Log 314: What Did You Do This Weekend?

I took a trip to Kansas City

Where I met Kent McCord!

And It wasn't like I just shook his hand, had a brief conversation, got an autograph then left. No, I saw him two days in a row and spoke with him for over an hour! It was so amazing, there are not enough words in the dictionary to describe what I am feeling.

This story starts many months ago when I saw this on Facebook:

As soon as I saw that, I knew I had to get to Kansas City. But how could I get there? I live in South Carolina and I didn't have the money to pay for a flight and a hotel, I also didn't have endless amounts of time to drive there. My problem was solved when it was announced that we would be getting bonuses at work. Now I had the funding to fly there. Which meant I would only have to take 1 or 2 days off from work. I requested vacation time and booked my flight and hotel. I was on my way.

After walking around with a goofy smile on my face for weeks, I finally left for Kansas City on Friday, March 13th. As I was sitting on the plane I kept thinking, "This is crazy! What am I doing? I am flying hundreds of miles to meet an actor from a TV show, this is nuts!" Once I landed in Kansas City, my thoughts alternated between "this is nuts" and "this is gonna be great". I kept vacillating between excitement and apprehension as I picked up my rental car and drove to the hotel. 

Once I checked in, ate lunch, and unpacked it was time to go to the con. As I entered the hall my legs felt like Jell-o and my heart was about to pound right out of my chest. I almost chickened out, I couldn't meet Kent in this condition! Luckily, I didn't have to. I found his booth, but Kent was nowhere in sight.

So, I walked around. I came back, still no Kent. I decided I would meet Erin Gray while I waited. She's beautiful and so friendly! She told me about a movie she made with Kent in which she played his wife.But, they were not a happy couple in the movie. Which meant that, sadly, she did not get to kiss him in the movie. 

During my meet and greet with Erin, Kent had returned to his booth! By now I was no longer nervous, I walked right up to his table and said, "I flew all the way from South Carolina just to see you." Thankfully, Kent's response was not, "That's nice, wacko." No, he was incredibly nice. I told him about this blog and he asked what I did on the blog. I told him how I recap a different episode every week. He then inquired if had any favorite episodes. I immediately answered  that Vice Versa and It All Happened So Fast were my favorites. I was amazed that he knew the story lines of both. (If I made 174 of something 45 years ago, I wouldn't remember any details.) He agreed that It All Happened So Fast was a great episode, he thinks it is one of the best of the entire series.

I gave Kent one of these cards that I made to promote the blog. Hopefully, he'll check it out. But if he does, don't expect anymore posts. I'll be dead from extreme happiness.

As we were talking, some other fans came up to Kent's booth. I got ready to leave, I couldn't take up all of his time, he had other people who wanted to see him. Then, something incredible happened. Kent told me to stay and hang out with him! 
So, I stayed. I told Kent about my son's Cub Scout pinewood derby and the Adam-12 car I built for the parent's division. I then showed him the pictures of the car on my phone. He liked them so much, he asked that I hand him the phone so he could show the pictures to his assistant.

I made this!

It's a "Reedster", not a roadster. 

Thankfully, Kent did not notice that I also had the following picture on my phone. If he did, I would have been mortified.

Can you blame me for wanting to keep this?

I continued to hang out with Kent until the comicon shut down for the day. It was such an unbelievable time. He told me stories about Jack Webb, working on Adam-12, the tow rig car, Ozzie and Harriet, his work with SAG, his ride alongs with the LAPD. He showed some of his pictures on his iPad. It was amazing!
He told me about the first time he and Marty showed up to film Adam-12. Marty had yawned and said he couldn't sleep the night before, this immediately set a nervous Kent at ease. He wasn't able to sleep, either, and he felt better knowing that a veteran actor like Marty also had a sleepless night.
He also commented that all of the stories from Adam-12 would be relevant today, society still faces the same problems. The only difference between then and now is the communication technologies. An episode like The Search could never happen today. In this day and age, they would find Pete right away thanks to cell phones and GPS.
Of course, I also got some autographs and a picture. I had to have proof that this actually happened to me.

He signed this Christmas card I bought from the Martin Milner Ebay sale. Which reminded Kent of a story about the time he and Marty were on the Tonight Show. Joan Rivers was the guest host and they wanted to bring a pig on stage with them as a joke. Joan wouldn't allow it!

I also got this picture signed.

I'm never washing that shirt again.

At 7:00pm the con closed for the day and I let Kent know that I would be back the next day, I had pre-booked a professional photo-op with him and I would be attending his Q&A panel. I went back to my hotel with a 10-foot smile on my face. 
Back in my room, I plugged in my phone and called home. I probably busted my husband's eardrum with my squeal of delight when he answered. After I talked to my husband and my mother, I cried. I had so many emotions pent up in me, they just came flooding out in tears. I tried to sleep Friday night, but the combination of hotel bed and extreme joy meant I only slept about 4 hours.

