this project in the 90s, most every Adam-12 location would have still been intact, and I'd have taken some of the last photographs of them (who knew!)

If you've read much of this blog (thank you!), you'll know I rage about this a lot. It hurts. The "re-imagining" of Los Angeles in the 21st century is an abomination. And it's why so many of the houses and apartment buildings Adam-12 drove past look familiar, so very Valley, but you just can't find them now. Someone dropped a Monster Box on them.

Note for non-Angelenos, it's "Tuh-HUN-guh." You may recall Reed calling in their pursuit in the Tujunga wash in the first episode. (I spent decades calling both the Tujunga wash and LA River "the storm drain"! It actually rained in the 80s and sometimes you'd see a proper river of water in there, in addition to shopping carts and graffiti. Pre-internet I think we all knew the names of every Los Angeles newscaster, and anytime it rained, it was delivered as a major catastrophe: "Stormwatch!" Everywhere else in the country it would have been reported as "rain." I digress!)

I'll try to go in some sort of order. My main interest is seeing the San Fernando Valley in the late 60s. Then I like learning more about the actors, seeing the cars that were still on the road (but I suspect the "hey, look!" ones were all provided by Universal and not just local people's cars that got caught in the shot), looking at Mac (!), noting any contemporary social commentary, laughing at various things, and last of all following the story.

In this episode too much time was wasted on the back lot, but they still packed in a lot of their part of the Valley, a clear Temple Street view, and some nice old cars. 

Great view of the opposite side of the Rampart station:

The Lewelleyn was a big deal 40 years before the new Rampart station (Adam-12 headquarters, allegedly Central division -- which was actually in Parker Center).

The Rampart Division headquarters where Adam-12 were based (while patrolling far away North Hollywood most of the time 😁) was new in 1966.

Adam-12 Meet Alex Clarke and Other Unsung Actors

Log 23: Pig is a Three-Letter Word, aired Saturday October 11, 1969 at 8:30.  Season 2, Episode 4. I liked the young actor in this episode, so I did some research on him and the other lesser-known actors in this episode.

Your viewing choices that Saturday night:

This entry will focus on the actors, and a separate post on this episode will focus on the locations. On to the actors:

Actor Byron Mabe had quite a few bit parts on TV shows of the Adam-12 era, including many of my faves (Cannon, Mannix, Police Story, Harry O), but I don't think he reached "Hey, it's that guy!" status. Here he played a most brutal child molester, and Reed was outraged. Rather shocking they had an episode where a five-year-old boy is raped to death, even if it was only talked about and nothing shown.

Byron Mabe was also the star of "The Doberman Gang" in 1972.

Mac finds out this child molester suspect is training dogs to rob banks:

This episode had three other officers with speaking parts but neglected to show their name tags or have their names spoken in conversation. Stuart Thomas and Breland Rice I found on other shows to confirm their identities. The man with the lengthy part and great close-ups didn't get a credit! He had just passed his probationary period and sits down with Reed, who doesn't bother to say his fellow officer's name. Mystery solved: It was Byron Bradley! He appears as the store detective in Season 5, Episode 16, Citizens Arrest- 484. He gets his credit in that one.

In the locker room, these two unnamed officers say much less than the man above, but somehow had character names in the credits! Breland Rice and Stuart Thomas:

The new actor who stands out in this episode is W. Alex Clarke (billed here without the W) as "Jessie Smith," a bit of a peacemaker in a time of tense Black-White relations.

He was the nephew of writer and agent Lillian Cumber, who helped him get started.

Tragically, there was a fire at Ms. Cumber's Hollywood Hills home in 1967. It sounds like the people were alright, but the property damage was probably why the house was soon up for sale. The house still stands and looks great from the outside at least. Alex Clarke is mentioned in the news article on the fire.

His first big role was in a film called "The Learning Tree."

Alex Clarke earned himself an NAACP Image Award. Also, an award went to Gail Fisher of "Mannix" fame. (I love Mannix!)

Sometimes credited as W. Alex Clarke, his credits on imdb are very brief. This one in a 1970 Disney film release (with the omnipresent William Schallert) is not listed. 

I would have enjoyed seeing more of this actor. He passed in 2010. 

The bad guys from this bust:

A familiar face is guest star Herbert Anderson, of "Dennis the Menace" father fame (a show I've never seen.)

A father-son burglar team composed of veteran character actor Ralph Manza and late 60s child actor Tony Fraser keep taking things from Herbert Anderson's home.

Ralph Manza had three Adam-12 appearances and a "Highway Patrol," but not a Mac episode. The man worked right up until his passing at the age of 78.

Child actor Tony Fraser had quite a few credits in the second half of the 60s. 

Was Ellen Corby the female William Schallert for her omnipresence? 

And our lady in the backseat. Groovy dress! A twist on the axe murderer in the backseat urban legend.

Now why didn't this featured player get a credit? And more importantly, what is his name? UPDATE! It's Bryon Bradley! He appears (with a credit) as Parlow in "Citizen's Arrest-484" Season 5, Episode 16. All of the other speaking roles got credits. 

I know Breland Rice's face was hard to get a large shot of, but I matched him to his small appearance as an officer on "The Green Hornet" for confirmation.

Byron Bradley, no credit this time. They already had one "Byron" in the credits. Was that what did it?

