The Ten Year Honeymoon: Claude Akins and Paul Burke

The Ten Year Honeymoon, Season 1, Episode 3, aired Tuesday October 23, 1973. 

Claude Akins and Paul Burke have been partners for ten years, but suddenly Akins is acting shockingly out of character. No spoilers, but it does have some intense shooting violence and (fairly fake-looking) blood. It's a great episode, in my Top Five of the series. 

It opens at the Claude Akins' family home. Very Valley but couldn't say where exactly as so much of the Valley looks (looked?) like that. But never too far from Toluca Lake. Why do they always have older actors with such young kids? Claude Akins is 47 here. Paul Burke was just two months younger than Akins; both born in mid-1926. Check out this Planet of the Apes blog for Claude Akins as I always think of him, when I'm not thinking of Movin' On.

Akins picks Burke up at 1901 Riverside Drive in Glendale -- oddly at a business called Jacob Equipment. 

The duo drive to Toluca Lake, past Toluca Lake Florist, and again, was it really all "North Hollywood"? 

We can see a Phillips 66, a Mobil station, a One Hour Martinizing, and onlookers to the filming. 

A robbery is in progress at Merry Macs Liquor. Here's where Burke (forever "Detective Adam Flint" to me) first gets subjected to his partner's new, strange behavior.

Then they are out of the Valley and at the Hollenbeck station in Boyle Heights (though I'm sure they said they were from Newton... and they're driving around the Valley....), being teased about their ten-year anniversary as partners. 

The Hollenbeck station has since been replaced with a modern monstrosity SO UGLY that I won't even link it on my MonstersAteLA site. That's how ugly it is. Here is an older photo of the Boyle Heights station from 1936 when it doubled as a hospital. 

Amazed and delighted that Victorian home has survived! Not sure if the Hollenbeck Youth Center did a TOTAL makeover on the police station or if this is a brand new structure. I suspect it's a new facade but the same bones. Not sure. The address remains 2015 East First Street (E 1st?)

Inside the men celebrate Akins and Burke's ten-year anniversary with typical mockery, and Detective Flint gets a trophy. I never tire of getting excited over Adam Flint in COLOR! 

Character actor Ben Frank appears. He was the one freaking out in the back of the police car on Adam-12. Ben Frank pre-freakout on Adam-12. 

Are they back on Cahuenga with the Phillips 66 and Mobil opposite each other on Riverside? If so, this is the Chevron station which would have been where Vendome Liquors now stands.  Have they disguised the pumps as "Senco"?

Anawalt Lumber shows up in the background, most likely the one at 11000 Burbank Blvd, kitty corner from everyone's favorite scary clown at Circus Liquor on Vineland at Burbank (clown not shown on Police Story, missed opportunity). 

There was more weird Akins behavior at the old style STOP sign. Haven't seen one of these in ages.

I'm guessing this house was in the North Hollywood or Van Nuys area. It has that original old farmhouse look. Even in the early 80s, there were a lot of these around the Valley. Very few remain today and they're being demolished for Monster Boxes as I type. A glimpse of a Valley home pre-freeways.

Trying to avoid spoilers, but who is that man standing there on the left during the shooting? Is that one of the crew? He's not a character in the story. I think they accidentally got one of the crew in the shot and never thought people would be freeze-framing their product to catch such things! That is a creepy visual!

Verna Bloom plays Akins' wife. I know her from "Medium Cool" -- "the whole world is watching" -- Haskell Wexler's film shot during the 1968 Chicago Democratic Party Convention and riots.

Really (capital REALLY) enjoy seeing "Adam Flint" in color, even if it's past his Naked City years.

Now to the Shooting Review Board...

Indulging my fantasy for a Naked City reunion IN COLOR, even if it involves poor photo editing on my part:

Back to Police Story:
While it is great to see Paul Burke ("Detective Flint"!) in color and somehow not all gingery -- the red fades with time (see Marty Milner), not so sure about seeing that bear rug on Claude Akins' chest. 

The zigzag hot dog and donut stand is the Orange Julius that was at 3121 W. Olive directly across from NBC -- you can see the high voltage towers of Whitnall Highway behind it -- where Detective Flint (Detective "Boyd" in this one) does a (probably unsponsored and accidental) product placement pose with Funyuns.  

The Shell station was at 3201 W. Olive. There is a Shell station now just to the east of NBC, but this one on Police Story used to be to the west of NBC. Olive cuts diagonally through Alameda and forms kind of a bowtie. The Shell station just switched sides.

Akins' character does more weird behavior when they get a call.

See the church as it was and then eaten by Monster Boxes here.

The stretch of Olive where it crosses Alameda across from NBC in Burbank also features in the Police Story episode "Wyatt Earp Syndrome." The Adam-12 connection with that episode is covered here.

Possibly the Mobil station at Van Nuys and Nordhoff, with the DWP behind it, but from the angle and the current structures, I can't make it line up exactly. Clearly not Akins and Burke in the car!

This was unexpected: Panorama City! Rarely did a TV show of the era venture this far north of Universal or Burbank. This is the diagonal street Terra Bella as it comes to the intersection of Nordhoff and Van Nuys Blvd.  Our Man "Flint" has a traffic accident in front of the Red Ball service station, east of Chi-Chi's Pizza.  Shell station at the corner was at 9070 Van Nuys Blvd, now a big collection of shops. 

Do I have a contemporary crime at the Red Ball? Sure do!

Relieved the young lady was not assaulted or shot.

The Jack in the Box billboard behind the Red Ball advertises the nearby Woodman and Osbourne location. Detective Flint's onion breath from earlier comes in handy in this off-beat episode.

They finally get to yet another very Valley destination with a 1972 Mustang Mach 1 out front. The swimming pool inside does not have a fence around it. Dangerous!

Inside, Akins' behavior becomes even more out of character. Poor "Detective Flint" is faced with repeated shocking behavior from Akins in this episode.

The impossibly tall and downright scary character actor Anthony James made three Police Story appearances.

This episode has its share of early 70s color schemes and Mobil and Shell stations.

 I was touched by "Boyd's" (read: "Flint's") particular concern at the end. 

Truly one of the best episodes of the entire series. Also great fun for vintage views of the San Fernando Valley, especially Toluca Lake, Burbank -- including vintage views of the Burbank Orange Julius, and surprisingly, Panorama City in 1973.