Cavallero - Plasketes - Gangsters - Fessos - Tricksters - and - Sopranos LIDO

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Gangsters, Fessos, Tricksters, and Sopranos: The

Historical Roots of Italian American Stereotype Anxiety
a
Jonathan J. Cavallero & George Plasketes
a
Auburn University Department of Communication and Journalism Alabama
Published online: 07 Aug 2010.
To cite this article: Jonathan J. Cavallero & George Plasketes (2004) Gangsters, Fessos, Tricksters, and Sopranos: The
Historical Roots of Italian American Stereotype Anxiety, Journal of Popular Film and Television, 32:2, 50-73, DOI: 10.3200/
JPFT.32.2.49-73
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JPFT.32.2.49-73
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Gangsters,
Fessos,
Tricksters,
Downloaded by [Tomsk State University Tul'skii gosudarstvennyi universitet] at 03:03 15 March 2015
AND
Sopranos
The Historical Roots
of Italian American
Stereotype Anxiety
By JONATHAN J. CAVALLERO
Abstract: Throughout the 1930s, Italian characters challenged

American ideals while simultaneously being blamed for their fail-
ure. Filmmakers and audiences were thus allowed to ponder the
subversive challenges such characters posed while distancing
themselves from similar thought patterns. Today, understanding
I
the rhetorical use of these characters is essential when evaluating n recent years, groups such as the
American Italian Defense Associa-
contemporary Italian American visions. tion and the National Italian Amer-
ican Foundation have protested the
Key words: gangster films; Italian American stereotypes; 1930s depiction of Italians in the HBO
Hollywood cinema; Marx Brothers; Rhodes, Erik; The Sopranos; television series The Sopranos (1999–
present) while ignoring most contem-
stereotyping porary presentations of Italian ethnici-
50
The gangster: Paul Muni as Tony

Camonte in a scene that was cut
from the final version of Scarface,
Shame of the Nation. Camonte’s
childish qualities are obviously on
display in this grotesque image.
ty and even applauding the depictions but fail to provide the same degree of Furthermore, the criticisms leveled
of Italians in television commercials scrutiny for non-gangster Italian against The Sopranos and other fic-
for Ragu, radio advertisements for stereotypes. The image of the Italian tional mafioso characters often lack an
Sprint PCS, and television programs gangster certainly has had real effects appreciation for the history or histori-
such as the NBC series Friends (1994– on the Italian/Italian American com- cal significance of the stereotype
present).1 Such choices indicate a dou- munity for decades,2 but such an (Shohat and Stam 199). Minimizing
ble standard on the part of these intense focus on the gangster allows the evolution of the gangster character
groups as they disparage the gangster other stereotypes to go unchecked. without sufficient regard for the socio-
51
52 JPF&T—Journal of Popular Film and Television
cultural climate surrounding its cre- personal hypotheses regarding “proper Italians generally, whereas the “good
ation allows critics to simply dispar- representation” are minimized. press” tended to treat the Italian Amer-
age what is a multifaceted vision of Analyses of this type require an ican heroes as exceptions, as different
ethnicity, far different from the one understanding not only of the culture from the average Italian. Life wrote of
found in 1930s feature films.3 Howev- that produced such images but also of DiMaggio in 1939, “Although he
er, although such a double standard is the culture of those targeted by these learned Italian first Joe, now 24,
troubling, what is more problematic is visions. For Italians and Italian Amer- speaks English without an accent and
a reductive understanding of stereo- icans, the 1930s were a time characteris otherwise well adapted to most U.S.
types that insists on an either/or, “pos- ized by the rise of Italian American mores. Instead of olive oil or smelly
itive” or “negative” dichotomy. I will heroes and the continued denigration bear grease he keeps his hair slick with
attempt to assuage these oversights of Italians at large. The 1920s had seen water. He never reeks of garlic and
and oversimplifications by rendering a new curbs placed on non–Anglo- prefers chicken chow mein to spaghet-
historical and cultural analysis of three Saxon immigration4 and the execution ti” (Busch 69). Meanwhile, in The
Italian male stereotypes that were of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Van- New Yorker, Capra’s doctor attributed
prevalent in 1930s Hollywood films to zetti.5 Now, in the 1930s, Al Capone the famed director’s survival of a burst
expound on the existing knowledge of was convicted on tax evasion charges appendix during his childhood to “the
how Italian ethnicity was used in the the same year that Angelo Rossi be- fact that Sicilians, conditioned by gen-
past and how it has evolved to its cur- came mayor of San Francisco. Be- erations of knifings, have very hardy
rent state today. tween 1933 and 1939, Fiorello La- interiors” (Hellman 7). Thus, Capra
was painted as an individual who was
able to benefit from an undesirable
past while rising above it, and DiMag-
For Italians and Italian Americans, the 1930s gio was just as exceptional in terms of
ethnicity as he was as an athlete.
were a time characterized by the rise of Italian Within the Italian American com-
munity, the rise of Mussolini and fas-
American heroes and the continued cism in Italy had divisive effects, as
some vehemently opposed his regime
while others supported it by sending
denigration of Italians at large. money and even wedding bands to
Italy (Mangione and Morreale 319).
The second generation6 was coming of
age, and many of these sons and
Any discussion of stereotyping Guardia was elected and reelected daughters of immigrants shunned the
should strive to move beyond the so- mayor of New York City. Frank Capra cultural norms that defined their par-
called accuracy or inaccuracy of stere- won three Best Director Academy ents’ lives. La via vecchia or the “old
otypes. As Ella Shohat and Robert Awards. Russ Columbo rivaled Bing way” was replaced with a “more
Stam have shown, passing judgment Crosby as the most popular singer of American” approach to life, as many
on the realism of a particular stere- his time. Frank Sinatra began his second-generation Italian Americans
otype almost invariably relies on singing career at a New Jersey night- preferred speaking English to Italian
another stereotype as the barometer of club, and as part of their effort to and began dating outside of their eth-
accuracy and thus leads to the creation secure and expand their fan base by nic group (Gambino 199–200). Sec-
of an equally damaging and limiting signing players of Italian descent, the ond-generation Italian Americans
“positive stereotype” (198–204). Sho- New York Yankees welcomed Joe found ways to fight the prejudices and
hat and Stam have proposed linking DiMaggio to the “House That Ruth injustices that their parents had accept-
analyses of stereotypes with the ideo- Built” (Cramer 66–67). During this ed (Gardaphé, Italian Signs 57), and
logical climate surrounding their cre- same period, Mussolini’s invasion of this too agitated the generational con-
ation and their reception (180–81). By Ethiopia sparked tensions between flict between new and old.
doing so, the assumptions of the critic Italian Americans and African Ameri- These internal conflicts coupled
are transferred from how a particular cans (LaGumina 250–52). Lucky with cultural intolerance isolated Ital-
ethnicity should be represented to how Luciano was arrested on prostitution ians from mainstream American soci-
a particular character or group of char- charges, and “nativists” argued for the ety and left many feeling alienated
acters relate or are related to the cul- deportation of Italians and other aliens even within their own neighborhoods
ture that produced them. In this way, as a way to quickly and easily solve and families. Fears of Italian hoods
the material that the film or television the economic ills that plagued the sparked an active imagination, and
series offers becomes the most impor- United States (“Drive for Law”). This wide-scale prejudice against average
tant aspect of the critique while the “bad press” tended to be applied to Italians persisted as the Depression
Gangsters, Fessos, Tricksters, and Sopranos 53
continued and war with Italy seemed Powers and [Little Caesar’s] Rico Administration had a similar effect.
inevitable. According to Fred Gar- Bandello are problems that we—the Scarface is said to be “an indictment
daphé, “If the Italian was not seen as a public—must solve” and that Scarface of gang rule in America and of the cal-
gangster or a knife-wielding, musta- is a series of “reproductions of actual lous indifference of the government to
chioed foreigner who had taken away occurrences,” the films attempted to this increasing menace to our safety
American jobs from the earlier immi- shift attention from the challenges the and liberty.” One wonders whose
grants, then he was depicted as ‘a rest- narratives posed to American ideals to “safety and liberty” are being threat-
less, roving creature who dislikes the a less subversive fascination with ened in Scarface, as the narrative
confinement and restraint of mill and crime. It would seem that these efforts seems to offer the possibility that the
factory,’ ‘very slow to take to Ameri- were not entirely successful as schol- “our” of “our safety and liberty” does
can ways,’ ‘volatile, and incapable of ars and critics, from Robert Warshow not include all Americans.
effective team work’ (Orth, Our For- (240–44) to Andrew Bergman (6–13), Although ethnicity in general
eigners, 182–3)” (Italian Signs 56). have commented on the challenges the played a central role in the rhetorical
In Hollywood films, these societal gangster has posed to conventional strategies of each of these works, the
prejudices toward Italians became an success.9 Little Caesar’s Cesare Enri- three gangster films, as well as their
effective tool that allowed filmmakers co “Rico” Bandello (Edward G. Rob- respective protagonists, are not inter-
and audience members to distance inson), The Public Enemy’s Tom Pow- changeable. Instead, The Public Ene-
themselves from the subversive chal- ers (James Cagney), and Scarface’s my tends to treat Irish gangster Tom
lenges that films such as Little Caesar Tony Camonte (Paul Muni) stage a Powers in a much more benevolent
(Mervyn LeRoy, 1930) posed to the full-scale corruption of the Protestant fashion than either Little Caesar or
myths of the Protestant Success Ethic Success Ethic and the American Scarface treats its Italian gangsters. As
and the American Dream. As a result, Dream. They work hard and outma- the films open, this becomes abun-
“Americans” mired in the economic neuver their competition, but they dantly clear. The first several minutes
chaos of the Great Depression could revert to the most sinful of means to of The Public Enemy follow the young
gaze critically on the myths that were achieve the most revolting of ends. Tom Powers as he eases into a life of
so lauded by American mythology Certainly, the ethnic identity of crime. Powers is clearly developed as
while blaming their failure not on the these characters (Powers is Irish, and the product of an economically disad-
myths themselves but on the ethnic Bandello and Camonte are Italian) vantaged upbringing and an abusive
characters that corrupted the still plays an important role in the narra- father. Adults around him smuggle
viable, Anglo-American ideals.7 In the tives.10 By depicting Bandello, Pow- beer in paint cans during the Prohibi-
process, some of these character types ers, and Camonte as different, as not tion era, and his father beats him mer-
fashioned a series of value judgments quite American, the challenges that the cilessly for the most trivial of devi-
on the virtue of assimilation, warning films pose to American ideals are ances. As a result, The Public Enemy
audience members about the corrupt- made less threatening to “average attempts to explain the existence of its
ing influence of ethnic others while Americans.” That is to say, because Irish gangster by blaming the social
encouraging ethnic minorities to dis- ethnic characters instigate a corruption ills that poverty has caused. Viewers
tance themselves from their ethnic of American ideals, non-ethnic Ameri- are encouraged to criticize the envi-
identities or face the possibility of cans are afforded the opportunity to ronment for the creation of Powers,
similar scrutiny. Others took a more blame the failure of American myths opening up the possibility that chang-
accommodating approach, as they during the Great Depression on the ing the environment would alleviate
effectively sided with the ethnic others individual ethnic characters and their the problem.
and castigated societal prejudices and respective ethnic groups rather than on Despite being a gangster, Powers
