March 25, 1982: Cagney & Lacey premieres on CBS. In the 1st season, Meg Foster played Detective Christine Cagney. For the 2nd season, Sharon Gless took the role. For all 7 seasons, Detective Mary Beth Lacey was played by Tyne Daly.
There had been police women on television before, but this was the first time a police drama focused on two women as partners. It was considered a big step forward in the depiction of women on TV. It was also created by 2 women, former Bewitched writer Barbara Avedon, and Barbara Corday, who had written for several series, including the recent NBC flop Turnabout, which had co-starred Gless. Corday was married to TV producer Barney Rosensweig, and he produced the series.
The series was set on New York's Lower East Side, whose Avenue A, Avenue B, Avenue C and Avenue D got it nicknamed "Alphabet City." A few years later, ABC's even edgier police drama NYPD Blue would be set in the same neighborhood.
Al Waxman co-starred as Cagney and Lacey's good-natured and sometimes blustery supervisor, Lieutenant Bert Samuels. Carl Lumbly and Martin Kove played fellow Detectives Marcus Petrie and Victor Isbecki. Sidney Clute played veteran detective Paul LaGuardia. John Karlen co-starred as Mary Beth's husband, Harvey Lacey; and Tony La Torre and Troy Slaten played their sons, Harvey Lacey Jr. and Michael Lacey. Harvey Atkin played desk Sergeant Ronald Coleman. Welcome Back, Kotter veteran Robert Hegyes played Detective Manny Esposito.
Jason Bernard had the recurring role of Deputy Inspector Marquette during the first two seasons. When the show was brought back in March 1984, Marquette had been replaced by Dep. Inspector Knelman, played by Michael Fairman, who lasted the rest of the series. In Season 4, Christine entered a relationship with Sergeant Dory McKenna (Barry Primus), who battled drug addiction. After a tumultuous courtship, Christine left him and soon after took up with a more stable suitor, attorney David Keeler (Stephen Macht).
Daly won the Emmy Award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama in 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1988. Gless won it in 1986 and 1987.
In 1994, '95 and '96, there were 4 reunion movies, showing Cagney working as a special investigator in the District Attorney's office, and Lacey having retired from the NYPD, but joining her in the D.A.'s office to re-start the team. Cagney has since gotten married, but by the 3rd movie, she was divorced. These films were later put into a DVD collection titled Cagney & Lacey: The Menopause Years.
Gless later starred on The Trials of Rosie O'Neill; while Daly backed up Amy Brenneman (from NYPD Blue) on Judging Amy. Carl Lumbly would later star on the superhero series M.A.N.T.I.S. John Karlen later played Gus Stemple, Jamie's father, on Mad About You.
Clute died in 1985, while the show was still in production; Avedon in 1994, Bernard in 1996, Waxman in 2001, Hegyes in 2012, Atkin in 2017, and Karlen in 2020. As of March 25, 2022, Gless, Daly, Foster, Corday, Rosensweig, Lumbly, Kove, La Torre, Slaten, Fairman, Primus and Macht are still alive.
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March 25, 1982 was a Tuesday. Auto racer Danica Patrick and actress Jenny Slate were born.
Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 4 games in the NBA:
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 100-98 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.
* The Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz, 107-105 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. Lloyd "World B." Free scored 34 points.
* The Denver Nuggets beat the San Diego Clippers, 129-117 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena). Kiki Vandeweghe scored 32 points.
* And the Houston Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 108-95 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Moses Malone scored 41 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.
And there were 5 games in the NHL:
* The New York Islanders beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Nassau Coliseum.
* The Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 5-1 at the Boston Garden.
* The Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-3 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
* And the Edmonton Oilers beat their Alberta arch-rivals, the Calgary Flames, 7-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary. Wayne Gretzky had 2 goals and 2 assists.
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