cagney5

Over the summer, one of the writers called to tell me he was developing a story where terrorists take over the precinct and Esposito is held hostage. Coincidentally, that summer, I went to see my cousin, Jon Bon Jovi perform in Irvine with his band. He unplugged his guitar and handed it to me and said, "Come on stage and play the finale with us. Just come on stage and pretend like you're playing the guitar." I was introduced to 15,000 screaming girls and I realized that I had missed my profession. Heather Locklear was there at the time visiting Richie Sambora. When I came off stage she said, "Bobby, I didn't realize you play the guitar." I told her that it was just one of the many things she didn't know about me.

A week later I put six inch extensions in my hair and had it lightened and straightened, and showed back up at work. I was thinking that I was taking this character up to a new level. My first day, the writer that had written my episode came to me and said, "We've got some bad news... Barney isn't going to do your hostage episode." I asked what had happened. I was told that Barney had gotten wind of everyone's desire to do episodes with me, and he said that the show is called Cagney & Lacey, not Cagney, Lacey & Esposito.

What I realized later is that his future wife, Sharon, was being beaten out for an Emmy every year by Tyne. Barney was determined to get Sharon an Emmy. In what turned out to be the final year of the show, twenty two episodes focused on Sgt. Cagney and her alcoholism, her AA meetings, her father, and her other relationships. Even Tyne in private threw up her hands and said, "I don't know where this is going. I don't think I want to do the show anymore. I'm tired and I don't need this."

Everyone's dialogue was relegated to saying, "It's line four for you Cagney..." That was the show's last year. Sharon got her Emmy.