social institutions. the failure of the myths themselves. In exhibits some admirable traits. He
this regard, the films’ assertions of demonstrates his intelligence, albeit a
Gangsters realism are once again important to criminal one, by concocting elaborate
Adopting an atypical rhetorical consider, as such claims would seem heists. He can be, though is not
strategy for Hollywood features, Little to validate the ethnocentric and sub- always,11 socially tactful, as the film
Caesar, The Public Enemy (William versive depictions of ethnic others. includes several scenes in which Pow-
Wellman, 1931), and Scarface, Shame The marketing strategies of Little Cae- ers comfortably operates at elegant
of the Nation (Howard Hawks and sar and The Public Enemy, for in- clubs. He is a murderer, but he only
Richard Rossen, 1932), three of the stance, included lauding the films’ indulges his murderous impulses when
most widely watched and critically “Snatched from Today’s Headlines” he has been wronged or when a friend
discussed of the early gangster films, authenticity (Clarens 53). Similar of his has been killed.12 Thus, Powers is
attempted to frame the experience of claims were made about Scarface, and shown to hold loyalty, another re-
viewers with a text message that pre- the introduction that was added to the spectable character trait, in high regard.
ceded each of the narratives.8 Claim- Hawks and Rossen–directed film at In fact, he is so loyal to his boss,
ing that “[The Public Enemy’s] Tom the behest of the Production Code “Nails” Nathan (Leslie Fenton), that
when Nathan dies in a horseback riding characters themselves and on their eth- Unlike Powers, then, Bandello and
accident, Powers buys the homicidal nicity. Such a rhetorical structure has a Camonte are not early versions of the
horse for $1,000 and then shoots it.13 significant impact on a viewer’s expe- gentleman gangster. Instead, they are
Eventually, Powers’s life as a gang- rience of these films and the films’ cri- loyal only to themselves. They are
ster catches up with him, as it did with tiques of American ideals. Despite The robbed of rational thought, and they
most cinematic gangsters after 1930 Public Enemy’s use of Irish ethnicity show little in the way of intelligence,
(Jacobs 27–51). Powers is hospitalized to create a distance between American relying instead on instinct and, hence,
after single-handedly taking on a rival viewers and Irish American gangsters, seeming animalistic. They exercise no
gang that has killed his best friend, the film and in particular the se- restraint and opt for excess, rather than
Matt Doyle (Edward Woods), once quences that depict Powers’s child- the Italian ideal of moderation (Gam-
more demonstrating his loyalty. Pow- hood still encourage viewers to cast a bino 16), in every aspect of their exis-
ers’s mother and brother flock to his critical eye toward American institu- tence. Camonte, for instance, wears a
bedside, where Powers promises them tions and myths. Thus, Powers was new shirt everyday. Life and crime are
that, when he is discharged, he will excused of culpability, making Irish games to these characters, and they
return not to his penthouse but to the ethnics recuperative within the Ameri- vacillate between childish gaiety and
humble Powers family home. Tom’s can success ethic. Little Caesar and immoderate violence. They kill their
relationship with his brother has been Scarface encourage a more reac- way to the top of the mob world for no
mended, and he seems to have rejected tionary response toward the Italian reason except their desire to be in
his past ways in favor of a life that characters of Bandello and Camonte. charge, and once there, they bask in
takes a less subversive approach to Because their actions cannot be attrib- the glow of their infamy, exhibiting no
American ideals. By the end of the uted to the poverty and broken homes respect for loyalty, intelligence, tact,
film, redemption seems within Pow- of the current imperfect American sys- or human life.
ers’s grasp. tem, their undesirability becomes Although the Italian gangster is per-
The hopes of Powers, his family, something that is largely, if not com- haps the most prominent intersection
and the audience, however, are dashed pletely, attributable to their ethnic of Italian ethnicity and a critique of
when he is returned to the Powers identity. American myths, he is certainly not
home as a corpse, a victim of mob vio- As Little Caesar and Scarface the only character of Italian descent
lence. Nonetheless, Powers has be- progress, they continue to develop a that appears in these films. In Little
come a sympathetic character whose viewing experience that diverges from Caesar, for instance, Rico’s former
murderous actions have been some- that of The Public Enemy. Bandello partner Joe Massara (Douglas Fair-
what justified, even admirable, and and Camonte lack the social tact, intel- banks, Jr.) gives up his criminal pur-
certainly the result of the poverty that ligence, and loyalty of Powers. They suits once he achieves his goal of
surrounded him as a child. The film are blindly ambitious, targeting not becoming a professional dancer.14 This
mourns his passing and his choice of just other gangsters but also small decision to forsake a life of crime for
career, as his intelligence, loyalty, and business owners and anyone who may one of dance has led some to view
social tact are lost to the economic be in the vicinity of a gangster during Massara as a more or less “positive”
inopportunity that characterized his a “hit.” Thus, they are shown to lack character (Casillo 397). However,
childhood. Significantly, no Irish Powers’s maturity, restraint, and sense such a reading neglects that Massara is
American groups protested The Public of fairness. Whereas Powers indulges shown to be a prisoner of his ethnicity.
Enemy, a fact that Carlos Clarens his murderous impulses selectively, Before becoming a dancer, Massara
attributes to the performance of James Camonte and Bandello engage theirs was engaged in a life of crime; even
Cagney (64). However, although Cag- impulsively and indiscriminately. As after establishing a legitimate career
ney’s performance is skillful, a differ- several scholars have noted, Bandello for himself, Massara is coerced back
ent gangster develops here than in Lit- and Camonte are depicted as adults into criminal activities by Rico. Mas-
tle Caesar or in Scarface. who have the maturity of children sara clearly cannot escape what the
Unlike Tom Powers, the existence (Dika 83–84). In one of Scarface’s film views as the criminal aspects of
of Rico Bandello and Tony Camonte is most famous scenes, Camonte secures his ethnicity; as a result, his character
not “explained.” Instead of opening a tommy gun from a now dead, would- helps the film to vilify Italian Ameri-
with a sequence that shows these Ital- be assassin and, with the joy and fasci- cans as a whole.
ian mobsters as children, Little Caesar nation of a child at Christmas, tries out Scarface similarly vilifies Italian
and Scarface begin with the gangsters his new toy. In Little Caesar, the child- Americans with the non-gangster
as adults. Viewers do not see the char- like Bandello is so ecstatic about the character of Tony’s mother (Inez
acters slide into a life of crime. Under- possibility of having his picture in the Palange). Like Massara, she too has
privileged environments and abusive newspaper that he happily poses for been seen as “positive,” as one scholar
fathers are absent, and as a result, Ban- photographers, neglecting the effect has written that she “represents superi-
dello’s and Camonte’s criminal ten- such public exposure will have on his or morality” (Casillo 398). However,
dencies can be blamed only on the career. her inability to control or properly
raise her children demonstrates a cri- who have a similar look. Thus, his offered, “It is time that our immigra-
tique of Italian American culture and Anglo-Saxon name carries little sig- tion and deportation laws have teeth
significantly undermines the morality nificance when the film’s visual ele- put into them whereby courts and
she is said to represent. Although the ments and its source material are con- other officials of our country can
film does recognize a generational sidered. Rather than alleviating the instantly ascertain the activity of
conflict within this Italian American disparaging depictions of ethnicity, the aliens in crime, lawlessness, and red
family, it also depicts a dysfunctional changes made to the Production Code propaganda and promptly deport them
situation that encourages a critical dis- forced Hollywood’s depiction of eth- . . .” (LaGumina 217). Such a message
tance on the part of viewers.15 This nicity underground. A subtler, less from both elected officials and Holly-
“others” the film’s Italians, and allows open ethnocentrism replaced the more wood films had serious consequences,
non-Italian, non-ethnic moviegoers to blatant, more easily recognizable eth- as seven years after Green’s remarks
separate themselves from the charac- nocentrism of Little Caesar and Scar- and just three years after the release of
ters onscreen. face. Scarface, Congressman Martin Dies
Less ambiguous Italian characters In a scene from Scarface, several of Texas introduced legislation to the
such as Ma Magdalena (Lucille La characters discuss Tony Camonte and U.S. House of Representatives Com-
Verne) in Little Caesar, a maternal fig- his fellow criminals. One of them mittee on Immigration calling for the
ure for Bandello, who demonstrates no offers, “Put teeth in the Deportation deportation of six million aliens. Dies
loyalty and pilfers most of the $10,000
he hides with her,16 and members of
Italian social clubs17 in both films,
which are much less elegant than the
Ethnicity becomes an important
clubs Powers frequents, further en-
courage viewers to vilify Italians. In rhetorical tool in these films, as it replaces
fact, without these characters, the Ital-
ian gangster is merely an individual the failure of [American] myths
character type. It is Massara, Camon-
te’s mother, and other non-gangsters and becomes the problem itself.
that essentially belittle an entire ethnic
group.
As the decade progressed, efforts
were made to curb the ethnic divisions Act. These gangsters don’t belong in claimed that at least 150 congressmen
that defined good and evil in early this country. Half of them aren’t even supported the measure and that “if
1930s films. These efforts included citizens.” To which an anonymous there were no aliens in this country we
amendments to the Production Code in Italian responds, “That’s true. They would not have an unemployment
1934 that specifically targeted nega- bring nothing but disgrace to my peo- problem” (“Drive for Law”). Clearly,
tive portrayals of ethnic groups and ple.” It is interesting that an American Dies saw non-Americans as the cause
external pressure from such groups as film based on the life of Al Capone, a of the Great Depression or at least the
the Sons of Italy (Casillo 399). Holly- gangster who considered himself cause of its prolongation, and although
wood films, however, managed to American, includes a sentence that it would be questionable to assume
evade such efforts and continued using establishes Italians and Americans as that gangster films were the sole moti-
ethnicity as an effective means of divi- different. Such sentences distance vation behind such policies, it would
sion. In some instances, filmmakers “American” viewers from the “dis- be equally irresponsible to believe that
changed characters’ names from Ital- graceful,” subversive messages that they did not have an effect at all, espe-
ian to Anglo-Saxon but based the char- the films offer regarding American cially when they echoed sentiments
acters on infamous Italian gangsters myths. In the process, they vilify an that existed in American society.
and cast Italian actors in the lead roles. ethnicity and leave the impression that When Dies proposed his legislation,
Such was the case when Warner the apparent failure of these myths can no distinction was made between
Brothers introduced audiences to be placed on the ethnics who have cor- gangsters and non-gangsters, the divi-
gangster John Vanning (Eduardo Cian- rupted admirable ideals. Ethnicity, sion between good and evil was drawn
nelli) in Marked Woman (Lloyd then, becomes an important rhetorical along ethnic lines.
Bacon, 1937). Vanning, a thinly dis- tool in these films, as it replaces the
guised depiction of Lucky Luciano—a failure of these myths and becomes the Fessos
fact not missed by contemporary audi- problem itself. In 1930s Hollywood films, the
ences (“Marked Woman” 66)—dis- The quotation from Scarface ech- gangster was not the only stereotypi-
plays a number of Hollywood’s semi- oed a sentiment expressed before Con- cal, ethnic character that presented
otic signs for Italian ethnicity18 and gress by Representative Robert A. significant challenges to the American
surrounds himself with henchmen Green of Florida in 1928. Green Dream and the Protestant Success
acters and the ridicule of film and

