This interview was done in the early 1990s˳ It was my wildest dream, an answered dream, even as a professional reporter˳
Dark curly hair˳ Brooding eyes˳ Gravelly voice˳
Women over thirty will probably recall introspective Pete Cochran of the early seventies hit ABC series MOD SQUAD˳ Michael Cole, the actor who portrayed Pete, is much different spiritually today than he was then˳
Appearance-wise, however, one significant point is just as obvious˳ Amidst MOD SQUAD‘s five year run, Michael was in a serious car accident˳ His eyelid was nearly severed from his face; surgery saved it but an obvious scar remained˳ Girls across America sighed in relief and dreamed anew of his weathered face˳
Today, the face is even more weathered; the build medium, seesawing between middle-aged and toned; the dark hair – streaked with gray – still curly˳ The voice is unchanged˳ He wears glasses˳
Those once-dreaming teens who sighed over him are now adults with lives no longer centered around the fantasy of Michael Cole, and he’s long been aware of that˳
“I got into trouble [afterward],” he admitted˳ “It was unreal to have nothing, then say, ‘I want that house,’ and be able to buy it˳” The squint to his eye became more obvious as got into his thoughts˳ Now, however, his words opened on deeper scars, invisible to sight but obvious to the ear˳ “Everything bad was my fault˳ I blame no one else˳
“I started in acting school working in plays˳ The stage was my bedroom˳” He laughed, and his eyes lit up as he went into a long dissertation on how he literally lived on the stage for many years˳ “Then I went to Las Vegas˳ I met Paula there˳” Paula Kelly was once a member of The Modernaires, a talented singer, and the woman who become Mrs˳ Michael Cole˳
“She was beautiful˳ I was shy˳” His grin was lopsided; his squint deepened˳ He looked like a big kid˳ The mention of Paula, the woman he married, the mother of his adored daughter, brought a softness to his voice and made his face light up˳
His ideas moved so fast˳ Next, he was discussing his stardom˳ “MOD SQUAD was a groundbreaker˳ There were always mailbags in the hall outside Aaron Spelling’s office˳” He leaned over the table to stare at his hands˳ His forefingers and thumbs made a triangle, the rest spread evenly – a thinking gesture˳ “It changed lives˳ I remember a letter from a girl on drugs, she was a hooker˳ Because of our show, she became a social worker˳” So many years later, the thought still made him emotional˳
A faceless kid helped towards a better life by Michael Cole, at the time a young man who had it all˳ Yet he was ready to self-destruct˳ What followed were years of anger, confusion, and much drinking and senseless indulgence˳ How is it that he now owns a spacious hilltop home? Speaks often and liberally of spirituality and Christ’s meaning in his life?
The accident˳ He found God amidst his car accident˳ “It was on a slick spot on Laurel Canyon Freeway; we [he and Paula] hit the mountain˳ I went through the windshield twice˳” That reminded him of the moments directly after, rushing to the hospital˳ “People were in and out of my room˳”
He eyed his fingers, once again splayed˳ “After everyone left one night, I checked the mirror and knew it might be over˳” He looked up with a slow grin˳ “Then I did this,” he showed how he covered the eye with one hand˳ “Thought maybe it’d be an interesting image˳” He probably wasn’t really all that philosophical about losing an eye and his career˳ After the eye was saved, after MOD SQUAD, he floundered, guesting on episodic TV and doing plays across the country˳ He related one experience˳
“We were in a small town at one time˳ The weather was bad, we didn’t know if we’d have an audience˳ But three old ladies were there, one celebrating her 80th birthday˳” He ran a forefinger up the side of his nose, then readjusted his glasses˳ “At intermission, I had a stagehand get a dozen red roses˳ After the play, we had a party˳” He stopped talking and breathed deep˳ His next words were thick˳ “We both cried˳ It’s still a special memory˳”
How could a man who cries at a stranger’s party become hard-drinking and belligerent? “I was afraid˳ I remember waking in the middle of one night˳ Something real gripped me˳ Paula held me and it went away˳” Love notwithstanding, Paula could only handle so much amidst such powerful emotions, and she eventually left him˳
“She didn’t do anything wrong,” he was quick to assure, “it was me˳ She just couldn’t take anymore˳”
Then came a long period where he did nothing˳ “Absolutely nothing˳ People started dying around me…my manager, my mother˳ Other people were worried, told me to go back to work, but it wasn’t time˳ I knew when it would be time˳”
Michael reads avidly, quotes Dylan Thomas, the Bible, and other writings that have affected him˳ He quit school in the 10th grade, eventually returned but never finished college; yet he can speak with a scholar’s insight˳ For someone who did nothing for so long, his thoughts and words speak of a healthy spiritual life˳
It’s been many years since each of the mentioned milestones happened in Michael Cole’s life˳ Despite everything that has tried to bring him down and pull him into despair, today he has peace of mind, a spiritual understanding of his life, and friendship with his ex-wife˳
He showed me a sketch he had done on his wall, a cross with a humanistic flower object draped across it as Christ had been hung on the cross˳ Next to his sketch, he wrote, “This time, Father, they know what they do˳”
“Yes,” he smiled as our interview came to a close, “all in God’s time, not ours˳ God gave me a gift, I wasted it for awhile, but no longer˳ I’m ready to begin to use it again˳”
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This was one of my favorite of all interviews˳ Michael picked me up at a 7-Eleven at the foot of the long, winding road that went up to his beautiful, large home in the California foothills˳ He handed me into his dark-green, very expensive car and, as I closed the door, it got away from me and slammed˳
“Hey!” he exclaimed as he got into his side˳ “Don’t do that!”
I apologized, explaining that it hadn’t been done on purpose˳ He was clearly very careful with his vehicle˳
We arrived at his home, and he led me into the house, where we sat together at his dining table˳ He got me a diet soda, and then we talked˳ And talked˳ And talked˳ It was like a dam had burst˳
Remember, this was a dream-come-true for me˳ Michael Cole had been my young girlhood perfect guy – and here I was as an adult, at his dining table, in his home, chatting with him as if we were long-time friends˳ Amazing!
When we finally finished talking, he allowed me to take his photo in front of his drawing on his wall˳
But the most amazing part, really, beyond everything else…interview over, photos done – Michael Cole, the Michael Cole, wanted to cook me dinner˳ Yes, he wanted me to have dinner with him – and he was going to be the chef˳ Spaghetti, as a matter of fact˳ I thanked him for the offer and, for reasons I’ll never understand…I said, “No, thank you˳”
Can you imagine?!
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