The year was 1984, Don Johnson was headed down I-95 in order to shoot the pilot of a future show that would be called "Miami Vice" Exhausted from all the driving, he actually made a pit stop at a strip club in Jacksonville. As he's ordering a drink, a young Rick Dugan dressed in a white suit busts down the wall Kool Aid man style, and walks out arms linked with the entire lineup of girls (as he does, as he does) Mr. Johnson was left stuttering, stammering, stunned in a state of shock and awe (as we do, nothing new there) Now as many of us who have been in this game long enough know, it can be quite startling and traumatic watching the system being run in action but we learn to cope as reality sets in that the rest of us are just mere lowly peasants in comparison. Well Don Johnson pivoted quickly, he took notes on the style and outfit and continued down to Miami, finished filming and a legend in Armani was born.
So when many of us say, "Hey, remember that one time Rick Dugan was looking like Sonny Crockett, running the system, locking down all the hottest girls in the club?".... No, no, no, no, no, Sonny Crockett has and always will be a WANNABE Rick Dugan. GET IT RIGHT!!!!GET RIGHT GOD DAMMITT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There must be something in my brain which blocks out Miami Vice knowledge. I've seen the remake film a couple of times, but cannot remember anything beyond it sucking ass. I know I watched the TV show when I was younger, but the only thing I remember (apart from Sonny's Ferrari) is one scene where Don Johnson is overpowered by the crook but uses his ankle holster sidearm to save himself. Not coincidentally, that is why an ankle holster is part of my everyday concealed carry (if I'm wearing long pants).
My Miami Vice memory is how Sonny would frequently say to the low-level perp he was questioning “They’re going to LOVE you in prison…” (with a very “active verb” implication). A very effective persuasive argument, I felt.
Some of us actually lived through - and survived Miami in the ‘80’s - and have the stories (some true, most embellished) to tell about it. My parents sent me “up north” for college and graduate school for most of the decade, but Miami was really wild in those days, and yes I still have a few Sonny Crockett outfits, although I’d never fit into them these days.
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“The secret to success, whether it's women or money, is knowing when to quit. I oughta know: I'm divorced and broke”
— Sonny Crockett
This could be TUSCL’s new tagline
All due to ONE man