audience alike. These Italians are
complemented by the films’ other
Europeans, the British Aunt Hortense
(Alice Brady) in The Gay Divorcee
and the British Bates (Eric Blore) in
Top Hat, who, although not as clue-
less as Tonetti and Beddini, are
absentminded. Each of these non-
American characters challenges and
questions American myths and ideals
by being both stupid and incredibly

wealthy. They have managed to suc-
ceed without the faculties that are
typically associated with success.
Thus, whereas the gangster abided by
the tenets of the Protestant Success
Ethic in an unusual and subversive
way to achieve an unusual and sub-
versive end, these characters reject the
notion of the Protestant Success Ethic
altogether.
However, although each of these
European characters is scrutinized dur-
ing the film, it is only Rhodes’s Italians
who are not redeemed by the films’
endings.21 The implication is that an
unintelligent Anglo-Saxon will find his
or her way in the world, but an inept
Italian must rely on others. As a result,
the difference between Tonetti and
Beddini and the films’ other obtuse
characters is quite similar to the differ-
ence between the Irish gangsters and
the Italian gangsters. Taken together,
The fesso: Erik Rhodes (right) in Top Hat. Rhodes’s attire and his expression clearly the two stereotypes (gangster and fesso)
mark him as the outsider, and his stupidity becomes one of the recurring jokes establish what amounts to a hierarchy
throughout the film. of ethnicity, with “Italian” resting
somewhere near the bottom. Certainly,
Ethic. Usually, right by the gangster’s correctly in Scarface to a character the comical tone of the films mitigates
side was his brutish, dim-witted side- unto himself in films like The Gay the serious challenges that these char-
kick, the fesso. Fesso literally trans- Divorcee (Mark Sandrich, 1934) and acters pose to American ideals, but far
lates to “fool” and describes an indi- Top Hat (Mark Sandrich, 1935). Com- from being “a relatively innocuous
vidual who is ignorant of the reality pletely removed from his former satire of an Italian” (Casillo 395), the
that surrounds him. In Italian culture, employer, the fesso posed unique, fessos’ ethnicity plays an important role
few fates are worse than that of the though similar, challenges to Ameri- in both the films’ rhetoric and the pub-
fesso, and lessons on how to avoid that can myths. lic image of Italians.
label are viewed as fundamentally The characters of Tonetti in The To embellish their imbecility, the
important for Italian children (Gambi- Gay Divorcee and Alberto Beddini in films develop the fessos as arrogant
no 150). The fesso’s close proximity to Top Hat (both played by Erik and poorly spoken. Tonetti and Beddi-
the gangster has allowed critics to Rhodes)20 are oblivious to the reality ni constantly reference themselves in
ignore his unique characteristics, as that surrounds them, whereas the non- the third person while repeatedly mis-
the challenges the two characters Italian characters are somewhat aware pronouncing words and continually
posed to American ideals were quite of the narratives’ events and their sig- answering questions in an incoherent
similar.19 As the decade progressed, nificance. Tonetti and Beddini are manner. The characters clearly have
the fesso moved from being a brute mocked for their idiocy, and without nothing to be arrogant about, a point
that could not answer the telephone intending to, they become comic char- emphasized by their choice of careers.
Tonetti, a married man, works as a becomes a person they (and hence the those who spoke English correctly
male “correspondent,” and Beddini is audience) wish to avoid. and who understood American collo-
a hot-tempered fashion designer spe- As “escapist comedies,” Top Hat quialisms could feel secure in their
cializing in women’s clothing. Al- and The Gay Divorcee are sometimes intelligence and supremacy when they
though these careers are identified dismissed by reviewers as simply saw the wealthy but ignorant fessos
with opposing gender roles, the films entertainment. However, it is precisely onscreen. In effect, the character ful-
paint both characters as excessively because the films are comedies that filled a psychological need by depict-
feminine with the use of make-up, they are able to deal more directly ing an inferior (Italian) people—a
wardrobe, and Rhodes’s gestures and with issues confronting American people so far removed from “real
movements—a fact that has led Pelle- society. Motion picture comedies Americans” that they were not really
grino D’Acierno to ask, “What better work to liberate viewers by allowing Americans at all. Thus, rather than
revenge, Hollywood-style, against the them to deal with serious social issues being “harmless” comedy, these films
dangerous Valentino cult than to cast a in a more candid fashion (Musser and characters not only questioned
sissy in the role of the gigolo Tonetti 41–42, 65). As a result, critics who American myths but also disparaged a
(‘Your wife is safe with Tonetti, he dismiss the films are missing a strong group of people as they denigrated
prefers spaghetti’)?” (595)
Tonetti and Beddini attempt to com-
pensate for their feminine images with
an excessive sexuality and aggressive-
During the Depression, those who spoke
ness that, one suspects, would empha-
size their masculinity if it were not for English correctly and who understood
the comic manner in which Rhodes
plays these roles.22 As a result, Tonetti American colloquialisms could feel secure
and Beddini inhabit social roles that
are of extremes. This furthers the in their intelligence and supremacy when
films’ rhetoric vis-à-vis the American
Dream, as the characters are not only
shown to be intellectually inferior but
they saw the wealthy but ignorant
also socially inept.
Audience members are not the only fessos onscreen.
individuals who recognize Tonetti’s
and Beddini’s idiocy, as the films’
other characters mock and exploit the sociopolitical critique that lies therein, Italians in an effort to alleviate the
stupidity of Rhodes’s Italians. In The as both films offer significant chal- fears of those non-ethnics affected by
Gay Divorcee, Guy Holden (Fred lenges to American myths. Rather than the Great Depression.
Astaire) tricks Tonetti into believing mitigating the importance of the char-
that the shadows he sees on a wall are acters’ background, ethnicity becomes Tricksters
Holden and Mimi Glossop (Ginger a rhetorical tool that allows the film- The trickster stereotype is not
Rogers) dancing in the next room. makers to mitigate the subversive mes- unique to 1930s Hollywood films, nor
After several minutes of film time sages their films carry. In this sense, is it always applied to Italians (Gar-
(possibly several hours of real time), the mere escapist comedies of Astaire daphé, “A Class Act” 56–57). Some
Tonetti realizes that Holden has fooled and Rogers and the dramatic, much Native American cultures labeled
him when he discovers two paper dolls more often criticized 1930s gangster these characters “coyotes”; African
circling a turntable. Holden has humil- films use ethnicity in a similar fashion. American literature has often featured
iated Tonetti, and the audience’s atten- Ethnicity continues to be a trope that characters that exhibit the characteris-
tion is drawn to Tonetti’s foolishness. allows viewers to distance themselves tics of the trickster, and Charles Mus-
In Top Hat, Beddini’s stupidity is from the dissenting arguments the ser has used the more general term of
linked not with gullibility but would- films offer on the validity of American “bad boy” in discussing filmic visions
be vengeance. Beddini spends the ideals during the Great Depression. of these characters (47). This cultural
entire film paranoid that he is being Once again, Italians are shown to be flexibility is exhibited within Italian
ridiculed, and so, he is constantly in not quite American. versions as well, as actors of Jewish
search of someone to slay. He believes Further, the fesso, whether he came ancestry often play tricksters with Ital-
that this demonstration along with his in the form of Erik Rhodes or the ian names. Such was the case in the
money will prove his love and win gangster’s sidekick, offered an air of 1930s when the Jewish Chico Marx24
Dale Tremont’s (Ginger Rogers) heart. superiority to the non-ethnics in the played Italians with names like Fausti-
This mindset only alienates him from audience. During the Depression, a no, Corbaccio, Ravelli, Fiorello (an
the film’s other characters, as Beddini time of insecurity and self-doubt,23 obvious reference to the then-mayor of
New York City), Chicolini, and Bar-

avelli.25
Like the gangster and the fesso, the
trickster poses significant challenges
to American ideals. The characters are
manipulative, disloyal, and unintelli-
gent (in a traditional sense). They
change jobs frequently, and they lie in
order to succeed. In Duck Soup (Leo
McCarey, 1933), Chicolini switches
sides during a war, only to switch back
to Rufus T. Firefly’s (Groucho Marx)

army when he believes Firefly’s side
has more food. Hence, Chico’s Italians
make whatever decision is to their best
advantage, but unlike the gangster this
self-centeredness is not seen to be
unique to Italians in these films. Other
characters also espouse such selfish
outlooks, and the trickster’s power
comes in large part from his ability to
recognize this shared characteristic.
In addition to being acutely aware
of the self-centered nature of those
that surround them, Chico’s tricksters
also recognize the fallibility of the
world they inhabit, the unjust values of
upper class institutions, and the cor-
rupted validity of the American Dream
and the Protestant Success Ethic. Liv-
ing in chaotic and unjust worlds where
traditional values would lead only to
failure, tricksters are forced to adapt to
survive and succeed. The villains in
these films are those who cling to or
are associated with such corrupt social
institutions (Winokur 131). As a re-
sult, the audience accepts and ap- The Marx Brothers’ comedies use Chico’s tricksters to incorporate a critique of eth-
plauds what would otherwise be seen nic stereotypes into the more overarching critique of American myths and ideals.
as subversive, as they root for the un-
traditional triumphs of these social result, individuals who are usually to empower Italians by mocking the
outsiders. In A Night at the Opera scorned, such as Chico’s Italians, are very stereotypes that they represent,
(Sam Wood, 1935), for instance, the elevated in status and celebrated for and they further empower the Jewish
audience roots for Fiorello when he their ability to simultaneously succeed Chico as they allow him to break
kidnaps Rudolpho Lassparri (Walter and criticize the establishment. through the socially prescribed bound-
Woolf King), because Lassparri has Thus, although the gangster, the aries of his own ethnic identity.27 Chi-
been obstructing Ricardo Baroni’s fesso, and the trickster are similar in co’s performances, then, criticize the
(Allan Jones) love and career. Thus, that they all question American myths, prejudices held against not only Ital-
the chaotic nature of the world they the rhetorical use of their shared eth- ians but other ethnicities as well.28
inhabit and the immorality of their nicity varies. Rather than using a char- Reducing the rhetoric regarding eth-
enemies excuse Chico’s tricksters acters’ ethnic identity to mitigate the nicity to a single character in the Marx
from the moral standards that dramat- films’ subversive messages, the Marx Brothers’ films, however, is somewhat
ic characters are held to. The audience Brothers’ comedies use Chico’s trick- reductive. In A Night at the Opera,29
then bases their judgment of these sters to incorporate a critique of ethnic Fiorello, Tomasso (Harpo Marx), and
tricksters on the goals they are stereotypes into the more overarching Baroni, all Italian characters, find
attempting to achieve, which are critique of American myths and themselves on a ship bound for the
almost always well intentioned. As a ideals.26 As a result, the tricksters seek United States. As stowaways scroung-
ing for food, they are forced to flee the The traits that are so admirable and cans, despite the ethnic habits that tra-
authorities. Meanwhile, their pseudo- simultaneously laughable in Fiorello, ditionally identified them as “inferior”
partner, Otis B. Driftwood, played by Chicolini, and many other Italian char- outsiders.
Groucho Marx, dines with the boring acters found in the comedies of the
and pretentious elites. Such a disparity Marx Brothers are scornful when they Conclusion: Yesterday and Today
in existence emphasizes both the manifest themselves in the gangsters Although the economic and social
injustice of social institutions and the and the fessos of other 1930s Holly- climate of the United States has
arbitrary nature of wealth and privi- wood films. What is disparaging in changed since the 1930s, the Italian
lege. Driftwood is equally disloyal, Little Caesar, Scarface, Top Hat, and stereotypes of the past persist. In each
and yet he eats plentiful meals and The Gay Divorcee, however, takes on case, changes have occurred, and the
enjoys luxurious living quarters. an opposite meaning given the very characters have genuinely evolved.
As they move throughout the ship, different context of the Marx Broth- Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), the
the three stowaways happen on a cel- ers’ films. Here, the Italian is not a modern-day gangster, now lives in the
ebration held by the steerage passen- murderous hood nor is he a wealthy suburbs and sees a psychotherapist.
gers. Based on their prior experiences,
Fiorello, Tomasso, and Baroni are not
optimistic about their chances of The traits that are so admirable and
securing a meal. However, almost
without asking, their plates are filled
with spaghetti, meats, and breads.
simultaneously laughable in Fiorello, Chicolini,
They eat a bounteous dinner (typical
of an Italian festa or festival) and then and many other Italian characters found in the
entertain themselves and their fellow
shipmates (most, if not all, of whom comedies of the Marx Brothers are scornful
conform to the semiotic image of Ital-
ians found in 1930s Hollywood when they manifest themselves in the
films)30 with music and dancing.
Fiorello and Tomasso even share a
few intimate moments with the Italian
gangsters and the fessos of other 1930s
children, and all are having an enjoy-
able time.31 This laudatory endorse- Hollywood films.
ment of Italian customs and Italian
identity is particularly remarkable
when one considers that outsiders idiot. He is just a poor individual try- Joey Tribbiani (Matt Le Blanc) of
often held such celebrations in con- ing to get by—a situation that Depres- Friends carries on the tradition of the
tempt (Mangione and Morreale 172). sion-era audiences would have sympa- fesso, occasionally surprising his
There is a cut to the pretentious elites thized with. Further, by featuring vil- friends with an astute comment, but
who are now looming over the steerage lainous characters that accept the usually remaining clueless. And the
passengers. Lassparri spots the three stereotypical image of ethnics without now-syndicated Seinfeld (1990–98)
stowaways and points them out to the question and by making this belief features George Costanza (Jason Alex-
authorities. The powers that be descend system part of their downfall, the roles ander) who demonstrates that the Ital-
on Fiorello, Tomasso, and Baroni, and confronted the establishment’s atti- ian trickster has become more abrasive
capture them. In a few short moments, tudes toward ethnics, and in particular while his world has become less
the establishment has managed to quell Italians, and undermined them. As chaotic. Each of these characters con-
any happiness and has replaced it with Mark Winokur has suggested, “The tinues to challenge the American
chaos. For the characters and the audi- Marx Brothers are a fantasy of not Dream and the Protestant Success
ence, singing, dancing, plentiful food, feeling shame at the gaps in one’s edu- Ethic by either corrupting the tenets of
generosity, and happiness are confront- cation in the hegemony, of instead these ideals or by achieving success
ed by greed and jealousy and trans- turning the tables and assigning shame without espousing them. Italian eth-
formed into a night in the detention to the cultural hegemony that imposes nicity continues to be a rhetorical
cabin. Despite the exaggerated depic- shame on the suppressed minority” trope that distances “non-disenfran-
tion of Italian characters and customs, (158). Chico’s Italian tricksters be- chised” viewers from the subversive
this scene endorses the worldview of come heroes in the films by overcom- messages these works offer. Nonethe-
the steerage Italians as they find much ing an unjust society that harbors less, Soprano, Tribbiani, and Costanza
more happiness, friendship, and mean- unjust prejudices toward ethnic indi- are neither as destructive nor as
ing in their lives than their rich coun- viduals. As a result, the films encour- uncomplicated as their 1930s counter-
terparts do in theirs.32 age audiences to accept ethnic Ameri- parts.
nated against or viewed as somehow

different. It is not to suggest that Ital-
ians do not continue to suffer the
effects of these stereotypes. However,
it is to suggest that the “plight” of Ital-
ians in the twenty-first century is far
removed from the plight of Italians in
the 1930s. Italian Americans are no
longer viewed as outsiders and have
generally become members of the
white establishment. It is now other
ethnic and racial minorities that have

