Tony D. Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 Did we ever find out why the lead detective of Miami Vice is named Crockett ? Could it be a reference to Davy Crockett, the famous frontiersman ? Any suggestions are welcomed . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt5 Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 (edited) @Tony D.We never found out , very possible in your suggestion always thought the name was a good strong nam and suited him well. Edited January 27, 2019 by Matt5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators James Posted January 27, 2019 Administrators Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 Could be Davy Crockett. There's a reference to him in a season 3 episode I think. Or because he kept a pet alligator, and alligators are like crocodiles, hence Crockett? It's an interesting topic really... How do they come up with names for TV and movie characters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjcmmv Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 2 hours ago, James said: Could be Davy Crockett. There's a reference to him in a season 3 episode I think. Or because he kept a pet alligator, and alligators are like crocodiles, hence Crockett? It's an interesting topic really... How do they come up with names for TV and movie characters? Love this question. I looked around a little and found this on Wikipedia: The name "Sonny Crockett" had previously been used for a criminal played by actor Dennis Burkley on Hill Street Blues in 1983, where creator Anthony Yerkovich was a writer. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crockettt Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 (edited) From John-Paul Trutnau's book "The Construction and Decontruction of a Patriarchal Image in the Reagan Era: Reading the Audio-Visual Poetrics of Miami Vice" Edited January 27, 2019 by Crockettt 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjcmmv Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 8 minutes ago, Crockettt said: From John-Paul Trutnau's book "The Construction and Decontruction of a Patriarchal Image in the Reagan Era: Reading the Audio-Visual Poetrics of Miami Vice" That's terrific!!! Great find, Crockettt!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kladdagh Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 That is a good question ... and interesting theory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pahonu Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) It is an interesting analysis, but the fact that Yerkovich was a writer on Hill Street Blues where a character already had that name, makes the deeper analysis of its use and meaning in Miami Vice seem less plausible. I was aware of the Yerkovich /Hill Street Blues/Sonny Crockett connection many years ago. Someone else on the forum may corroborate this, but I seem to recall reading that Yerkovich had written or produced the Sonny Crockett episode of Hill Street Blues. It seems far more likely to me that he simply liked the name when he wrote the Gold Coast pilot script. I just looked up the episode on imdb and Yerkovich produced it. Get this: the episode was called "Spotlight on Rico". RICO!!! Yerkovich was less creative in naming characters than one might have thought. Gregory Sierra was in the episode too! Edited January 28, 2019 by pahonu 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airtommy Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 I'm not signing onto the idea that Crockett had a sunny (cheerful, optimistic) personality. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D. Posted January 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 11 hours ago, mjcmmv said: Love this question. I looked around a little and found this on Wikipedia: The name "Sonny Crockett" had previously been used for a criminal played by actor Dennis Burkley on Hill Street Blues in 1983, where creator Anthony Yerkovich was a writer. Wow ! From a criminal to the coolest undercover detective in Miami ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pahonu Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 3 minutes ago, Tony D. said: Wow ! From a criminal to the coolest undercover detective in Miami ! Tony, Did you see the name of the episode and who was in it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjcmmv Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 2 hours ago, pahonu said: It is an interesting analysis, but the fact that Yerkovich was a writer on Hill Street Blues where a character already had that name, makes the deeper analysis of its use and meaning in Miami Vice seem less plausible. I was aware of the Yerkovich /Hill Street Blues/Sonny Crockett connection many years ago. Someone else on the forum may corroborate this, but I seem to recall reading that Yerkovich had written or produced the Sonny Crockett episode of Hill Street Blues. It seems far more likely to me that he simply liked the name when he wrote the Gold Coast pilot script. I just looked up the episode on imdb and Yerkovich produced it. Get this: the episode was called "Spotlight on Rico". RICO!!! Yerkovich was less creative in naming characters than one might have thought. Gregory Sierra was in the episode too! Rico! Love this information!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D. Posted February 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2019 On 1/27/2019 at 8:26 PM, pahonu said: Tony, Did you see the name of the episode and who was in it? No, I was surprised to see how the names were transferred to Miami Vice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie C. Posted February 6, 2019 Report Share Posted February 6, 2019 (edited) Don't forget that Crockett's real first name was James. Sonny is a nickname often used to refer to a first-born son in the US if the parents were from a certain generation (typically pre-World War II). It also has somewhat rural connotations. Hill Street Blues also featured a Vietnam vet character just to round out the borrowing of stuff. Trutnau's book has errors, some large and some small. A better source for Vice stuff is "Miami Vice" by Steven Sanders, IMO. Edited February 6, 2019 by Robbie C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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