''Hear No Evil'' is a 1982 made-for-television-film directed by Harry Falk Jr. and written by

Tom Lazarus Tom Lazarus (born 1942) is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He is best known for writing the 1999 horror film ''Stigmata'', and is the author of the screenwriting manuals, ''Secrets of Film Writing'' (2001, Griffin) and ''The Last ...

. The TV film stars

Gil Gerard Gil Gerard (born January 23, 1943) is an American actor, whose roles include Captain William "Buck" Rogers in the 1979–81 television series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century''. Early life Gerard was born January 23, 1943, in Little Rock, Arkan ...

Bernie Casey Bernard Terry Casey (June 8, 1939 – September 19, 2017) was an American actor, poet and professional American football player. Early life Casey was born in Wyco, West Virginia, the son of Flossie (Coleman) and Frank Leslie Casey. He graduated ...

Wings Hauser Gerald Dwight "Wings" Hauser (born December 12, 1947) is an American actor and occasional director. He received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his supporting role in '' Tough Guys Don't Dance'' (1987). Life and career Hauser was bo ...

Mimi Rogers Miriam Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American actress. Her notable film roles are ''Gung Ho'' (1986), '' Someone to Watch Over Me'' (1987), ''Desperate Hours'' (1990), and '' Full Body Massage'' (1995). She garnered the grea ...

Christina Hart Christina Hart (born July 21, 1949) is an American film producer, film director, playwright and retired actress. She teaches acting at the Hollywood Court Theater. She has appeared in such films as ''The Stewardesses'' (1969), '' The Mad Bomb ...

Brion James Brion Howard James (February 20, 1945 – August 7, 1999) was an American character actor. He portrayed Leon Kowalski in ''Blade Runner'' and appeared in ''Southern Comfort'', '' 48 Hrs.'', ''Another 48 Hrs.'', '' Silverado'', ''Tango & Cash'', ' ...

Ron Karabatsos Ronald Christ Karabatsos (1933–2012) was an American character actor. Early life Karabatsos was born on April 22, 1933, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA, to Constantine and Antoinette Karabatsos, first-generation immigrants from Greece. The fam ...

Mickey Jones Mickey Jones (June 10, 1941 – February 7, 2018) was an American musician and actor. He played drums with acts such as Trini Lopez and Bob Dylan, with whom he played on his 1966 world tour. He became a founding member of The First Edition ...

, Raven De La Croix, and Robert Dryer.

Plot

After a cop becomes deaf in a fight, he tries to break up a drug ring run by bikers.

Cast

as Dragon *

as Monday *

as Garrard *

as Meg *

as Sheila Green *

as Billy Boy Burns *

as Lt. Lew Healy *

as Blackman * Raven De La Croix as Candy Burns * Robert Dryer as Vinnie Holzer * William Paterson as Minister * John G. Scanlon as Summers * Parker Whitman as Riles * Jana Winters as Hooker * Joe Bellan as Cabbie * Denise Kerwin as Judy *

Charles Bouvier Charles Bouvier (24 August 1898 – October 1964) was a Swiss footballer and bobsledder. He won gold in the four-man bobsleigh at the 1936 Winter Olympics. Football career Bouvier began his career in football as a full-back, playing ...

as Wilkes * Steve Burton as Plainclothesman * Sam Conti as Sonny * Cab Covayas Hit Man * W. Scott Devenney as Rachmil * Chuck Dorsett as Dr. Larsen * Paul Drake as TD * Julianna Field as Rico * Emily Heebner as Vicki * Bruce Mackey as Captain Shelhart * Gary Pettinger as Wrigley * Janet Raney as Terri * Linda Vee as TV Announcer * Danelle Hand as Suzanne *

Daniel Selby Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

as Jack

Production

''Hear No Evil'' is based on the true story of William O. "Bill" Zerby, a former

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

who, as a

Solano County Solano County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield. Solano County comprises the Vallejo–Fairfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

Sherriff's Office narcotics detective, aggressively perused members of the

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

suspected of producing and distributing methamphetamine in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. Zerby was injured, suffered severe hearing loss and was forced to retire from his law enforcement agency as a result of an explosive device detonated as he was entering his car in front of his home on January 30, 1978. He was en route to court for a prehearing in the methamphetamine possession trial of

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Hells Angels chapter vice-president James Ezekiel "Jim-Jim" Brandes at the time. Brandes, who had previously been found to be in possession of a military handbook on booby traps and an address book containing the address, phone number and the license-plate number of Zerby when he was arrested on drug charges by Zerby and another detective on November 14, 1977, stated to a reporter for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine in or around November 1978 that "Zerby drew a line and stepped over it. I don't take that from anybody in the streets, and I sure ain't gonna take that from him. I don't let nobody come around and shove me around. I don't think anyone does if he's a man." The following year, Brandes and Kenneth Jay "K.O." Owen, a member of the Vallejo Hells Angels who had previously been arrested after a raid on his home led by Zerby uncovered narcotics and prohibited firearms on June 21, 1977, were charged with the attempted murder of Zerby as part of a

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

case. Brandes and Owen were ultimately acquitted of the attempt on Zerby's life. Brandes later committed suicide by hanging himself in prison circa 1994.When Jailbirds Sing
Kevin Fagan, ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' (December 3, 1995) Owen died July 4, 2016, and Zerby died in 2021 at the age of seventy-nine. Producer Paul Pompian heard of the Zerby incident while filming a TV pilot in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and decided to pursue the idea of translating the events into a teleplay. Paul Pompian Productions and

MGM Television MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...

produced the television film which could have become a

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

Reception

Critical response

Film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...

John J. O'Connor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote in his review: "TRAINING for a new gimmick in the old police-drama formula, ''Hear No Evil'', tomorrow's television movie on CBS, Channel 2, at 9, comes up with a deaf cop." Staff of the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'' wrote: "Gil Gerard as Bill Dragon in a routine cop drama with a banal script and what only approximates acting. Even the central gimmick of permanently deafening the hero in an explosion seems to have been transferred by rubbings from ancient stones."

References

Citations

Sources

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hear No Evil 1982 television films 1982 films American drama television films Outlaw biker films Films directed by Harry Falk (director) 1980s English-language films 1980s American films Films about disability