Joseph Wambaugh Speaks

Posted on: 09 October 2009 by Thom Ernst

Joseph Wambaugh posing with L.A Police Dog, Hudson

It's amazing how many authors you get to meet while doing a movie show.

Currently, the SNAM team is preparing for an interview with author John Irving to go with the upcoming CIDER HOUSE RULES screening. We also had a chance to meet with Tom Perrotta whose books LITTLE CHILDREN, ELECTION and soon to be released THE ABSTINENCE TEACHER have all been turned into films. We even got to talk to Ambassador E.R. Braithwaite, author of his autobiography, "To Sir With Love" which became a movie he despised.

Wambaugh, the talk-show cop

Authors make for great interviews even when they don't care for the cinematic versions of their stories. Take Joseph Wambaugh for example - ask him about the film version of his book, THE CHOIRBOYS and you're not going to get a feel-good story about the pleasures of seeing your work on the screen.

But Wambaugh has been writing for a long time and nearly every film that has come from his words seems to have translated well (with the exception of THE CHOIRBOYS) to film.

I have just returned from a pre-screening of the Wambaugh show, otherwise known as "Behind the Badge". If you have never seen Wambaugh on the Carson show or otherwise have seen him interviewed, you might be in for a surprise. He served on the L.A. police force for 14 years - several of those years while also enjoying a certain celebrity status which included being a regular on the talk-show circuit. Not bad for a man in blue still nabbing the bad guys and then off to dinner to chat up George C. Scott.

You got to be tough to be a cop. It's not the only necessary quality - add to that a good sense of justice, negotiation skills and patience. The sense of justice, negotiation skills and patience are easy to detect in Wambaugh - his toughness comes through in small glimpses.

Actor Stacy Keach who stars in THE NEW CENTURIONS, Wambaugh's account of the early stages and then later stages of a police career, attests to Wambaugh's ability as a cop. He rode with him a few days before shooting began.

"Behind the Badge" is one of the shows I am particularly proud of. This is a real police story. Wambaugh is engaging, entertaining and straight forward. Some of the things he says may not be what you expect or even want to hear, but all of it is worth listening to.

Actor Scott Wilson talks about his role in The New Centurians

If by the end of the show you are still wanting more Wambaugh (and it's likely that you will) you can check out a feature article I did with him for Toro Magazine.

And when you're done that - go out and by a few of his books. You might be surprised. This is not just police drama - it's police literature.

It's an unwritten understanding that to ask for a photo or autograph after the interview is unprofessional. Here is a photo of me not caring about that unwritten understand.

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