Michael Cole – Pete Cochran from Mod Squad

This interview was done in the early 1990s. It was my wildest dream, a dream answered, even as a professional reporter.

Curly dark hair. Melancholic eyes. Deep voice.

Women over thirty will probably remember the introspective Pete Cochran from ABC’s hit series MOD SQUAD from the early 1970s. Michael Cole, the actor who played Pete, is very different spiritually today than he was then.

Appearance-wise, however, a significant point is just as obvious. Between MOD SQUADFor five years, Michael was in a serious car accident. His eyelid was almost parted from his face; the surgery saved him but he was left with an obvious scar. Girls all over America breathed a sigh of relief and dreamed again of his weathered face.

Today, the face is even more weathered; the medium build, ranging between middle-aged and toned; dark hair – streaked with gray – still curly. Her voice doesn’t change. He wears glasses.

Those teenagers who once dreamed and pined for him are now adults with lives no longer centered around the Michael Cole fantasy, and he’s known it for a long time.

“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.” Words split into deeper scars, invisible to the eye but obvious to the ear. I don’t blame anyone else.”

“I started in acting school working on plays. The stage was my bedroom.” He laughed and his eyes lit up as he gave a long dissertation on how he literally lived on stage for many years. “Then I went to Vegas. I put Paula there.” Paula Kelly was once a member of The Modernaires, a talented singer, and the woman who became Mrs. Michael Cole.

“She was beautiful. I was shy.” Her smile was crooked; her narrowed eyes deepened. He looked like a big boy. The mention of Paula, the woman he married, the mother of his beloved daughter, softened his voice and lit up his face.

His ideas moved so fast. Next, she was discussing his stardom. “MOD SQUAD he was a pioneer. He always had bags of mail in the hallway outside Aaron Spelling’s office. He leaned across the table to look at his hands. His index finger and thumb formed a triangle, the rest spread out evenly, a thoughtful gesture. — He changed lives. I remember a letter from a drugged girl, she was a prostitute. Because of our program, she became a social worker.” Many years later, the thought still thrilled him.

A faceless boy helped towards a better life by Michael Cole, at that time a young man who had everything. However, he was willing to self-destruct. What followed were years of anger, confusion, and lots of drinking and mindless indulgence. How come he now owns a spacious house on top of a hill? Does he speak often and freely about spirituality and the meaning of Christ in his life?

The accident. She found God in the middle of his car accident. “He was in a slippery spot on the Laurel Canyon Freeway; [he and Paula] hit the mountain I went through the windshield twice.” That reminded her of the moments immediately afterward, running to the hospital. “People were going in and out of my room.”

He looked at his fingers, once again open. “After everyone left one night, I looked in the mirror and I knew it could be over.” She looked up with a slow smile. “So I did this,” she showed her as she covered her eye with one hand. “I thought maybe it would be an interesting image.” He probably wasn’t that philosophical about losing an eye and his career. After the eye was saved, after MOD SQUAD, flooded in, guesting on television episodes and doing plays around the country. He recounted an experience.

“We were in a small town at one point. The weather was bad, we didn’t know if we would have an audience. But there were three old ladies there, one celebrating her 80th birthday.” She ran her index finger down the side of her nose, then adjusted her glasses. “At intermission, I had a stagehand bring a dozen red roses. After the play, we had a party.” She stopped talking and took a deep breath. Her next words were thick. “We both cried. It’s still a special memory.”

How could a man crying at a stranger’s party become belligerent and belligerent? “I was scared. I remember waking up in the middle of the night. Something really grabbed me. Paula hugged me and left.” Despite the love, Paula couldn’t handle so much in the midst of such powerful emotions, and she finally left him.

“She didn’t do anything wrong,” he was quick to assure, “I did. She just couldn’t take it anymore.”

Then came a long period in which he did nothing. “Absolutely nothing. People started dying around me… my manager, my mom. Other people were worried, they told me to go back to work, but it wasn’t the time. I knew when the time would be.”

Michael reads avidly, citing Dylan Thomas, the Bible, and other writings that have affected him. He dropped out of school in the 10th grade, eventually came back but never finished college; however, he can speak with the insight of a scholar. For someone who did nothing for so long, his thoughts and words speak of a healthy spiritual life.

Many years have passed since each of the aforementioned milestones in Michael Cole’s life occurred. Despite all that he has tried to bring him down and drive him to despair, he today has peace of mind, a spiritual understanding of life and his friendship with his ex-wife.

He showed me a sketch he had done on his wall, a cross with a humanist floral object on it as if Christ had been hung on the cross. Next to his sketch, he wrote: “This time, father, they know what they’re doing.”

“Yes,” he smiled as our interview drew to a close, “all in God’s time, not ours. God gave me a gift, I wasted it for a while, but not anymore. I’m ready to start using it again.” . “

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This was one of my favorite interviews. Michael picked me up at a 7-Eleven at the bottom of the long winding road that led to his big, beautiful home in the California hills. He ushered me into his very expensive, dark green car, and when I closed the door, he slipped away from me and slammed shut.

“Hears!” she exclaimed as she came up next to her. “Do not do that!”

I apologized, explaining that it hadn’t been done on purpose. It was evident that he was very careful with his vehicle.

We arrived at his house and he led me into the house, where we sat together at his dining room table. She got me a diet soda and then we talked. And she spoke. And she spoke. It was as if a dam had burst.

Remember, this was a dream come true for me. Michael Cole had been the perfect boy of my childhood, and here I was as an adult, at his dining room table, in his house, chatting with him as if we had been friends for a long time. Amazing!

When we finally finished talking, he allowed me to take a picture of him in front of his drawing on the wall.

But the most amazing part, really, beyond everything else… Interview done, photos taken: Michael Cole, the Michael Cole, wanted to make me dinner. Yes, he wanted me to have dinner with him, and he was going to be the chef. Spaghetti, actually. I thanked him for the offer, and for reasons I’ll never understand… I said, “No thanks.”

You can imagine?!