become the targets of hate crimes,
sometimes instigated by Italians,33 and
it is Middle Eastern males who are
questioned simply because they are
Middle Eastern males. Questioning
the patriotism of Italians seems to be a
thing of the past.34
Furthermore, Italians have moved
into a position of power within the
media industries, and their depictions
are no longer limited to a series of
stereotypes. On television, The Prac-
tice (1997–present) features attorney
Jimmy Berluti (Michael Badalucco).
Presidential campaign director Bruno
Gianelli (Ron Silver) appears on The
West Wing (1999–present), and Dr.
Robert Romano (Paul McCrane) is a
surgeon on ER (1994–present). In
films, Italian characters have become
white-collar office workers and shop
owners in Jungle Fever (Spike Lee,
1991) and small business owners in
Return to Me (Bonnie Hunt, 2000).
Cradle Will Rock (Tim Robbins,
1999), a film set in Depression-era
New York City, includes a scene that
illustrates the divisive effects that
Mussolini’s rise to power had on Ital-
ian American families, as Aldo Sil-
The modern-day gangster: James Gandolfini (right) as Tony Soprano in the HBO
television series The Sopranos. Although markers of Italian ethnicity are present, the vano (John Turturro) argues with rela-
sociocultural context that surrounds the production and reception of Italian charac- tives over the validity of Mussolini’s
ter types has changed. policies. Finally, television shows such
as Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–
Robert Casillo has written that very different from today, and herein present) and films such as Big Night
many of the 1930s gangster films lies a major difference between Rico (Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott,
“neglect the deeper causes—histori- Bandello and Tony Soprano. Whereas 1996) and Mac (John Turturro, 1992)
cal, cultural, and sociological—of eth- Rico appeared at a time when wide- not only expand this wide range of
nic crime: the gangster’s behavior is a spread social prejudice against Italians Italian personalities but also celebrate
given” (Casillo 399; italics in the orig- was connected with institutional mea- Italian ethnicity. Often these films and
inal). Indeed, there was a time in sures that sought to deport and segre- television shows are written, directed,
American history when Italians were gate them, Tony Soprano appears at a produced, created, and acted by Italian
marginalized and when institutional time when anti-Italian prejudice is Americans. Unfortunately, by focus-
prejudice was connected with stereo- greatly diminished. This is not to sug- ing so intently on The Sopranos, Ital-
typical portraits. It was a time that was gest that Italians are not still discrimi- ian American groups have missed an
opportunity to applaud the multitude ethnicity.39 In the second episode of the led to a mass protest by thousands that
of Italian characters offered by today’s series, “46 Long,” Tony’s henchmen ended with the lynching of eighteen of the
nineteen Italians. More recently, in May
media and have reduced the diversity travel from coffeehouse to coffeehouse 1993, a senior United States district judge
that exists to a single program, which trying to track down an individual to offered the following statement when sen-
they then remove from its sociocultur- whom Tony would like to speak. As tencing three mobsters to life in prison: “I
al context. Italian Americans, as a they visit more and more establish- believe there is a large part of the young
group, have made a great deal of social ments, Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri Italo-American community that should be
discouraged from going into this line of
and economic progress since the (Tony Sirico) becomes more and more work” (LaGumina 2–3).
1930s, but this point has been lost or incensed. Eventually, he offers, 3. For a more thorough discussion of
ignored by today’s anti-Sopranos pro- “Fuckin’ Italian people! How do we the complexities of The Sopranos, see Gar-
tests, which offer the impression that miss out on this? . . . Fuckin’ expresso! daphé, “A Class Act.”
Italians continue to feel as marginal- Cappuccino! We invented this shit, and 4. See the Immigration Act of 1924.
ized as other cultures. all these other cocksuckers are gettin’ 5. For a more detailed discussion, see
Mangione and Morreale, 293–301.
In addition, The Sopranos offers a rich off of it. . . . And it’s not just the 6. Many refer to the sons and daughters
much more complicated viewing money. It’s a pride thing. All our food, of immigrants as first generation, arguing
experience than most previous visions pizza, calzone, buffalo mozzarella, that the immigrants themselves were not
of the Italian gangster did. In fact, olive oil. These fucks have nothing. Americans but Italians. I prefer to refer to
Gardaphé has argued that Tony Sopra- They ate ‘pootsie’ before we gave them the immigrants as first-generation Italian
Americans, as I believe my immigrant
no and his cohorts symbolize the the gift of our cuisine. This? This is the great-grandparents believed they were
assimilation of Italians into American worst. This expresso shit.” By depicting Americans.
society, as Tony and his family con- ethnic characters that accept and in this 7. Charles Musser notes that early cine-
front many of the same issues that case protect their ethnic identity and ma “imposed an essentially assimilationist
non-ethnic Americans face today.35 culture, the series defies the homoge- ideology on its diverse, often immigrant
audiences” (40).
Nonetheless, Italian American de- nizing effects of Americanization in a 8. According to Carlos Clarens, Daryl
fense groups continue to hold this fic- time when Americanization is both a Zanuck added introductions to both Little
tional program36 to a standard of real- national and an international norm.40 Caesar and The Public Enemy in 1931,
ism, arguing that the percentage of Thus, the characters of The Sopranos which means the prologues were in place
Italian American characters who are tend to resist being relegated to the just before or very soon after their initial
releases. The introduction that precedes
gangsters far outnumbers the actual espresso and cappuccino at the local Scarface, Shame of the Nation was added
number of Italian Americans involved Starbucks and instead seek to secure at the request of the Production Code
in organized crime. This reductive ap- success without relinquishing their eth- before the film’s release in 1932 (57).
proach to the series oversimplifies or nic roots. This is a vastly different mes- 9. Jim Cullen has defined the faith that
even ignores some of the reasons for sage from the one offered by Little Cae- lies behind the American Dream as “Any-
thing is possible if you want it badly
its popularity with both audiences and sar, Scarface, Top Hat, and The Gay enough” (53).
critics. Divorcee. The Sopranos as well as 10. In an otherwise stellar analysis of
Still another difference between The many of the other television series and gangster films, Clarens argues that Bandel-
Sopranos and the gangster films of the features films of approximately the last lo “did not convey an ethnic background”
1930s is their impact on the desire of ten years are not efforts to perpetuate (56) and that Paul Muni “acted like an
immigrant all right, though not quite Ital-
ethnic viewers to assimilate. In 1930s the message of assimilation or discrim- ian” (87). As Clarens does not define how
Hollywood films, ethic characters ination but rather attempts to preserve someone would act Italian, it is difficult to
abound, and Italian character types are and celebrate ethnic ties. determine the meaning of his assertions.
only one example of a more general Clarens does claim that Camonte’s immi-
trend.37 Overall, these characters ACKNOWLEDGMENTS grant mannerisms and habits are slowly
replaced with more American speech pat-
blamed the failure of American myths I wish to thank Professor Kevin Hagopi- terns as the narrative progresses, but
on ethnicity and simultaneously en- an of Penn State University and Professor Clarens does not sufficiently differentiate
couraged assimilation as the charac- Fred L. Gardaphé of SUNY–Stony Brook between Italian mannerisms and other eth-
ters’ ethnic behaviors were scrutinized for their valuable suggestions in the prepa- nic/immigrant mannerisms.
ration of this article. 11. In a scene that Bosley Crowther
and discouraged and their assimilation
applauded. Audience members who NOTES labeled “one of the cruelest and most star-
tling acts ever committed on film” (qtd. in
spoke with accents38 were thus stigma- 1. In 1999, actor Matt Le Blanc, who Clarens 61), Tom Powers smashes a grape-
tized and encouraged to distance plays the character of Joey Tribbiani on fruit into his girlfriend Kitty’s (Mae
themselves from any ethnic habits Friends, was awarded the National Italian Clarke) face.
they might have had. This conformity American Foundation Entertainment 12. Although there are vague discussions
promised them anonymity but helped Achievement Award. of other murders that Powers has commit-
2. In New Orleans in 1891, for ted, none are ever specifically discussed,
to homogenize American society. instance, when nineteen Italians were nor are they shown onscreen.
Today, several episodes of The acquitted of the murder of Chief of Police 13. Although the film treats this moment
Sopranos preserve the idea of Italian David Hennessey, fears of an Italian mafia with a comic touch, it is worth noting that
a similar event actually took place. After ability to impede the romantic desires of 29. A Night at the Opera was made at
his boss, Samuel “Nails” Morton, died in a Mimi and Guy Holden is subverted. Simi- MGM after the commercial failure of the
horseback riding incident, Louis “Two larly, in Top Hat, Bates (Blore) confesses Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup had forced
Gun” Altieri shot and killed Morton’s that, while masquerading as a clergyman, them out of Paramount. Henry Jenkins has
horse (Clarens 60). he “married” Beddini and Tremont. Beddi- argued that character motivation became
14. In this way, Massara also challenges ni stands in shock and does not respond to more important in these later Marx Broth-
American myths. Viewers must question Jerry Travers’s (Astaire) question about ers films and that the Marx characters took
what role Massara’s criminal ties have why he (Beddini) is in Tremont’s room. on a role that supported more conventional
played in his success in a highly competi- The film dissolves to a shot of Jerry Travers narrative patterns. In this film, according to
tive field. and Tremont dancing, and then fades out. Frank Krutnik, the Marx Brothers assume
15. Unlike the family of The Public Ene- 22. Although he works as a male “corre- the role of supporting characters that assist
my, the dysfunctional family depicted in spondent,” Tonetti frequently calls his wife in the realization of Baroni’s romantic
Scarface does not encourage viewers to and is upfront about his profession. During interests. See Jenkins and also Krutnik.
sympathize with Tony Camonte. Tony is one of these phone calls, Tonetti hears a 30. Most seem to have an olive complex-
not a child growing up with a merciless deep voice in the background and becomes ion (which is again difficult to discern in a
and emotionally distant father. Instead, he enraged when he suspects his wife’s infi- black and white film, but their skin is cer-
is a known gangster, whose mother re- delity. He is quickly calmed, however, tainly darker than the non-Italian charac-
quests that he assume the role of father and when his wife explains that the deep voice ters). They have dark hair, and many of the
disciplinarian. These actions are morally heard in the background is that of his nine- men have moustaches. In addition, the
questionable at best, and they—along with year-old son. Tonetti hangs up the phone characters are dressed not in suits or ele-
Tony’s incestuous attraction to his sister— and happily tells Astaire and Rogers that gant dresses but rather in what might be
ensure the disgust and disdain of audi- he cannot believe his nine-year-old’s voice labeled ethnic costumes.
ences. is already changing (which, of course, it is 31. Jenkins has argued that such star
16. When Rico comes to Magdalena for not). This scene evidences both Tonetti’s turns in film sometimes have little to no
protection from the police, she shelters hypocritical jealousy and his stupidity. It is narrative motivation (145). However, in
him but only out of self-interest. With Rico the classic example of a fesso. this case, the incident demonstrates the
deprived of places to turn, she effectively 23. See Kennedy or Terkel. vast degree of difference between two life-
steals his money by giving him $150 and 24. Chico is pronounced Chick-O, not styles and is vitally important in formulat-
keeping the rest. This is done not to teach Cheek-O, and originally referred to Marx’s ing the film’s rhetoric regarding ethnicity.
Rico a lesson but to allow Magdalena to love of women. Chico, along with his 32. This instance harkens back to earlier
profit herself. With Magdalena’s behavior famed brothers, would star in fourteen Marx Brothers films, in which, according
mirroring Rico’s prior criminal mindset, Marx Brothers’ films. to Mark Winokur, the brothers “do not act
Rico is plunged into poverty. 25. Musser has argued that the Marx as if they wish to be included in [the con-
17. In Little Caesar, the Palermo Club is Brothers’ characters should be viewed as ventional] world at all” (140).
for all intents and purposes a gangsters’ Jewish, despite Jenkins’s claim that they 33. In 1989, for instance, Yusuf Haw-
fraternity in which awards are given for never played specifically Jewish charac- kins, a sixteen-year-old African American,
despicable acts, and the First Ward Social ters. Key to Musser’s contention is a and three of his friends, also African
Club of Scarface gets a new gangster/pres- moment in Animal Crackers (Victor Heer- Americans, entered the Bensonhurst sec-
ident each time their former president/ man, 1930), a relatively early Marx Broth- tion of Brooklyn, an area that is populated
gangster is murdered. The films infer that ers film, in which it becomes apparent that predominantly by Italian Americans. They
every individual who is a member or a Ravelli (Chico) is masquerading as an Ital- were chased by a group of thirty whites,
patron of these obviously Italian clubs is ian. Focusing so intently on a single and Hawkins was shot and killed. Two
guilty of criminal activity. instance in the Marx Brothers’ oeuvre, years later, when the Reverend Al Sharpton
18. These characters have dark hair and however, discounts the audience’s experi- led a march through Bensonhurst to protest
what appears to be olive skin and wear the ence, as it is unlikely that viewers would Hawkins’s murder, an Italian American
neatly tailored suits, trench coats, and hats remember a single line in an early film or male, wielding a knife, approached Sharp-
that have come to be associated with char- that that single line would frame their ton and stabbed him.
acters like Rico, Tony Camonte, and a entire experience of other Marx Brothers’ 34. This, of course, was not always the
number of Hollywood’s other Italian films. Further, Ravelli’s admission does case. For a discussion on the evacuation,
American gangsters. not necessarily apply to the separate char- internment, and treatment of Italians dur-
19. Clarens, for instance, refers to acters of Fiorello, Chicolini, or any of the ing the early years of World War II, see
Camonte’s social secretary (played by other Italians characters that Chico played. DiStasi.
Vince Barnett) in Scarface as a “tiny, stu- See Musser, 63–69. 35. See Gardaphé, “A Class Act.”
pid hood” (95). 26. In an interview in 1970, Groucho 36. This is not to argue that the series is
20. Ernest Sharpe was born on February said of Duck Soup, “We were trying to be “just entertainment,” as some prominent
10, 1906, in El Reno, Indian Territory funny, but we didn’t know we were satiriz- Italian Americans have suggested. Such a
(now Oklahoma). After adopting the name ing the current conditions. It came as a shallow approach completely discounts the
Erik Rhodes, he became a stage actor and great surprise to us” (qtd. in Jenkins 186). idea that television and film reflect the cul-
enjoyed a brief Hollywood career from Whereas the Marx Brothers were apparent- tures in which they are produced or
1934 to 1939. Rhodes played twenty-five ly ignorant of the larger social critiques received. Furthermore, it insults the indi-
roles in six years and became the master of found in their films, many critics and theo- viduals involved in the production of what
the fesso, playing characters with names rists have been quick to identify them. is both art and a cultural artifact.
like Spadissimo and Spaghetti Nacio. 27. Because Chico could shed and 37. Racial character types are also abun-
21. At the end of The Gay Divorcee, resume ethnic identities at will, he became dant in American film history. For a
Tonetti stands by helplessly while the wait- an assimilated American. His ethnicity was detailed investigation of this topic, see
er (Blore) exposes Cyril Glossop (Walter no longer a prison but rather a choice. Bogle.
Austin) as the married Professor Brown. 28. For a more detailed discussion, see 38. Accents, although a valid reminder
Because Glossop is already married, his Rogin. of an ethnic past and a small signification
of the difficulties of immigration, are Heritage. Ed. Pellegrino D’Acierno. Comedian.” Classical Hollywood Com-
reduced in these films to an objectionable Garland Reference Library of the edy. Ed. Kristine Brunovska Karnick
and indisputable trait that singles out non- Humanities, Vol. 1473. New York: Gar- and Henry Jenkins. AFI Film Readers
Americans. land, 1999. 563–690. Ser. New York: Routledge, 1995. 17–38.
39. Central to this contention is the iden- Dika, Vera. “The Representation of Ethnic- LaGumina, Salvatore J. Wop! A Documen-
tification that viewers feel with the charac- ity in The Godfather.” Francis Ford tary History of Anti-Italian Discrimina-
ters of The Sopranos. Despite his deviation Coppola’s The Godfather Trilogy. Ed. tion. 2nd ed. Toronto: Guernica, 1999.
from conventional American norms, Tony Nick Browne. New York: Cambridge Mangione, Jerre, and Ben Morreale. La
Soprano is attractive to viewers because he UP, 2000. 76–109. Storia: Five Centuries of the Italian
faces many of the same challenges and DiStasi, Lawrence, ed. Una Storia Segreta: American Experience. New York: Har-
complications that non-ethnic or other eth- The Secret History of Italian American perPerennial, 1992.
nic viewers confront in contemporary Evacuation and Internment during “Marked Woman.” Time Magazine Apr.
American society. See Gardaphé, “A Class World War II. Berkeley: Heyday, 2001. 19, 1937: 66.
Act.” “Drive for Law to Deport 6,000,000 Aliens Musser, Charles. “Ethnicity, Role-playing,
40. See Barber. Will Be Organized All over the Coun- and American Film Comedy: From Chi-
try.” New York Times June 23, 1935, sec. nese Laundry Scene to Whoopee (1894–
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Barber, Benjamin R. Jihad vs. McWorld: Gambino, Richard. Blood of My Blood: and the American Cinema. Ed. Lester D.
How Globalism and Tribalism Are The Dilemma of the Italian-Americans. Friedman. Chicago: U of Illinois P,
Reshaping the World. New York: Ballan- 2nd ed. Picas Ser. 7. Toronto: Guernica, 1991. 39–81.
tine, 1996. 2000. Rogin, Michael. Blackface, White Noise:
Bergman, Andrew. We’re in the Money: Gardaphé, Fred. “A Class Act: Under- Jewish Immigrants in the Hollywood
Depression America and Its Films. standing the Italian/American Gang- Melting Pot. Berkeley: U of California P,
Chicago: Elephant, 1992. ster.” Screening Ethnicity: Cinemato- 1996.
Bogle, Donald. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, graphic Representations of Italian Shohat, Ella, and Robert Stam. Unthinking
Mammies, & Bucks: An Interpretive Americans in the United States. Ed. Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the
History of Blacks in American Films. Anna Camaiti Hostert and Anthony Movies. New York: Routledge, 1994.
New York: Bantam, 1974. Julian Tamburri. Boca Raton, FL: Bor- Terkel, Studs. Hard Times: An Oral Histo-
Busch, Noel F. “Joe Di Maggio: Baseball’s dighera, 2002. 48–68. ry of the Great Depression. New York:
Most Sensational Big-League Star ———. Italian Signs, American Streets: Pantheon, 1970.
Starts What Should Be His Best Year So The Evolution of Italian American Nar- Warshow, Robert. “The Gangster as Tragic
Far.” Life May 1, 1939: 62–69. rative. Durham: Duke UP, 1996. Hero.” Partisan Review Feb. 1948:
Casillo, Robert. “Moments in Italian- Hellman, Geoffrey. “Thinker in Holly- 240–44.
American Cinema: From Little Caesar wood.” The New Yorker Feb. 24, 1940: Winokur, Mark. American Laughter:
to Coppola and Scorsese.” From the 23–28. Rpt. in Frank Capra: The Man Immigrants, Ethnicity, and 1930s Holly-
Margin: Writings in Italian Americana. and His Films. Ed. Richard Glatzer and wood Film Comedy. New York: St. Mar-
Ed. Anthony Julian Tamburri, Paolo A. John Raeburn. Ann Arbor: U of Michi- tin’s, 1996.
Giordano, and Fred L. Gardaphé. Rev. gan P, 1975. 3–13.
ed. West Lafayette: Purdue UP, 2000. Immigration Act of 1924.
394–416. Jacobs, Lea. The Wages of Sin: Censorship
Clarens, Carlos. Crime Movies: From Grif- and the Fallen Woman Film 1928–1942.
fith to The Godfather and Beyond. New Madison: The U of Wisconsin P, 1991. JONATHAN J. CAVALLERO is an associ-
York: Norton, 1980. Jenkins, Henry. What Made Pistachio ate instructor and Ph.D. student in the
Cramer, Richard Ben. Joe DiMaggio: The Nuts? Early Sound Comedy and the Department of Communication and Cul-
Hero’s Life. New York: Simon and Vaudeville Aesthetic. New York: Colum- ture at Indiana University–Bloomington.
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Cullen, Jim. Born in the U.S.A.: Bruce Kennedy, David M. Freedom from Fear: turer and a master’s degree candidate at
Springsteen and the American Tradi- The American People in Depression and The Pennsylvania State University. His
tion. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. War, 1929–1945. New York: Oxford UP, articles have appeared or are forthcoming
D’Acierno, Pellegrino. “Cinema Paradiso: 1999. in VIA: Voices in Italian Americana, Ital-
The Italian American Presence in Amer- Krutnik, Frank. “A Spanner in the Works? ian Americana, and Pennsylvania English.
ican Cinema.” The Italian American Genre, Narrative and the Hollywood
Cop Rock
REVI
Unsung Series and

