Writers Block

Supervisor Kenneth Hahn

Thomas Hibbard — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:07:00 GMT

The building (check out photos) is called the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration. Named after Kenneth Hahn, the long-serving county supervisor in Los Angeles County history. He served on the Board of Supervisors for 40 years from 1952 to 1992.

I worked down the hall from Kenny’s office from 1973 to 1991, almost half of the time he was a county supervisor.

The Board of Supervisors is theoretically a non-partisan post. But Kenny was a liberal Democrat and I was a conservative Republican, who worked for a conservative Republican board member. Coming from different political persuasions, we of course had differences of opinion regarding country government expenditures. Still, he was always friendly with me. That said, I can assure you there were times in the privacy of his office when he had less than kind words to say about me. For instance, I got in the way of building a replacement county hospital in his district, located downtown. Because of my opposition, we ultimately settled on going forward with a comprehensive health center, which exists today. But I liked a political opponent like Kenny. We had our public policy differences but we were unfailingly civil with each other. Matter of fact, I recommended that my boss, Supervisor Pete Schabarum introduce the motion that named a park, the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area at 4100 South La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, in his honor.

Kenny was a consummate politician. A white man who represented a heavily black district, he always handily won re-election. The morning after each re-election to office I would tease Kenny’s staff about what I predicted he would require them to do that day: go meet with every person who didn’t vote for him—all 20 of them.

I vividly recall a conversation with Kenny. He took me into his office and showed me pictures taken with all the presidents who had served during his time in office. And those photos with presidents of the United States pictorially showed his increasing power in California politics over the years. The first was a photograph of Kenny and President Harry Truman. Kenny met Harry during one of Truman’s famous whistle-stop campaign tours. Truman standing on the platform at the rear of the train. Kenny standing on the ground, the tracks, reaching up to shake the president’s hand. The last photo, for this was during the Jimmy Carter Administration, had Kenny standing beside Jimmy with his hand, clasping, firmly atop Carter’s shoulder. No longer was Kenny a supplicant, he was now a powerhouse and the pose showed this fact clearly. I said nothing to Kenny, who I doubt noticed the psychological significance of the pose these two powerful men struck, one a Los Angeles County Supervisor, the other President of the United States.

David Hasselhoff

Thomas Hibbard — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:43:00 GMT

It was 1982 and I sitting in the waiting room of Robert A. Cinader's office on Universal Studios when in walked a handsome young man I'd never met. It was David Hasselhoff, the star of a new TV series called "Knight Rider." David was carrying "soft" baseballs which could be tossed around within a home with, hopefully, little damage done to household items. Apparently, he was involved with either the manufacture of sale of these items and he was most interested in them.

David's first assumption was that I was an actor looking for a part in "Knight Rider." He had no idea that I can't act my way out of a paper bag, but it was a reasonable thought for Bob Cinader was executive producer of the show and lots of people in Hollywood are looking for work.

I was there because Bob and I were getting together to talk about our efforts to create a network of trauma centers in Los Angeles County. And during our discussion I proposed the idea of creating a new television series set in a trauma center of a large hospital such as Los Angeles County's General Hospital. The idea had merit because Bob and I knew that within about a year Los Angeles County would likely open its first trauma center, most likely at General Hospital since it handles the largest number of emergencies in the county. Unfortunately, Bob had had surgery for esophageal cancer earlier in the year. He didn't feel up to creating another television series based on emergency services. In fact, his health was declining and I'm certain he had his hands full making the first shows of "Knight Rider."

But back to David Hasselhoff. I found him to be an interesting person, full of energy, a good actor. I came to enjoy the "Knight Rider" television show, and on occasion I took my daughter to see the filming of a show.

Hasselhoff was a total gentlemen in the presence of my 17year-old daughter. When we were on the set, he would drop by and talk between scenes and he always took the trouble to see if there was anything he could do for us.

