“Police squad!” ” created by the immortal comedy trio of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, debuted on ABC on March 4, 1982, and for four glorious weeks, all was right with the world. ZAZ’s unique brand of slapstick, previously seen in the films “The Kentucky Fried Movie” (which they wrote) and “Airplane!” (which they wrote and directed), took aim at stone-faced police procedurals like “Dragnet,” resulting in a sublime parody that was too funny to experience. Leslie Nielsen played Joe Friday-like Lt. Frank Drebin, and he was a master at delivering ultra-silly dialogue with a completely straight face. I would tell a few gags here, but they are too numerous to list, and we should be able to experience them without being disturbed. Critics naturally loved the series.
But after four weeks, “Police Squad!” was taken off the air, the victim of poor ratings. The following July, the final two episodes were burned during the summer rebroadcast season. The series, with only six episodes under its belt, has retained a passionate cult following, leading to the production of a feature film, “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” in 1988. The film, unlike the series, was a huge success, spawning two sequels in 1991 and 1994, and a remake in 2025. The success of “The Naked Gun” also spawned a significant wave of slapstick imitators throughout the 1990s. Some of them were fine.
Unfortunately, there will be no “Police Squad!” » reunion soon, unless you have a shovel. Leslie Nielsen died in 2010, and his many co-stars have also left their mortal bodies since “Police Squad!” stopped broadcasting. Indeed, only one of the central stars of “Police Squad!” stay with us, and we’ll talk about it below.
Peter Lupus (Norberg)
Norberg’s character, played by actor and bodybuilder Peter Lupus, was only present in four episodes of “Police Squad!” He was the serious but lovable doofus, a silly character present to offset Leslie Nielsen’s po-faced performance. It wasn’t a cartoon, but it seemed inclined to join in with the slapstick madness that surrounded it.
Lupus already had a lot of TV credibility when he appeared on “Police Squad!” ”, after playing the character of Willy Armitage in 161 episodes of “Mission: Impossible”. Prior to this, Lupus appeared in several beach party and peplum films, often credited as Rock Stevens. “Rock” starred in films like “Muscle Beach Party” (1964) and played the title character in “Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon” (also 1964). He played Goliath in “Goliath and the Conquest of Damascus” (1965) and Spartacus in “The Gladiator’s Challenge” (also 1965). His size and musculature required a lot of work. In 1974, Lupus gained some fame for a series of nude photos he posed for in Playgirl Magazine.
In the early 1980s, Lupus appeared on many popular television shows for one-off appearances, including “CHiPs”, “Fantasy Island”, “The Love Boat” and “BJ and the Bear”.
After “Police Squad!”, his acting career took a nosedive and he appeared in several low-budget action films that few people saw. Unfortunately, Lupus eventually joined an anti-immigration group assembled by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, once called the worst sheriff in the world. This work was less funny than “Police Squad!” Regardless, Lupus holds several weightlifting records, including lifting 77,560 pounds for a full 24 minutes and 50 seconds…at the age of 75.
The Night of the Living Guest Stars
Every episode of “Police Squad!” featured a special guest star. During the opening credits, the announcer announced the star’s name, and they were shown in a brief vignette, presumably a preview of their upcoming scenes. However, the scenes never happened, as the guest star was still killed off in the vignette. Their screen time never lasted more than 10 seconds.
In the episode “Revenge and Remorse” (or perhaps “The Guilty Alibi”), the special guest is William Shatner. Shatner, playing himself, manages to avoid shots thrown at him by off-screen attackers. He pulled out a gun and returned fire, killing his attacker. He then takes a sip of champagne to celebrate, but discovers that he has been poisoned. William Shatner is a Canadian actor best known for his voice work in the animated portions of the 2001 comedy “Osmosis Jones.” He received two Emmy Awards for his roles in “The Practice” and “Boston Legal.” As of this writing, Shatner is 94 years old and still going strong. He likes horses. He’s a horse guy.
In the episode “Ring of Fear” (or perhaps “The Dangerous Assignment”), the special guest is actor/director Georg Stanford Brown, star of the ABC series “The Rookies.” He’s had a long and prolific career, appearing in films like “Bullitt” and “How to Steal a Million,” and far too many TV credits to list here. He was also a prolific director, directing episodes of “Charlie’s Angels,” “Hill Street Blues” and even an episode of “Police Squad!” He won an Emmy for directing an episode of “Cagney & Lacey” featuring his then-wife, Tyne Daly. His directorial credits are also numerous. Brown has been retired from show business since 2015, but he is still with us at the age of 82.
