MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - An iconic TV show based and largely shot in Miami-Dade County made its debut four decades ago, and over the next few days South Floridians are invited to a celebration where vice is nice.
“Miami Vice” wasn’t just some hit TV show. It helped create the Miami and Miami Beach we know today.
One of the show’s stars, Edward James Olmos, spoke with 7News on Thursday about the series’ legacy.
“You’ve gotta remember: South Beach was not South Beach when we got there,” he said. “We came in and started to give that area a look, and that look became Miami. And people came from all over the world to see where this program had been shot.”
It’s top of mind this week, at the Miami Vice 40th Anniversary Cast and Crew Reunion, this Thursday through Sunday.
“It’s the first and only time we’ve ever done this, and I don’t think we’ll ever do it again,” said Olmos.
The “Stand and Deliver” star shared an anecdote conveying just how big the show became.
“1984, we were an MTV cop show. If you were in nightclubs, they would stop the music, turn on the TVs and watch the program,” he said. “If you were in a bar, they’d to the same, in a restaurant.”
Olmos is back in the 305 this week to celebrate, and he has a message for the show’s fans.
“I’m very excited. I’d like to say thank you to you personally,” he said.
You’re invited to events like a “Miami Vice” exhibition.
“See the stuff from the show and go, ‘Hey, that’s from ‘Little Miss Dangerous.’ ‘Hey, that’s Don Johnson’s Rolex.’ ‘Oh, my God, that’s the Bren Ten [pistol]” said Derek Hedlund, the mastermind behind the 40th anniversary celebration.
The pop-up exhibition is taking place at the World Erotic Art Museum on South Beach.
“We have so much cool stuff here. We’ve got Don Johnson’s jacket, made from Gianni Versace, when his Daytona blew up, Don Johnson’s real sheriff badge that was issued by the department to him, the Bren Ten that was specifically built for ‘Miami Vice,'” said Hedlund. “We’ve got Olivia Brown’s dresses, her shoes, all the chairbacks, the lips for ‘Little Miss Dangerous,’ 400-plus behind-the-scenes photos.”
Betty Bennett, a script supervisor on the show, started on Episode 2.
“I was the only woman the first two seasons on the set, and I knew all these guys as a little kid,” she said. “I felt like I was in a family,”
Egon Stephan Jr., a camera operator who shadowed his fther on the set, said he had to grow up fast.
“The drug cartel, in real life, was happening, so it was almost like we were seeing it in real life, and then we’re shooting an episode of it,” he said.
It was a smiliar experience for crew member Rick Bravo.
“We were in a helicopter, chasing the boat, and we’re so low-level that that boat came out of the water, and when it hit the water, the bow wave washed over the helicopter and almost took us out,” he said.
They’re all reminiscing four decades later.
“The crew was amazing,” said Olmos.
“The average TV series does about 25 to 30 setups. A setup is when you move the camera, move the camera, move the camera,” said Bennett. “We did anywhere between 65 to 70.”
They do admit it did not feel iconic at first.
“It was a perfect lightning in a bottle, perfect iming,” saud Stephan.
“‘Cause in the beginning, I thought it was going to suck. I was like, ‘Oh, God,'” said Bravo.
The show’s stars, Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, won’t be able to make this weekend’s events, but Olmos attended a lunch on Thursday at the Avalon Hotel on Ocean Drive. More meet-and-greet events are scheduled. For tickets and the schedule, click here.
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