David had two posters, a popular item in those days, made up. One was of the famous Burt Reynolds style, where he was clad in very little. Another with more clothes. He told my daughter of the posters and asked if she would like one. Of course she would! So he asked which version. Without blinking, she told him she wanted the one with the fewest clothes.

Later he stared in and produced "Bay Watch," a show about Los Angeles County lifeguards. It was a show that all men could enjoy, with all those beautiful women lifeguards. But that's not why I mention it. There is something that annoys me about that show: Why didn't I think of it?

Robert A. Cinader: Another Perspective

Thomas Hibbard — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:34:39 GMT

On my first visit to Robert A. Cinader's office, I was given a full briefing by this television producer about the Los Angeles County paramedic program, its strengths and weaknesses. It was obvious he knew the program well. While producing "Emergency!" Cinader made every effort to combine entertainment with reality. He wanted the actors to present emergencies in the story line as real paramedics experienced them in the field. In doing so, Cinader rode on more paramedic squad runs than any person other than paramedics themselves.

On a Saturday night, on the invitation of Bob Cinader, I joined him in East Los Angeles to ride along with the paramedic squad at Station 3. It was a busy night. There were a few first call was to a gasoline station in East L.A. Two men were reported to have entered a restroom and they hadn't come out. The operator of the station was concerned. The paramedic squad rolled.

The paramedics arrived in short order, but by this time the door to the restroom had been forced open and two Hispanic males had been pulled into the parking lot. The men were not breathing. Instantly, the paramedics went to work, attempting to resuscitate the victims. And quickly it was determined that the men had gone into the restroom to shoot up heroine. I witnessed the paramedics making every effort to revive these drug addicts.

The paramedic squad followed the ambulance carrying the victims to the Los Angeles County General Hospital. I watched doctors and nurses continuing to try to save the mens' lives. They were unsuccessful.

Getting Acquainted

Thomas Hibbard — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:32:00 GMT

I met Robert A. Cinader at Universal Studios upon the recommendation of an administrator with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. He said there was a popular Saturday night television show based on the county's then-fledgling paramedic program, a show attracting the attention of not only viewers but fire departments across the country. Fire chiefs, he reported, were interested in learning more about the county paramedic program.

I had recently joined the staff of Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum and the county emergency medical services system was one of programs I was to examine. I had seen "Emergency!" on television. My young daughter was a fan. I knew the names of the actors, Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe, who played the roles of paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto. That was roughly the extent of my knowledge about the show.

Randy and Kevin were in the midst of a scene being shot when we showed up on the set. It was my first experience seeing a TV show in production, and I found it interesting. What struck me was that the actors were so young. Later I would come to appreciate the fact that firemen being trained as paramedics were young too. Also, there was the matter of the length of Randolph Mantooth's hair. It was definitely longer than I'd seen on a county fireman, and I doubted his hair would pass muster with the county fire department. No doubt, were he a real paramedic, the chief would have sent him home with orders to get a haircut.

After watching a few minutes of the filming of the show, I went to an office on the Universal Studios lot to meet the creator and executive producer of "Emergency!", Robert A. Cinader. His name I did not recognize. In those days I paid little attention to names on the credit roll of a television show. Now I always take note. While I knew nothing about him, it was soon obvious that I'd met a very intelligent man.

What I could not have guessed was that Bob Cinader and I would become good friends and I would learn much from him. There was also no way I could have foreseen the tremendous influence Cinader would have on not only the county paramedic program but that of similar programs that would be developed across the country.

How Did This Happen?

Thomas Hibbard — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:28:00 GMT

I blame Robert A. Cinader for getting me into the quagmire called writing. Who is Cinader? Simply one of the most interesting people I ever met. Creator and executive producer of television shows such as "Adam-12" and "Emergency!". He died young of esophageal cancer, but if you'd like to learn more about him take a look at:

http://www.emergencyfans.com/people/robert_cinader.htm.

More about Bob Cinader after you've had an opportunity to get acquainted with this amazing man by perusing this website.