I (will) have a separate post for this episode on the locations and cars.

All Roads Lead to Studio City or the Backlot

Log 52: Good Cop -- Handle with Care, Season 2, Episode 3, aired Saturday October 4th, 1969.

This is the one where the two creeps follow our heroes everywhere, accuse them of misconduct, take pictures, and interfere with police business with predictable deadly results. 

Malloy and Reed are headed north on Lankershim, with General Tire and Far East Terrace visible. 

They only go as far as Acama, where Motorville Tires remains to this day (only now it has a Monster Box behind it and the giant Comcast NBC Universal black monster building can be seen in the distance). 

Their turn west on Acama leads them through a wormhole that comes out in the alley that runs to the south of the Radford Lot (CBS) in Studio City! 

As they drive east from Radford Avenue, they come to an opening where we can see through to Ventura Boulevard and spot Curlbusters Hair Salon, which was at 11910. 

The building now listed as 11908 1/2 was built in 1940.  Curlbusters also makes an appearance in Log 94: Vengeance, Season 2, Episode 19 (along with General Tire!) This same corner comes back later in the episode.

Where Malloy and Reed find the man on the ground, they are behind the area that soon became Firestone Complete Auto Care (built in 1974). You can almost see the sign of The Iron Horse restaurant, which had been in business since 1945.

Throw in the Pontiac dealer drive-by on Lankershim:

And then wormhole (!) we're on Ventura Blvd in Studio City at Laurelgrove going past that one-time "Lido Manor" boxing arena, with the former Bowl-a-Rama bowling alley that then became Phil Gerard's Ski World at 12229 Ventura (where the gold onion dome place is now).  More on that area in my post on The Ferret episode.

At least I believe that's what the triangular sign was. The neon arrow (watch for it when they go by) appears to be the former Bowl-a-Rama one.

That's almost $300 in 2021.  Notice Phil Gerard/Girard two ways in the same ad! By 1973 they'd decided on a spelling and moved west to Encino so you could "join a new social world":

But what about crime? I found one at the old Bowl-a-Rama. Not during Adam-12's time, but during Pete Malloy's time on the force:

The Sid and Marty Krofft Enterprises billboard is either a tie-in with the former bowling alley complex, else maybe advertising their Vanowen location (?)  

On a personal note: Pufnstuf probably scarred me for life sticks with me the most, but the one that really motivated me at the time was Kaptain Kool and the Kongs! 

Then we're back to the backlot. 

Fans of the backlot might like seeing these houses. 

Actor Carl Reindel had a lot of credits, but notable to me, he was on a Naked City episode.

Ah, Malloy teeth. Every time you get a good look at Malloy's bottom teeth, I can hear my friend saying, "Topol, the smoker's toothpolish."

Actor Ben Frank was on two episodes of Adam-12 and three of Police Story. Not to be confused with the restaurant on Sunset, Ben Frank's (now a Mel's Drive-In). 

Adam-12 drive him north on Carpenter to Ventura Blvd, where there were far fewer giant things in 1969. [Off-camera to the right of the 1959 building was Curlbusters.]

Now it looks like this:

On the north side of that intersection, the industrial looking buildings behind the businesses in the foreground are parts of the former Republic Pictures (then CBS Studio Center). It was in buildings like these that the Rifleman, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gilligan's Island, Wagon Train, the Big Valley, the Wild Wild West, and loads of others were filmed. So when John McIntire ("Dan Muldoon" of Naked City fame!) was dealing with the latest Wagon Train guest stars, he was indoors, right here, just south of Ventura Boulevard, where Adam-12 would film once TV slid into color. Pretty wild, huh.

Another look at Curlbusters as Reed wrestles with a very high Ben Frank. The car is stopped on the northeast side of Carpenter at Ventura. 

The Standard Oil station was presumably at 11905 Ventura, where Firestone would be as of 1975. I could not find a record of it. Of more interest to me is that 58 Chrysler! (Might be a 57?) Cars used to have faces.

Then the very high Ben Frank character goes to an external shot of the real Central Receiving. Central Receiving Hospital, at 6th and Valencia (east of MacArthur Park) was demolished to make way for the new Rampart station -- the original Rampart station was used for Adam-12 headquarters, even though they are Central Division, and in actuality patrol mostly North Hollywood. Ah, television! 

Central Receiving (police) Hospital in 1957.

A Mac moment (or two):

Mac's blue eyes were always red. Maybe to do with Mr. Topol the Smoker's Toothpolish? Maybe Mac smoked too. Don't tell me.

Patys in Toluca Lake makes an unexpected appearance!

I have always written "Paty's" -- just now I realize there is no apostrophe! Photo I took in November 2021. Gee, I should have walked down the street to show the view in the Adam-12 photo. I blew it! 

Another wormhole takes them to this Texaco where we see a '62 Dodge Dart, with its grille within a grille odd look. Messes with my mind, man! My parents had a '65 Dodge Dart -- a normal-looking car.

The Hollywood Freeway is that-a-way, but I'm not sure which Texaco this was. 

It was Studio City anyway -- despite the wormhole that leads to a shot going up Hoover between the two churches of the opening credits! 

After that unexpected leap from the Valley to downtown, we're back on the backlot.