Musical Hinge in
Cross-Genre Evolution
By GEORGE PLASKETES
Abstract: Hindsight and context reveal that, despite its critical and
commercial failure, Steven Bochco’s police musical/drama Cop
Rock (ABC, 1990) represents a plausible progression of permission
and possibility for music and narrative in television. The unsung
series might be viewed as a musical muse and martyr that fore-
shadowed the further exploration and integration of music into dra-
matic and comic narratives. As a hinge linking Dennis Potter’s The
Singing Detective (BBC, 1986) with contemporary television
series, Cop Rock quietly cultivated creativity and cross-genre aes-
thetic advancement.
Key words: Bochco, Steven; Cop Rock; musical narrative; The

Singing Detective; television
64
SITED
O n the June 10, 2001,

edition of CBS’s cultur-
al magazine show Sunday
Morning, media critic John
Leonard invoked the television title
Cop Rock in the lead to his review of
ranged from “ambitious, innovative,
risky, and audacious to baffling, off-
putting and irritatingly odd” (B. Carter
25).
Hindsight and context reveal that,
despite its critical and commercial
Rouge and A Knight’s Tale. In televi-
sion, Bochco’s series served as a step-
ping stone or hinge between Potter’s
The Singing Detective and comedies
and musical dramedies, particularly
Ally McBeal and other musical epi-
the film Moulin Rouge. The citation failure, Cop Rock represents a plausi- sodes of series including The Drew
was a curious connection, or resurrec- ble progression for the police genre Carey Show, Chicago Hope, and Buffy
tion, considering that the Steven during the inaugural MTV era of the the Vampire Slayer. Retrospection
Bochco–produced police drama/musi- 1980s into the 1990s and beyond. reveals that Cop Rock quietly cultivat-
cal lasted a mere half-season, eleven Bochco borrowed, blended, and blew ed creativity and contributed dramatic
one-hour episodes on ABC in 1990 up formulaic fragments from the musical license to various productions
(September 26–December 26). In con- genre, including conventions from two and cross-genre formal and aesthetic
trast, director Baz Luhrman’s anachro- of the decade’s touchstone series—his advances.
nistic, romantic musical spectacle—a own Hill Street Blues and Michael
three-ring Cirque du Soleil, rock Mann’s stylish Miami Vice. At the Steven Bochco: Beginning
popera, garage collage of farce and same time, Bochco paid homage to a Blue Streak
folly—received considerable recogni- Dennis Potter’s farcical British televi- I think what is amazing about my career
tion, including an Academy Award sion productions Pennies from Heaven is that I’ve never had any specific goals
nomination for Best Film. (1978) and, more specifically, The and ambitions. I like the process. I like
Bochco’s experimental Fame meets Singing Detective (1986). the work. I have no idea what I’ll do
Hill Street Blues medley was a formu- Cop Rock also might be viewed as a next.
la for failure. The fusion was better musical muse and martyr that fore- —Steven Bochco
(qtd. in Christensen 82)
suited for stage rather than the small shadowed the further exploration and
screen. Television audiences were not integration of music into dramatic and Television series, like any cultural
ready for crooning cops, suspect sere- comic narratives. Thus, it may not be product, are subject to numerous indi-
nades, junkies jammin’, and judge and critical hyperbole to suggest, as vidual, collaborative, organizational,
jury jingles from week to week in a Leonard does, that Cop Rock’s lyrical sociocultural, and economic condi-
dramatic series. Responses to Boch- legacy can be linked to the Napster tions and circumstances that collec-
co’s police project from audiences, approach to postmodern pop/rock tively foster or hinder their inception,
ABC affiliates, advertisers, and critics period pieces in film such as Moulin development, distribution, and success
65
or failure. Production ethnographies, prime-time drama and pioneered what The Soap Copera: Hill Street
authorship studies, and literature on would become central elements of Blueprint, Broadway, and the BBC
innovation suggest that, within televi- Bochco’s stylistic signature: large
sion, the development of an unconven- ensemble casts featuring ten to fifteen [It would not make sense to invite com-
parisons with a breakthrough program
tional form, such as Cop Rock, may be relatively unknown actors and actress- like Hill Street] unless you find a com-
determined by variables such as a pro- es playing complex characters, serial pellingly different way to reach people.
ducer’s or production company’s track storytelling with multiple plotlines And music reaches people; it reaches
record and relationship with a net- that weave in and out of an episode them underneath their flak jackets.
work, a producer’s ability to operate and take weeks to resolve, absurdist —Steven Bochco (qtd. in B. Carter 34)
“outside” the normal organizational humor, fast-paced scene changes, and
channels, the competitive environment a gritty cinematic realism. During the 1980s, conventions of
between networks and their positions Collaborator David Milch was the police/crime genre on network
in the ratings, and programming exec- among many who characterized Boch- television were largely redefined by
utives’ willingness to take risks and co as a “Wunderkind,” adding that the the cluttered, gritty realism of
allow a show time to cultivate an audi- adulation from his acclaimed shows Bochco’s Hill Street Blues and the
ence (Ettema and Whitney). (Hill Street and L.A. Law) perhaps pulsating pastels of Mann’s Miami
In 1987, Steven Bochco left NBC, tempted Bochco “to think that he Vice (NBC, 1984–89). According to
the network that had nurtured much of could do anything” (Christensen 81). broadcast programming lore, the idea
his success as a writer–producer. After Some of Bochco’s post-Hill Street for Miami Vice originated from a
turning down an offer to be president projects and his inaugural ABC note—“MTV Cops”—scribbled by
of CBS Entertainment, Bochco signed endeavors reinforce Milch’s notions of NBC Entertainment President Bran-
an unprecedented ten-year, ten-series, Bochco’s indulgence in creative don Tartikoff. Mann used Jan Ham-
$50 million guaranteed contract with whimsy. For example, Bay City Blues mer’s theme and score, along with
the ABC network. The deal was ideal (NBC, 1983), a minor league baseball popular songs performed by original
and unusual by any creator’s stan- drama with a big league budget, artists, to create a striking soundtrack
dards, as it represented both financial rivaled Fred Silverman’s Supertrain that linked music to story the same
and artistic freedom. If one of (ABC, 1979) as one of the biggest way composer Henri Mancini did in
Bochco’s ideas was rejected or a show financial fiascos in broadcast televi- the 1950s with Peter Gunn.1
ran fewer than the standard thirteen- sion history. Production costs included Bochco and Mann took somewhat
episode run before renewal, Bochco set design consisting of a stadium built divergent paths of progress with the
was still paid and paid well. Cancella- exclusively for the show and crowds sequels to their successes. Mann chose
tion compensation was $1.5 million. hired at $85 per person per day. The the retro route with Crime Story (NBC,
More staggering to industry observers investment did not pay off as the series 1986–88), a cop and mobster Untouch-
was the stipulation that Bochco would lasted only four episodes. ables update set in Chicago in 1963.
own the rights to his shows. One of the notable programming The only hint of Miami Vice in the
To ABC, whose prime-time sched- trends that emerged in the 1987–88 show was the opening theme, which
ule at the time lacked prestigious and prime-time schedule was the come- featured a revamped version of Del
successful programs, Bochco was an dy/drama hybrid labeled “dramedies,” Shannon’s 1961 hit “Runaway.” With
investment in high ratings, hits, and represented in series such as the one- his next project, Bochco looked beyond
respectability. Bochco was proven hour Mooonlighting (ABC) and half- the commercial viability and creative
product, a writer–producer with an hour series The Days and Nights of convenience of duplicating Hill Street
impressive track record, particularly Molly Dodd (NBC), Frank’s Place Blues in its entirety.2 He was particular-
for police and detective series. His cre- (CBS), The Wonder Years (ABC), and ly interested in advancing the use of
ative cop credits date back to the The “Slap” Maxwell Story (ABC). music beyond the norms of soundtrack.
1960s as a writer for the NBC series Bochco’s contribution to this sub- Bochco’s vision was vaudevillian; he
The Bold Ones and The Name of the genre, Hooperman (ABC), featured was inspired by both Broadway and
Game. His 1970s work includes John Ritter as a San Francisco detec- British productions, specifically the
Columbo, McMillan and Wife, Richie tive. According to Bochco, the show work and vision of Dennis Potter,
Brockelman, Private Eye, and the CBS “just popped out of my face . . . the whose characters frequently break into
series Delvecchio starring Judd Hirsch whole thing came to me in five min- song, miming the words from old
and Paris featuring James Earl Jones. utes” (qtd. in Christensen 76). In 1989, recordings. “I think [The] Singing
In the 1980s, Bochco established him- when Hooperman ended its two-sea- Detective is possibly the best seven
self as one of television’s top creators son run, Bochco paid tribute to his hours of television I’ve ever seen. Peri-
of drama with two groundbreaking father, a child prodigy violinist, with od; without qualification,” Bochco said.
shows for NBC—Hill Street Blues Doogie Howser, M.D., another half- “It gave us permission, at least internal-
(1981–87) and L.A. Law (1986–94). hour dramedy series about a sixteen- ly. Creatively, it gave me permission to
Both series introduced new candor to year-old physician. do Cop Rock” (“Bochco/Potter”).
Cop Rock Revisited 67
In addition to Bochco’s admiration

