Hawaii: Today in History 12/30

12-30-1920 Jack Lord, American actor (Steve McGarrett in Hawaii FIVE-O, God’s Little Acre), born in NYC, New York (d. 1998)

John Joseph Patrick Ryan (December 30, 1920 – January 21, 1998), best known by his stage name, Jack Lord, was an American television, film and Broadway actor, director and producer. He was known for his starring role as Steve McGarrett in the CBS television program Hawaii Five-O, which ran from 1968 to 1980.

ack Lord helped conceive Hawaii Five-O and starred for its 12 seasons as Detective Stephen McGarrett, appointed by the Governor to head the (fictional) State Police criminal investigation department in Honolulu, Hawaii.[25] The opening sequence includes a shot of Lord standing on a penthouse balcony of the Ilikai hotel. Chin Ho Kelly,[26] the name of the police detective played by Kam Fong, was a tip-of-the-hat to Ilikai developer Chinn Ho. Lord’s catchphrase, “Book ’em, Danno!”,[25] became a part of pop culture. He was instrumental in the casting of native Hawaiians, instead of mainland actors.[25] Lord insisted his character drive Ford vehicles; McGarrett drove a 1967 Mercury Park Lane in the pilot, a 1968 Park Lane from 1968–1974, and a 1974 Mercury Marquis for the remainder of the series (this very car was shown in the 2010 remake).[27] Lord was a perfectionist. At the airing of its last episode, Hawaii Five-O was the longest-running cop show in television history.

When series creator Leonard Freeman died in 1974, the show’s ownership was shared among Lord, CBS and Freeman’s estate,[25] with a contract that made Lord executive producer and gave him complete control over content. He was a hands-on partner who paid attention to minute details,[8] and was known for battles with network executives.