The next day I arrived at the comicon around noon. I aimlessly walked around for awhile. Then I saw two teenaged girls in familiar peaked hats and dark blue uniforms. I tapped one of them on the shoulder and asked her if they were cosplaying Adam-12. She confirmed that she and her sister were dressed as Reed and Malloy. Their mother, who had been browsing a t-shirt rack, turned to face me. She was wearing the same t-shirt I had on the day before! The weekend then got even better, they had just met Kent and he told them about me! He told the mother that we had the same t-shirt and he told them about the blog! I was speechless, Kent McCord was promoting my blog!
Shortly after that it was time for my professional photo with Kent. We met at the photo area and he remembered my name! He only met me the day before, how did he do that? I have worked with people for months and can't remember their name. Anyway, as soon as the photographer took the shot, I knew it was going to be a great picture. I was having a really good hair day.
OK, you wanna see the professional picture? Before you see this, I have to warn you: it is stunning. I should know, I have spent hours staring at it.

Dear husband, take down all the wedding pictures. They are being replaced with this. (I'm never washing this shirt, either.)

Before we parted ways Kent asked me if I would be at the panel later in the afternoon. Of course I would be there, wild horses or dogs or pigs or thousands of people in strange costumes couldn't keep me away.

After I had lunch in a very crowded downtown Kansas City bar, it was time for the panel. I, along with the cosplaying girls and their mother, sat in the center of the front row. Before Kent came onstage, some clips of his work were played on the big screen they had set up. The Adam-12 clip was from the Dana Hall episode. Then Kent came out. Shortly after the introduction he asked if there were any questions. Guess whose Adam-12 obsessed hand shot up in the air? That's right, this girl's! I asked 2 questions:
1. Did he know what happened on Pete and Penny's date? (I was hoping there might have been an alternate script somewhere with an actual explanation of why Penny would not be a problem anymore.) He answered that he did not know. Oh well.

2. I asked if there was an Adam-12 blooper reel. Kent confirmed that, yes, there is one. He had one, but his copy disintegrated. It was filled with mistakes and jokes, many of which were not "family friendly". 
He told one story about a joke they played on Marty that was on the reel. They were filming in the tow car one cold night and Marty decided to have a shot of bourbon to keep warm. Drinking on the set was not something either of them ever did, but Marty made an exception on this particularly frigid evening. There was a delay in filming due to technical difficulties that night. While the crew worked on the problem, Marty had a few more shots to keep warm. Eventually, Marty went from toasty warm to just plain toasted and fell asleep in the driver's seat. Kent thought he would have a bit of fun, he signaled the cameraman to begin filming then roused Marty and told him it was time for "action". Marty attempted to "drive" the towed car several times, but just kept passing out. 

Kent went on to talk about his life, the influence Adam-12 had on police officers, and his current projects. It was truly fascinating. Here's a tid-bit I found interesting, while he was developing Nashville Beat Kent attended a conference of police chiefs in Colorado. Many of the chiefs asked him how they could get Adam-12, with it's true-to-life portrayal of police procedures, back on the air. Many of their officers were "playing it too loosey-goosey" imitating current cop shows and they were loosing a lot of convictions in court because of this. Kent replied that Adam-12 could never get back on the air now, it wasn't "sexy" enough. What!?!?

I beg to disagree.

But, all kidding aside, that story does speak volumes about the power of television and the responsibility of the entertainment industry. Two things that Kent takes very seriously.

At the end of the panel the moderator mentioned this blog and let me announce it's name. Oh, I forgot to mention that Kent introduced me and the cosplay girls to the entire audience at the beginning of his talk! 
As I was leaving the ballroom, I heard a familiar voice ask, "What did you think, Keely?" (OK, the gig is up, that's my real name.) I turned around and told Kent that I thought it was wonderful and thanked him for mentioning the blog. I walked and talked with him until we reached the "backstage" area where "regular" people like me weren't allowed. Since this would probably be the last time I would see him, I told Kent good-bye and hugged him. A perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

These two days have truly exceeded all expectations I had. I expected to get an autograph, a picture, and some questions answered during the panel. I never expected to have any type of personal interactions with Kent. I never dreamed he would promote this blog. I'm flabbergasted that he went out of his way to help me. I am just so amazed and happy. This has been, without a doubt, the best weekend of my entire life. Thank you, Kent McCord, for making this crazy trip to Kansas City worth every penny! 

See you next time! KMA-367