for Potter’s productions, he considered The songs were helicopter search lights, plainclothes
officers, and swarming S.W.A.T.
a suggestion to adapt Hill Street Blues central to the teams in a frenzied, break-the-door-
to Broadway as a musical. Although down descent on a crack house—the
the theatrical project did not material- narrative, serving nervous camera, shadowy, low light-
ize, the seeds of song for a small-
screen “soap copera” had been sown.
essential dialogue ing, gritty realism, and urban setting
are vintage Bochco, with a hint of the
“Why not reverse it [the idea of a purposes of providing reality camcorder cop series Cops
police musical], I thought; bring it to
this medium [television],” said Bochco
information, (Fox).
Cop Rock’s unflinching violence,
(qtd. in B. Carter 33). Mike Post, one advancing the plot, unsettling plot twists, frank dialogue,
of television’s busiest and best music realism, and intensity rise above the
composer–arrangers, cautioned Boch- and revealing levels of other television dramas. A car
co about the costs and creative risks of character chase involving cops and a red-
producing a weekly television musi- light–running van squealing and
cal. Despite the words of discourage- and emotion. swerving through streets and alleys
ment from his friend and collaborator, appears like standard stock from cop
Bochco proceeded and even convinced formulas seen in C.H.i.P.S or T.J.
Post to be the show’s musical produc- Newman composed and performed Hooker until the pursuit climaxes with
er despite his reservations. Cop Rock’s main title theme “Under a graphic shootout near a playground
Post’s concerns about the elaborate the Gun” and wrote the pilot episode’s and a slain officer, which establishes
nature of such a production appeared 5 songs. However, the cost of keeping the “cop killer revenge” theme. During
well founded. Every stage of the a company of songwriters of New- an interrogation in “the box,” a deter-
process, from pre-production to post- man’s caliber on a weekly song-on- mined detective tortures a suspect by
production, presented unusual prob- demand basis was not feasible. In sub- forcing him to drink hot coffee after
lems that required special planning sequent weeks, six to eight lesser each question until he urinates in his
and puzzle solving. Casting weekly known songwriters were assembled pants. As the storyline develops, the
guest roles had to be based on the per- under Post’s musical direction. The same renegade detective shoots a
formers’ abilities to not only act but to group included Amanda McBroom, bound suspect point blank and be-
sing and dance as well. Complicated who wrote the song “The Rose,” and comes a heroic avenger to the squad.
rehearsals required an eight-day-per- Donnie Markowitz, who won an Oscar The lone dissenter is the captain, who,
episode shooting schedule, one more for the song “I Had the Time of My like Hill Street’s head Frank Furillo,
than standard for an hour-long show. Life” in the film Dirty Dancing. represents the busy precinct’s moral
The editing process was also demand- Bochco eventually hoped to enlist center.
ing as it required mixing music and other popular artists, such as Paul In addition to Bochco’s usual mas-
dialogue tracks. The cumulative result Simon and Billy Joel, as special guest terful exploration of the gray areas of
was a budget for Cop Rock that ex- composers for episodes. Another long- the law through cops who often resem-
ceeded the average cost for a one-hour term musical goal was to compile the ble criminals, there is characteristic
show by nearly 40%, translating into show’s best songs into a Cop Rock contrast in partners: male/female,
approximately $1.3 million a week to soundtrack. “My anxiety with Cop young/old, black/white, clean/corrupt.
produce. Rock wasn’t whether it would be a hit, Sprinkled in for comic relief are a few
The fragmented formula for the but whether we could actually do the offbeat characters, such as a pistol-
series required two creative staffs, one damn thing and get it on the air every packing police chief who duels with a
for the script and one for the songwrit- week,” said Bochco of the production mechanical gunslinger in his office
ing, music, and choreography. Bochco process (qtd. in Tucker 65). closet for spontaneous rounds of target
envisioned 5 original songs per epi- The “Hill Street Blues on Broadway practice.
sode, with no cover versions and no via the BBC” blueprint became Cop The familiar dramatic narratives
lip-syncing. Projected over a season of Rock on September 26, 1990, at 10 shift into diverse song and dance inter-
twenty-two episodes, that meant 110 p.m. (EDT) on ABC. True to its novel vals that substitute for action and dia-
songs would have to be composed, design and framed by Bochco’s signa- logue. Following a drug bust, a group
performed, and choreographed within ture style of storytelling, characteriza- of apprehended suspects who are be-
conventional dramatic scenes. The tion, and production values, Cop ing escorted into squad cars begin rap-
songs were central to the narrative, Rock’s premiere fused familiar con- ping a response in a handcuffed chor-
serving essential dialogue purposes of ventions of the police/detective genre us, taunting the arresting officers, “In
providing information, advancing the with traditional elements of the musi- these streets, we got the power.” A
plot, and revealing character and emo- cal. From the opening scene—a clut- junkie mother croons a lullaby on a
tion. Popular singer–songwriter Randy tered, nocturnal collage of hovering bus stop bench before selling her baby.
A police line-up becomes a threaten- Lynch/Mark Frost surreal “sap opera”

ing chorus line. A cop’s eulogy is a The critical set in a timber town in the Pacific
spiritual. Some of the production num- consensus Northwest; Elvis, a bio-drama of Elvis
bers border on spectacle: Homeless Presley’s early years; The Young Riders,
people emerge from under a bridge concluded that a revisionist Western about Pony
into the streets to perform an exten-
sively choreographed musical number
the show needed Express recruits; and America’s Funni-
est Home Videos, a contemporary Can-
reminiscent of the “Be a Pepper” long- to be de-Famed; did Camera and programming precur-
form television commercials for Dr. sor to the current reality show trend.
Pepper or the pop star Pepsi ads show- the shotgun Cop Rock exceeded ABC’s ambi-
cased during the Grammy Awards in marriage of tious agenda for “different” program-
the 1980s. The mayor does her best ming in excessive, not to mention
Helen Reddy roar about graft and cor- musical fantasy expensive, form and fashion. Howev-
ruption from atop her office desk. A
jury delivers its verdict in a rousing
and inner city er, in this case, deviant distinction
meant demise. “Viewers do seek a
gospel choir fashion, with the entire mayhem just did comfort level in programs and the
courtroom swaying and clapping to
the beat. Other performances seem
not work. music can create some discomfort and
probably has,” said Iger of Cop Rock,
better suited for animated Disney sounding like a programming doctor
tales. A forensics specialist sings a for- Bochco for his creative courage, they diagnosing an ailment or, perhaps
lorn love ballad in his dimly lit den. also got carried away with cute in their more appropriately, a coroner at an
The good captain listens to his wife’s columns, using playful pity in para- autopsy (qtd. in Roush). Cop Rock
lyrical lament about “watching my phrased epithets pronouncing the went from an off-Broadway audition
dreams and wishes drown in dirty police project “Flop Rock” and “Cop to off-television as the series was can-
dishes.” Still others are farcical. An Wreck.” The critical consensus con- celed in December after eleven
agitated yuppie, watching his BMW cluded that the show needed to be de- episodes.3
being impounded after being busted Famed; the shotgun marriage of musi- Iger’s assessment of the audience’s
for buying cocaine in a seedy parking cal fantasy and inner city mayhem just uneasiness may have been understat-
lot, wails a pseudo-soulful “I want my did not work. Although programming ed. Bochco himself likely was aware
Beemer back.” executives at ABC pledged patience, from the show’s conception that he
they were not encouraged by the initial might be committing telecide with his
Singin’ the Blues: “Flop Rock,” ratings response to the series. “When small-screen “soap copera.” Fusing
“Cop Wreck,” and De-Fameing you try something as different as Cop fragments of Tin Pan Alley, Disney,
the Force Rock, you have to be prepared as a pro- Broadway, and MTV with a realistic
Despite a heavy promotional cam- grammer for the fact that it is just not police drama was a drastically differ-
paign, which included trailers in movie going to work,” said ABC Entertain- ent, if not discomforting, experience
theaters (an uncommon marketing ment President Robert Iger (qtd. in for viewers. The musical medley both
strategy for television series at the Roush). The struggling third-place net- challenged and violated standard
time), Cop Rock could not sustain suffi- work was committed to developing expectations inherent in the genre. The
cient audience numbers beyond the ini- shows that “created different experi- singing was incompatible with charac-
tial episode’s curious crowd. Nor was ences” for viewers. From 1989 to 1990, ter and continuity and too often inter-
there a groundswell of support from in addition to Cop Rock, ABC boldly rupted the narrative flow. Minus the
critics. Although many commended introduced Twin Peaks, the David music, Cop Rock’s storylines and char-
Cop Rock title: Firing false notes? Judge and jury deliver a gospel rendition of the verdict in an episode of Cop Rock.
acters combined to create a quality sode’s closing three minutes. A scene

drama comparable to any on televi- Bochco depicting a coffin catapulting through
sion, including Bochco’s best. Yet, the himself likely the sky toward its final resting place in
musical interludes became intrusions a lake as Procol Harum’s “A Whiter
that fostered apprehension and mis- was aware Shade of Pale” plays (“We tripped the
placed anticipation of the next song
rather than plot twists or character
from the show’s light fantastic. . . .”) is emblematic of
the meditative codas to the narratives
arcs. The singing sequences demanded conception involving fictional Cicely, Alaska’s,
that viewers suspend disbelief and bal- colorful characters, their relationships,
ance intense emotionalism with farce that he might and rural rituals.
and absurdity of characters who be committing Pop star cameos also became com-
appeared to have trained with Debbie monplace, especially during competi-

