Just a Couple of Characters: CRIME STORY Edition - Bill Smitrovich, Billy Campbell, and Joey Farina

Welcome to Episode #8, which is... Well, I'm loath to call it a very special episode, just because of the baggage attached to that phrase, but it's definitely the first of its kind, and it’s one that’s filled with a great deal of emotion. What started out as a plan to talk to Bill Smitrovich and Billy Campbell, two guys who worked together way back when on a little series called CRIME STORY, transformed into something even cooler when Bill asked if Joey Farina could join us to talk about his dad…

This sounded like a great idea to me, so I said, "Sure!" Little did I realize how big a deal this conversation was going to be for everyone. Bill and Billy hadn't seen other since LIFE GOES ON and THE ROCKETEER were filming on the same lot in 1990, neither of them had seen Joey since he visited the set of CRIME STORY when he was in his early teens, and it was definitely the first time all of them had been able to talk together about their mutual love and appreciation of Dennis Farina.

There were laughs, there were tears, and there were so many great stories, featuring tales of Chicago, Las Vegas, and Mexico starring everyone from Michael Mann to Miles Davis. And for fans of this show, don't worry, I still managed to get an answer from everyone about the first person they worked with that had them fighting to keep from going full fanboy.

After we wrapped up the episode, however, I got an email from Bill, asking if we could hop back onto Zoom.

Why? Because he'd reflected on the conversation and realized how many key figures involved in the success of CRIME STORY hadn't received a shout-out during the course of the proceedings...and, perhaps more importantly, that the ones who *did* get a shout-out were almost exclusively dudes. Call it the price of three guys getting together and getting caught up in specific stories, but if you check out the bonus video, you may hereby consider the situation rectified.

Oh, and let me know in the comments what you think about trying to put together an episode that brings together the cast of LIFE GOES ON, because Bill's in!

Ready? Then let’s go!