By 
This interview was done in the early 1990s. It was my wildest dream, a dream answered, even as a professional reporter.
Dark curly hair. Melancholic eyes. Deep voice.
Women over thirty will probably remember the introspective Pete Cochran from ABC’s hit series MOD SQUAD of the early ’70s. Michael Cole, the actor who played Pete, is very different spiritually today than he was then.
However, when it comes to appearance, one significant point is just as obvious. Between MOD SQUADFor five years, Michael was in a serious car accident. His eyelid was almost separated from his face; surgery saved him but he was left with an obvious scar. Girls all over the United States sighed with relief and dreamed again of his weathered face.
Today, the face is even more tanned; the medium build, hovering 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 been aware of that for a long time.
“I got in trouble [afterward]”, he admitted. “It was unreal to have nothing, then say: ‘I want that house’ and be able to buy it.” words open in deeper scars, invisible to the eye but obvious to the ear. I do not blame anyone else.
“I started at 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 Las 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 narrowing of her 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 in front of 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 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 excited him.
A faceless boy helped to a better life by Michael Cole, at the time a young man who had everything. However, he was willing to destroy himself. What followed were years of anger, confusion, and much 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 toward the hospital. “People were running in and out of my room.”
He looked at his fingers, once more open. “After everyone left one night, I looked in the mirror and knew it might be over.” She looked up with a slow smile. “So I did this,” she showed herself as she covered her eye with one hand. “I thought maybe it would make 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 TV episodes and doing plays across the country. He related 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 over 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 hastened to assure, “it was me. She just couldn’t take it 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, they told me to go back to work, but it was not the time. I knew when the time would be.”
Michael avidly reads, quoting Dylan Thomas, the Bible, and other writings that have affected him. He dropped out of school in tenth 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 the life of Michael Cole occurred. Despite all that he has tried to bring him down and drive him to despair, today he has peace of mind, a spiritual understanding of life, and his friendship with his ex-wife.
He showed me a sketch he had made on his wall, a cross with a humanist floral object on it as if Christ had been hung on the cross. Alongside his sketch, he wrote: “This time, father, they know what they’re doing.”
“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 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 house in the California hills. He ushered me into his very expensive, dark green car, and when I closed the door, he ran away from me and slammed it shut.
“Hey!” she exclaimed as she came up next to her. “Do not do that!”
I apologized, explaining that it had not been done on purpose. It was evident that he was very careful with his vehicle.
We arrived at his house and he led me inside 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 from my childhood, and here I was as an adult, at his dining room table, in his house, chatting with him as if we were longtime friends. 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 done: Michael Cole, the Michael Cole, he 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?!