Allen at a dance academy rather than telecide tive ratings sweeps periods. Sound-
at a police academy.
Cop Rock’s colliding conventions
with his track synergy also emerged, just as
Bochco had envisioned with Cop
were so incongruous that the show small-screen Rock. One-hour dramatic series, par-
could not even manage “acquired
taste” status beyond the initial curiosi-
“soap copera.” ticularly those with key teen demo-
graphic appeal such as Melrose Place
ty attraction of the pilot episode. In (Fox) and Party of Five (Fox),
subsequent weeks, when viewers were ferred camcorder cops. Low-budget, spawned accompanying music collec-
presumably better prepared for the reality-based dramatic crime re-cre- tions of songs featured in the shows.
show’s musical elements, the distrac- ations and missing person crusades By the late 1990s, soundtracks were
tion did not diminish; the show’s rat- emerged as a programming trend in established as a standard across genres
ings dwindled. In the end, Bochco’s Cop Rock’s immediate wake. The on networks and cable. Shows ranging
creative vision was undermined as video vérité variations included from Dawson’s Creek (WB), Gilmore
much as anything by the venue itself. Unsolved Mysteries (NBC)—hosted Girls (WB), and Providence (NBC), to
Even with music video established for by a trio of ex-television cops Robert Friends (NBC) and Scrubs (NBC), to
nearly a decade by MTV in the Amer- Stack, Raymond Burr, and Karl Mal- The X-Files (Fox) and The Sopranos
ican cultural experience by the time den—Top Cops (CBS), Cops (Fox), (HBO) were among the expanding cat-
Cop Rock premiered in 1990, the FBI: The Untold Stories (ABC), alog of television music.
musical in its more traditional form Secret Service (NBC), True Detectives An increasing number of series
did not translate well to the confines of (CBS), and Stories of the Highway began to devote at least one of its
television sets in living rooms. Cop Patrol (Syndicated). twenty-two episodes in a season to a
Rock was better suited to a theatrical Music continued to be widely inte- special musical production, often pre-
stage and setting where audiences grated into other comic and dramatic sented in some fantasy form or dream
expect characters to sing their lines, a presentations during the same period, narrative. Recent examples include
point that Bochco himself concedes: although not on the scale of Cop Rock. That 70s Show (Fox), which marked
Northern Exposure’s (CBS, 1990–95) its 100th show in 2001 with a musical
In retrospect, I think the show embar-
rassed viewers—it made them uncom-
use of music was arguably the most episode featuring The Who. On
fortable to see characters bursting into eclectic, captivating, reflective synthe- Scrubs, a comedy that uses numerous
song in a TV drama. When we tested the sis of soundtrack and storyline on tele- unconventional production techniques,
pilot for groups of people, it always vision, particularly during each epi- including Wonder Years–style voice-
went over great. Now I realize it was
because we had a group of people
together, as you would in a Broadway
theater. But watching it in your living
room, it came off more like Uncle Joe,
loaded at Thanksgiving, with a lamp
shade on his head and singing “Sweet
Sue.” (qtd. in Tucker 65)
Musical Interludes: Scenes,

