The Onion Field and LAPD K-38s

George Maharis played Buz Murdock. Glenn Corbett was in it too. There were a ton of Hollywood's best that appeared at one time or another: Robert Duvall, Lon Chaney Jr., Nina Foch, even "Happy Days" mom Marion Ross.
 
GerSan69 said:
George Maharis played Buz Murdock. Glenn Corbett was in it too. There were a ton of Hollywood's best that appeared at one time or another: Robert Duvall, Lon Chaney Jr., Nina Foch, even "Happy Days" mom Marion Ross.
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Thanks.George Maharis was who I was trying to remember.Seems like he was also in a later TV series but as usual I can't remember which one.I'm losing it.:eek:
 
Came across this photo of the guns involved. This was in the lead investigator's case file. The K-38 was Campbell's, and the Colt Officers Model Match was Hettinger's.
onionfield00000003.jpg
 
Very good. Thanks for that. HArd to imagine being a detective and carrying a six inch revolver in a cross-draw. Times change.
 
Here is something close....
Pre 14 with an old Lewis Rig.
Holster has some writting on the back that indicates LAPD.
This was some cool thread BTW..
Large Smith for plainclothes and off duty coppers.
100_1963.jpg

100_1958.jpg
 
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hi , its difficult to read whats written on the back of the holster can you post a clerer picture ??
many thanks, robbt
 
Thought I would bring this back to the top. In case anyone has any further information or pictures.
 
clubleaf206 said:
Back to the movie, if I may, after the fiasco of 'The Choirboys' (Joseph Wambaugh took out a half page ad in Variety, disavowing anything to do with the movie and apologized to his friends and the public), Wambaugh kept complete control over the filming of 'The Onion Field', production of the movie halted numerous times, due to lack of funds and Wambaugh mortgaged his house three or four times to acquire funds to continue filming, I think it says a lot about Wambaugh's ability to persuade the crew to stick with him and the actors seeing that this film was important to him, as well as being a very good project for an actor to be involved with.


I've also found the memories voiced by the members that are veterans of the LAPD very interesting.
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As along time fan of LE, who briefly looked into joining the Pittsburgh PD, i enjoy hearing what you guys have to say about this all of this. I have read most of Wambaugh's books, and absolutely loved The Choir Boys. too bad the movie tried to make it into a lame comedic endeavor. That's one I'd love to see remade true to the dark tone of tne book.
 
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Man, threads like this one don't come along often enough. I came on a 14 Officer department in the Central San Joaquin Valley of California in 1977 as a 21 year old kid fresh out of the academy. I had the choice of carrying a department-issued SW Model 15 4" in a Border Patrol holster, or I could carry my personally owned S&W M28 4". I carried the 28 with some of the fancy new speed loaders and a Bianchi "Berns and Martin" style front break holster. We were allowed to carry .357 mag. if our guns permitted, being a rural area and often backing either Kings or Tulare County S.O. as we were on the county line. Little town with lots of action and little backup. Generally, two officers per watch, sometimes with a Sergeant. One hand-held radio (usually carried by the sergeant), a two frequency radio in the car that shared one channel between three of the county's five total agencies (counting CHP), and a single bullet-resistant vest owned by the department that no one would wear for fear of being label a chicken***t. I remember searching high and low to find a Model 19 or 66 and couldn't believe it when I got lucky enough to locate and buy one.

Looking back, I miss that time in law enforcement, the way we did business, how we were perceived by the public and the general wonder of it all. Growing up, the Onion Field was a familiar story as I lived about 65 miles north of Bakersfield and ended up working for two departments in the area over my career, the last one being my home town.
 
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I thought I'd resurrect my own zombie thread with this pertinent question.

I was doing some reading about the North Hollywood shootout of 1997 and came across this photo from that fateful day:

1UR7Zrs.jpg


How is it that 30 years after Reed and Malloy turned in their Model 14s for 4" Model 15s this stud is still banging away at bank robbers with his 6" gun?
 
I saw that pic in a magazine years ago, and I've been looking for it online forever, awesome that you found it.



sigp220.45 said:
I thought I'd resurrect my own zombie thread with this pertinent question.

I was doing some reading about the North Hollywood shootout of 1997 and came across this photo from that fateful day:

1UR7Zrs.jpg


How is it that 30 years after Reed and Malloy turned in their Model 14s for 4" Model 15s this stud is still banging away at bank robbers with his 6" gun?
Click to expand...
 
Although Reed and Malloy turned in their 6" guns in the 1960's, the Sean Penn LAPD character in the 1988 film "Colors" was still carrying a 6" Model 14. If it wasn't for the fritz helmet the cop in the photo is wearing you could mistake it for a scene from "Adam-12" or "Colors".

The LAPD website lists their approved firearms, and the "Model 14" is still listed, although the photo is of a 4" Model 15. The Model 67 is also still approved.

By the way, thanks for bringing this thread back from the dead, I really enjoyed it. I read "The Onion Field" as a kid, and watched "Adam-12" reruns every afternoon. "Adam-12" is one of the reasons I wanted to be in law enforcement, and several guys I've worked with also mention the show as a reason for their job choice.
 
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