James Brolin: Manager of the St. Gregory Motel and more

James Brolin as Peter McDermott,
manager of the St. Gregory Hotel on "Hotel".
Source:
https://www.moviestore.com/james-brolin-274306/
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Can you imagine being mugged in the bathroom of a shopping mall and being left for dead? Even worse, when you come to, the mall is closed, locked up and the lights are off? As your head clears you hear what sounds like a growling dog, then another and another, and they do not sound impressed. You try to make your way out and your worst fear is realized – the dogs are after you. Now what do you do?

That’s the predicament James Brolin found himself in when he played Chuck Brenner in the movie “Trapped”.

It was the first time I ever saw Brolin in anything I could remember, and it was scary for a little kid like me.

But it was one of the roles that distinguished James Brolin in a career that brought him into the living rooms of viewers for decades.

Prelude to a decade
My earliest memory of James Brolin, albeit hazy because I was really young, was as the young protégé physician to Dr. Marcus Welby on the show of the same name. He drove a motorcycle to work, which was groundbreaking for the time. Brolin would go on to win an Emmy in 1970 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for that role, which he played from 1969 to 1976, and be nominated again in 1971, 1972 and 1973.

The other role I recall was in “Capricorn 1”, a thriller where he played one of three astronauts, alongside O.J. Simpson and Elliott Gould, on an ill-fated mission to Mars. Just as in “Trapped”, he played some who was on the run. In this case, it was as one of those three astronauts. Shortly after lift-off, they abort the mission and parachute to what they think is safety. Instead, the mission controllers decide to “continue” with the mission by faking it. That makes the astronauts not only expendable but a liability because if anyone sees them, it exposes the lie. So the astronauts flee for their lives.

There were other roles that led to his next break through, which came in 1983.

Hotel
James Brolin returned to network series TV in 1983. Sporting a beard for the first time, he played Peter McDermott, the manager of the St. Gregory Hotel in San Francisco, setting of the night-time drama “Hotel”. An Aaron Spelling production, it was similar in style to “Fantasy Island” and “Love Boat”, two of his other creations. In all those shows, there was an ensemble cast but each week there were three stories featuring guest stars.

In “Hotel”, based on the novel by Arthur Hailey, the show followed the exploits of guests and staff at the St. Gregory.

The show had a rocky start. Bette Davis was set to play the matriarch of the hotel, and appeared in the pilot. However, Davis became ill before shooting of the series began, so she was replaced by Anne Baxter. Ironically, 33 years earlier in 1950 Baxter had played opposite Davis in the movie "All About Eve". Davis intended to return, at least semi-regularly, but that never happened.

Brolin had good chemistry with both Davis and Baxter, but it was nothing like the chemistry he had with co-star Connie Sellecca.

Room for two
I recently watched the pilot of “Hotel” again, the first time since I saw it back in 1983. It showcases two things that would become trademarks of Brolin’s portrayal of Peter McDermott – his compassion and sensitivity, and his relationship with Sellecca.

In the pilot, McDermott meets a prostitute, played hauntingly by Morgan Fairchild. She is hired for what amounts to a frat party, but is raped in the process by some of the attendees. She is filled with shame and self-loathing, but McDermott helps her. He restores her self-worth, deals with the rapists and helps her go to the police. It set the stage for a great character.

Amid this, a mysterious woman named Christine Francis, played by Sellecca, comes to the St. Gregory where she starts to act like she runs the place. People even start to listen to her. It does not take long before McDermott discovers what is going on. It turns out, she is qualified to do the job, but never got the chance.

McDermott gave her that chance, and the rest is history.

“Hotel” would run for 114 episodes from 1983 to 1988 on Channel 13 on the peasant vision dial.

Parting thoughts
James Brolin would not do much more beyond “Hotel” in the 1980s. However, in the years after he would play Richard Castle’s mysterious father in “Castle”, Robert Ritchie, the Republican candidate for president in “The West Wing”, and much more. His most recent recurring roles was as the crabby, crass yet lovable grandfather on “Life in Pieces”. It was very much the opposite of Peter McDermott who was suave, sensitive, charming, confident, calm and serious.

He would become almost as well-known for his family as his career. He was married in the 1980s to Jan Smithers, who carved out a role as the mousy Bailey Quarters in “WKRP in Cincinnati”, but they divorced in 1995. He met Barbra Streisand in 1996, married her in 1998, and is still with her. There were even rumours she would also have a guest-starring role in “The West Wing”.

His son Josh Brolin, would get his start in the movies in the 1980s as well, in “The Goonies”. His career really took off in the decades to follow with roles in “No Country for Old Men” and then in Marvel movies as the evil “Thanos” in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Avengers” and "Cable" in “Deadpool 2” .

James Brolin was always in serious roles, whether it was terrorized by dogs, healing patients, managing a posh hotel or whatever else.

His role in “Life in Pieces” turned that on its ear as he seemed serious, but played it for deadpan laughs.

It showed just how good an actor he really is, and will continue to be for years to come.