Soundtracks, and Small-Screen
Spectacle
In the early 1990s, creators of
crime-time television series did not Hospital staff of NBC’s comedy series Scrubs perform their own version of West Side
take a musical cue from Bochco’s cho- Story.
rus of cops. Instead, producers pre-
over commentary, young interns trans- the Cleveland cast’s watering hole, the leagues hovering over him appear as
form Sacred Heart Hospital into song Warsaw Tavern. lounge lizards lip-syncing Dean Mar-
and dance scenes from West Side tin’s “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head.”
Story. Perhaps the most stunning Cop Rock Crossovers: Music and The setting smoothly shifts from
stage-like presentation can be found in Medicine, Lyrics and Lawyers emergency room to nightclub with the
Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s (UPN) I’m singing because it’s easier than talk- singing doctors dressed in tuxedos,
musical episode “Once More with ing. It’s like a mask; it’s one step from leaning against a bar. Various medical
Feeling,” a surreal, small-screen spec- reality. personnel check charts and push mor-
tacle featuring original singing per- —Dr. Jeffrey Geiger, phine drips in criss-cross choreogra-
formances by the cast. Promoted as a Chicago Hope (1997) phy through the scene. The visual tran-
“special television event,” the episode sition is one of several seamless
was nominated for an Emmy Award, Every time she speaks it sounds like a segues. In another, as the anesthetized
song to me.
and complete versions of all the songs Shutt drifts off into oblivion, the cam-
are compiled in an original soundtrack —Client to Ally McBeal, era pans from the operating room into
Ally McBeal (2002)
recording. a recording studio where the staff
Elaborate mini-production numbers A 1997 musical episode of the med- rehearses, once again with lyrical
have become a distinguishing trait of ical drama Chicago Hope (CBS), cre- tongue-in-cheek, “Well I think I’m go-
The Drew Carey Show (ABC). The ated by Bochco protégé David E. Kel- ing out of my head / Over you.”
blue-collar comedy’s opening title ley, simultaneously mirrors Cop Rock Melody and movement mix well
tunes—the Vogues’ “Five O’Clock and magnifies some of its generic mis- with all things medical. The set, props,
World” for two years and, in subse- calculations.4 Elements such as set- and iconography supply a more natur-
quent seasons, a cover version of Ian ting, soundtrack, and the subconscious al backdrop for a musical production
Hunter’s “Cleveland Rocks”—have combine to make the presentation than the streets, tenements, alleys,
been accompanied by large-cast chor- more accessible as a musical. guns, speeding cars, and low-watt in-
eography. Flamboyant productions The storyline centers around neuro- terrogation rooms of a police drama. A
over a number of seasons include a surgeon Dr. Aaron Shutt, who is hospital’s interiors intrinsically re-
Full Monty strip routine, a rowdy stricken with a life-threatening brain semble a stage set, from the emer-
dance-off outside a midnight showing aneurysm. The script establishes mu- gency room entrance to the colorful,
of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, sic as the central narrative thread when checkered floors of linoleum to the
and a musical fantasy sequence with the cantankerous Shutt collapses in long hallways leading to luminous
Carey explaining his escape from a pain to the floor of a convenience store operating rooms. Studio-like props
mental institution to Leo Sayer’s while trying to unplug an annoying abound: carts and charts, tubes and
“Long Tall Glasses.” In 1999, the old-timey, tin-roll piano locked in an operating tables, X-rays and exit signs,
series commemorated its 100th unrelenting “Red Red Robin” loop. monitors and machines. Characters
episode with an ambitious “Brother- Shutt’s perilous condition not only appear in costume, wearing scrubs,
hood of Man” production adapted grounds the story with an inner logic gowns, lab coats, and masks, accented
from How to Succeed in Business that lacked in Cop Rock’s episodes, it with accessories such as stethoscopes
without Really Trying. Its 2001 season provides permission for a surreal, and syringes.
premiere, “Drew Carey’s Back to soul-searching sing-along involving Within this setting, the singing is
School Rock and Roll Comedy Hour,” friends, family, and colleagues. As less intrusive; music is a staple of
features Sugar Ray, Uncle Kracker, Shutt is gurneyed down the halls of the surgery, recovery, and bedside manner.
Motorhead, Joe Walsh, Peter Framp- emergency room, the disabled doctor Diverse production numbers become
ton, SHeDAISY, and Smash Mouth at is in delirious drift. His cloudy col- an ethereal narrative for Shutt as he
confronts his mid-career crisis, clashes
with colleagues, and life choices and
changes. The performances are play-
ful, among them a roller-skating
nurse’s flirtatious Melanie classic
“Brand New Key,” the hard-line chief
surgeon’s soft and supportive gender
reversal of Helen Reddy’s “You and
Me against the World,” and the surgi-
cal staff in a coordinated Elvisian coif
and costume chorus of Frankie Vali
and the Four Seasons’ “Walk Like a
Chicago Hope’s homage to Dennis Potter’s The Singing Detective. Man.” An elaborate, full-cast song and
dance routine to Frank Sinatra’s “Luck
Be a Lady” fuses fear and fate into novel appeal for audiences, creators,
benediction moments before Shutt’s For television and casts. Audiences are willing to tol-
delicate surgery. When a complication series, especially erate, if not welcome, a refreshing
suddenly arises during the procedure, diversion from the weekly, often weak,
a multiple monitor montage chronicles those merging formulaic storylines. Likewise, writ-
Shutt’s life in music video fashion
with Jimi Hendrix’s electric version of
music with ers, producers, and performers have a
rare opportunity to temporarily deviate
“All Along the Watchtower” playing. narratives, from the norm and construct a cre-
The song and dance details delightful- atively convenient, “anything goes”
ly and faithfully mirror Dennis Pot-
location may not atmosphere, often in the form of flash-
ter’s The Singing Detective and, to a be everything, backs, fantasies, or dream sequences
lesser degree, elements of Cop Rock. for their characters and storylines. In
The homage is undeniable as the brain but it certainly addition, the special episodes usually
surgeon brought in to operate on Shutt does make benefit from extensive promotion as
is named “Denise Potter.” “viewing events,” which better pre-
The episode illustrates subtleties a difference. pares the audience and modifies con-
between singing and soundtrack. ventional expectations.
Whereas Cop Rock opts exclusively Cop Rock’s telecidal mission mag-
for authenticity with the cast perform- yet the method amplifies the incon- nifies the “one-episode musical” as the
ing original compositions, Chicago gruity between the music and narra- safe standard, the genre and audience
Hope goes the safer route with its tive’s dramatic realism. allotment for a series. It is highly
medical staff lip-syncing familiar As always, there are exceptions. In unlikely that Chicago Hope would
songs. Other than Shutt’s off-key Sina- the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical, have succeeded had it been designed
tra, the only character who actually the characters sing original songs. The solely as a musical series. Conversely,
sings is Dr. Jeffrey Geiger (played by disparity again lies in the setting. The it is safe to speculate that Cop Rock
Mandy Patinkin), whose numbers horror/fantasy realm of Buffy’s dark might have lasted longer minus the
include a shivering falsetto cover of underworld is theatrical, thus con- music. And Bochco likely could have
the Jackson Five’s “I’ll Be There” and ducive to creepy choruses, singing arranged a musical extravaganza with
a vaudevillian “Red Red Robin,” spirits, and dancing demons. For tele- Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, or NYPD
which echoes Shutt’s convenience vision series, especially those merging Blue, as long as it was limited to a sin-
store collapse. The production and music with narratives, location may gle episode.
casting nuance is that Patinkin, in not be everything, but it certainly does There is one network program that
addition to being a Tony Award–win- make a difference. provides a series rather than single
ning actor, is an established recording Incorporating musical elements into episode frame of reference for music
artist who specializes in show tunes.5 a storyline of a single episode is obvi- and narratives, however. The same
Although both dramas deal with life ously less complicated than sustaining season that the Chicago Hope musical
and death situations, Chicago Hope’s singing from week to week as the aired, its creator David Kelley expand-
costume karaoke approach signals a basis for an entire series. Cop Rock ed elements of the experimental hospi-
more fanciful presentation. Cop clearly demonstrates that the pitfalls tal episode into Ally McBeal (Fox), a
Rock’s characters singing original, outweigh the possibilities when pro- flighty, one-hour legal dramedy that
unfamiliar tunes may be a slight con- ducing a weekly musical. A single closely approximates Cop Rock’s
trast to lip-sync and cover versions, episode or special production contains musical ambitions. Obscure singer
Vonda Shepard is cast as an accompa-
nist on the show. She not only per-
forms the opening theme “Searchin’
My Soul,” which became a hit single,
but is cast in dual roles as a maestro
and meandering muse. Shepard’s
piano-driven, bluesy cover-song sere-
nades thread scenes with moods and
motifs, provide glimpses of leading
lady Ally’s thoughts and emotions,
and serve as nightclub karaoke clas-
sics for lawyers looking for love and
A Chicago Hope operating room becomes Chicago Hope surgical staff in an
libation at the local lounge.
a recording studio lined with singing sur- Elvisian coif and costume chorus of
geons. “Walk Like a Man.” Beyond Shepard, music is manifest
in many variations throughout the
show. “You get the feeling sometimes night landscape. In July 2002, one of
the song comes first, and David [Kel- Cop Rock those rare Cop Rock citations material-
ley] writes the story and script around demonstrates ized from the files of failure. This one
it,” says producer Steve Robin (qtd. in was predictably less complimentary
C. Carter). Swinging stall door song how fragments than John Leonard’s literate linking of
and dance numbers are common in the
law firm’s unisex bathroom. Ally’s
of failure are Cop Rock with Moulin Rouge on Sun-
day Morning. In an article in its July
therapist, played by Tracey Ullman, capable of 20–26 issue, TV Guide presented a list
encourages clients to have a personal of “The 50 Worst Shows of All Time.”
“theme song.” The cavalcade of musi-
floating and Cop Rock ranked number 8.
cal cameos includes Sting, Elton John, finding themselves The deriding distinction is typical of
Mariah Carey, Tina Turner, Al Green, Cop Rock’s legacy. Predictably, the pre-
Gladys Knight, Gloria Gaynor, the Bar- in other forms dominant view is that Cop Rock is more
rys—White and Manilow—and teen and fashions. laughable than legitimate. Attributing
baritone Josh Groban. Jon Bon Jovi’s some sense of impact, influence, or
appearance led to a nine-episode acting inspiration to such a critical and com-
stint. Conversely, Robert Downey, Jr.’s, efited from having another legal series mercial failure is a premise likely to be
role resulted in several musical in prime time on another night, The regarded as ridiculous and easily reject-
moments for him, including an “Every Practice [ABC], where he could use ed on any level. Even minuscule men-
Breath You Take” duet with Sting and serious storylines.) The settings and tions such as those by Leonard should
an impressive rendition of Joni situations on Ally McBeal were safer, not be misconstrued as literate lobbying
Mitchell’s “River.” Other cast mem- often surreal, and sometimes silly. for Cop Rock’s lofty place in broadcast
bers’ rock star and neon-Broadway fan- Places make musical performances programming history. Any acclaim for
tasies routinely surface in minor, self- permissible and plausible. This prima- the show from critical corners risks
indulgent subplots that evolve no far- ry distinction is demonstrated deftly in revealing one of the potential perils of
ther than the nightclub stage with Shep- the opening musical montage of Ally the auteur approach, that is, emphasiz-
ard’s piano accompaniment in scenes McBeal’s series finale in May 2002. ing the creator over the work itself, an
that often conclude episodes. As episode fragments frantically flash evaluative blindspot that can elevate an
In its five seasons (1997–2002), before a wistful Ally in Wonderland— undeserving production to a level of
Ally McBeal generated more than 400 an urban Dorothy swirling in her inner aesthetic quality.
songs or musical performances. On tornado—she cries out, “But what Likewise, it is a comparable critical
the surface, that total is striking, espe- about the music?” The record-scratch convenience to emphasize only suc-
cially for a show not billed exclusively sound effect abruptly interrupts, and a cessful texts—those leading in the rat-
as a musical presentation. Yet, projec- voice-over clarifies, “It’s a fantasy!” ings, charts, box-office sales, and crit-
tions of Bochco’s aims with Cop Rock For punctuation, the law firm’s famil- ical kudos—and neglect or ignore the
(5 or 6 songs per episode, multiplied iar bathroom stall door opens, and failures, overlooking any value they
by the standard 22 episodes for a Barry Manilow appears, singing may contain. Cop Rock demonstrates
series, equals 100–120 songs per sea- “Even now. . . .” how fragments of failure are capable
son) would have exceeded 400 and set of floating and finding themselves in
a precedent for music and drama. Ally Fusion’s False Notes: Permission other forms and fashions. Just as the
McBeal also fulfills Bochco’s vision and Possibility; Homage and Hinge short-lived series’ significance should
for musical guests, composers, and not, and likely never will, be overstat-
When we first did Hill Street, people
soundtrack synergy. The series’ songs didn’t get it at all. Then they kind of
ed, its value should not be dismissed,
were compiled into four soundtracks accepted what we were doing. And once especially when placing the produc-
featuring Vonda Shepard: Songs from they accepted it, it really did kind of tion within the context of genre evolu-
Ally McBeal (1998), Heart and Soul: change the rules of dramatic television. tion and cross-genre contributions.
New Songs from Ally McBeal (1999), I think we can potentially do the same The individual works that make up
[with Cop Rock]; I think we can expand
A Very Ally Christmas (2001), and Ally what’s possible.
any genre represent stepping stones or
McBeal: For Once in My Life (2001). links in its evolution. Whether the
—Steven Bochco (qtd. in B. Carter 34)
Ally McBeal may lose a hypotheti- steps are big, small, or stumbling, the
cal hindsight battle of the bands by the Twelve years after its final episode, series of inventions and conventions
numbers, but its five seasons dominate Cop Rock lingers in obscurity as a embodied in narratives unfold and
Cop Rock’s mere eleven episodes. The televersion of the B-film, albeit with- develop, defining and redefining a
reasons are obvious. Whether single out a B-movie budget. Its scant eleven genre over a period of time. Following
episode or series, producer Kelley episodes are barely enough to block a Hill Street’s and Miami Vice’s impor-
places music in a different dramatic “cult classic” court, cop, or comedy tant advances within the police/crime
context than Bochco. (Kelley also ben- mock marathon in cable’s kitschy late genre’s evolution in the 1980s, Cop
Rock’s inventive steps further explored Hay as an omnipresent street musi- did not air the show. As NYPD Blue’s rat-
and expanded the parameters of the cian turned serenading stalker. Hay, ings, critical acclaim, and advertising rev-
enues increased, so did the number of sta-
genre’s familiar conventions. “If you the former frontman for the “Big
tion programmers who abandoned Rev-
look at a 30-year curve, television has ’80s” group Men at Work, strums an erend Donald Wildmon’s conservative
gotten much better, and you can’t stop acoustic rendition of their hit cause for Bochco’s Blue bandwagon.
its progress,” Bochco said. “We’re “Overkill” while shadowing rumpled 3. Cop Rock’s swift demise did not
moving forward, like it or not. Take a medical intern J. D. Dorian from his deter Bochco from his risk-taking
approach as a creator of television drama.
long look at television and you realize home to the hospital.
His ensuing project in 1992 was Capitol
it just continually becomes smarter, In an episode of the family drama Critters, an animated series set at the
broader in its appeal, more sophisticat- 7th Heaven (WB), the father, Eric White House, featuring vermin—rats,
ed” (qtd. in Tucker 65). Camden, undergoes heart bypass mice, and roaches—as its central charac-
More markedly, Cop Rock signals a surgery. While under anesthesia, Cam- ters. The series’ run was shorter than Cop
Rock’s, lasting a mere four episodes. In
subtle shift on the television time line den hallucinates that he is Elvis Pres-
1995, Bochco’s Murder One (ABC) devi-
that extends beyond its own genre. By ley. Costumed variously in black ated from conventional law dramas by fol-
importing The Singing Detective and leather, gold lame, and a spangled lowing one case for the entire twenty-two
integrating its elements within the Vegas jumpsuit, Camden delivers El- episodes. The timing of the series suggests
police/crime programming progres- versions of “All Shook Up,” “Don’t Be the concept may have been inspired, in
part, by the exhaustive coverage of the O.
sion via Cop Rock, Bochco accom- Cruel,” “Teddy Bear,” and “Rock-A-
J. Simpson case.
plished more than mere homage to Hula Baby.” 4. Bochco mentored Kelley as a writer
Dennis Potter. Cop Rock represents a These musical moments are deja on L.A. Law. The two also worked closely
hinge, a pivotal point on the door of view; they are distant duets that nod to together on Doogie Howser, M.D.
possibility. Just as The Singing Detec- Ally McBeal, her karaoke cast, and 5. When Shutt confronts his long-time
colleague Geiger—“Hey, why is that your
tive gave Bochco “permission” to cre- queen Vonda Shepard, and Buffy’s
real voice? Stop with the singing! I have
ate Cop Rock, Bochco, in turn passed singing spirits. Hay’s unplugged never liked your singing. Never!”—it
along similar lyrical license to other cameo is Warsaw Tavern worthy of the becomes subtext, a reference to critical
producers to explore the further varia- Drew (Carey) crew. Eric Camden mir- reviews that have widely characterized
tions of music and narratives, whether rors Aaron Shutt in Chicago Hope’s Patinkin’s voice as an “acquired taste.”
situation comedy, dramedy, police, operating room. The evolution of these WORKS CITED
law, hospital, horror, or family dramas. musical interludes can be traced to
“Bochco/Potter.” Edge. Prod. Bill Shebar.
By the 2002 television season, the 1990 with Cop Rock. Then, a few 13 WNET/BBC-TV PBS. 1992.
police/crime genre was so prevalent homage(nous) steps farther to 1986 Carter, Bill. “Why Bochco’s Cops Say It
that the network prime-time schedule with The Singing Detective. with Music.” New York Times Sept. 23,
appeared to be wrapped in the yellow Although Cop Rock will routinely 1990: 34–36.
“police line” tape that outlines a crime be recognized among the “Worst Carter, Chelsea J. “Performers Still Flock
to Music-Happy ‘Ally.’ ” Atlanta Jour-
scene. From Dick Wolf’s Law & Or- Shows of All Time,” it nonetheless nal-Constitution Feb. 1, 2002: E2.
der franchise on NBC, which includes remains an unsung series. Cop Rock’s Christensen, Mark. “Bochco’s Law.”
Special Victims Unit and Criminal consequence is as a hinge, a preface of Rolling Stone Apr. 21, 1988: 75–82.
Intent; to Jerry Bruckheimer’s highly permission and possibility for music Ettema, James S., and D. Charles Whitney,
rated CSI (CBS) series, its Miami and narrative in television. Cop Rock’s eds. Individuals in Mass Media Organi-
zations: Creativity and Constraint. Bev-
clone, and Thursday night companion fusion, fragments, and false notes may erly Hills, CA: Sage, 1982.
show Without a Trace; to Boomtown not resonate; rather its residue and rel- Roush, Matt. “Should Programs Court the
(NBC) and all precincts, perpetrators, evance ripple as a reminder beneath Cutting Edge? Bold Moves Are Reward-
and points in between, prime time has the surface of small-screen scenes and ing.” USA Today Oct. 30, 1990: 3D.
become a place crawling with cops, soundtracks. It is there that Cop Rock Tucker, Ken. “A Blue Streak.” Entertain-
ment Weekly Oct. 11, 1996: 62–65.
corpses, coroners, and forensics whispers; it winks; it whistles a faintly
experts. However, none of the charac- familiar television tune.
ters in television’s crime spree and GEORGE PLASKETES is a professor of
NOTES
nightly police line-up sing or dance. radio-television-film in the Department of
Although there may be little evi- 1. Because the songs were performed Communication and Journalism at Auburn
by the original artists, Miami Vice’s pro- University in Alabama. He is the discogra-
dence of Cop Rock at the scenes of the ducers spent an average of $50,000 per
current crime wave in television’s dra- phy editor for Popular Music & Society
episode for music licensing rights. and author of Images of Elvis Presley in
mas, its remnants continue to reveal 2. Perhaps the closest Bochco comes to American Culture, 1977–1995: The Mys-
themselves in other popular prime- producing a Hill Street Blues sequel is with tery Terrain and a variety of journal arti-
time productions. The season pre- NYPD Blue, which premiered on ABC in cles on music, television, film, and popular
1993, complete with content controversy. culture. He has yet to see or hear any of the
miere of the increasingly musical Conservative groups targeted the show,
Scrubs in NBC’s prestigious Thursday local cops sing at the gym where he and his
objecting to its sex, profanity, and vio- wife work out every morning.
night line-up featured singer Colin lence. Initially, 57 of 225 ABC affiliates

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On: 15 March 2015, At: 03:03

Journal of Popular Film and Television

Gangsters, Fessos, Tricksters, and Sopranos: The

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JPFT.32.2.49-73

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Abstract: Throughout the 1930s, Italian characters challenged

The gangster: Paul Muni as Tony

acters and the ridicule of film and

by being both stupid and incredibly

New York City), Chicolini, and Bar-

to Rufus T. Firefly’s (Groucho Marx)

nated against or viewed as somehow

ethnic and racial minorities that have

Unsung Series and

Key words: Bochco, Steven; Cop Rock; musical narrative; The

O n the June 10, 2001,

In addition to Bochco’s admiration

A police line-up becomes a threaten- Lynch/Mark Frost surreal “sap opera”

acters combined to create a quality sode’s closing three minutes. A scene

appeared to have trained with Debbie monplace, especially during competi-

Musical Interludes: Scenes,

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