A touch football game against The King of Rock and Roll led Kent McCord to a career in Hollywood

McCord went from lining up against Elvis to appearing in his movies and becoming a Hollywood star.

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Kent McCord will always be associated with role of officer Jim Reed from the ever-popular police procedural crime drama Adam-12

Before he became the rookie cop next to officer Pete Malloy, played by Martin Milner, McCord had a pretty versitile set of skills outside of the acting realm. 

McCord was born in Los Angeles but not into stardom. He learned hard work at a young age, holding multiple jobs before he was even a teenager. According to his website bio, he worked at his father's gas station at the age of just 12. 

From there, McCord got a job through a family friend at Brackett Gield Airport in La Verne, California. A pre-teen, McCord couldn't legally accept money for his work, but instead received flying lessons in exchange for labor. Over the next handful of years, McCord worked weekends and summers at the airport.

As time went on, McCord became quite the product on the football field and "starred" at Baldwin Park High School. After high school, it was his love for the gridiron that led him to say yes to an offer from a fellow college student to participate in a touch football game. 

"This was no ordinary football game, as Kent would be playing on a team captained by Ricky Nelson, and none other than Elvis Presley would lead the opposing squad," McCord's website states.

Through the football field, whether it was touch or tackle, McCord developed a friendship with Nelson, who played himself on the radio and television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. That friendship soon led to McCord's initial acting opportunities, first as a background player and extra, but eventually to much more. 

"I got a five-year role-playing Rick's fraternity brother in Ozzie and Harriet," McCord said in a DailyJournal article from 2022. 

His first on-screen speaking part came in the episode "Rick, the Host" when he said two words: "Rick who?" 

"Ozzie could have picked anyone for the role, and I'm sure he chose me because I was Rick's friend," McCord said. "But those two little words I first spoke changed my life." 

He was Ricky Nelson's friend thanks to that touch football game opposite Elvis Presley. Eventually, McCord changed paths from the football field to the acting world, even though he had a football scholarship to the University of Utah in 1962. 

According to his website, McCord "was asked to screen test at Universal Studios for a long term contract. While waiting for the studio to sign him, he continued working on other shows including several of Elvis Presley's films." 

In 1965, under contract at Universal, McCord appeard in McHale's Navy and The Virginian. He also had several appearances on Dragnet, before he was cast in a co-starring role on Adam-12

174 episodes of the cop drama later, McCord's Hollywood stardom was etched in history. 

Though we don't know the score of that touch football game between Nelson and Elvis, it's clear McCord left that experience a winner. 

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60 Comments

MichaelPowers 12 months ago
Rick's wife, Kris Harmon Nelson, would guest star as Jim Reed's (Kent McCord) wife in a few episodes of Adam-12. Kris's younger brother, Mark Harmon, would guest star as a rookie police officer on Adam-12.
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/eZjOk3TNZDM
The ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET EPISODE CALLED A ROSE
A DAY. WALLY:SKIP YOUNG.
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/SxGJVZixLWQ
ADAM 12 THEME SONG ON NBC .
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/RAiTaA4tDuU
Ralph (DONNY MOST) PLAYS A
JOKE ON MOOSE (BARRY GREENBERG) WITH THE SALT SHAKER Moose gets annoyed
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/chHWwfzDEXg
This episode of Happy Days called
Guess Who's Coming To Visit has the scene where MOOSE (BARRY
GREENBERG) IS DANCING WITH A GIRL PLAYED BY CAREY WILLIAMS.
THIS HAPPY DAYS EPISODE IS THE
FIRST APPEARANCE OF MOOSE.
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/4Nr3EKnvD4I
The Happy Days clip above this
Comment is from the Happy Days
Episode called GUESS WHOS
COMING TO VISIT AND THE SCENE AT THE PHONE BOOTH WHERE
MOOSE(BARRY GREENBERG) is helping Richie cram into the
Phone booth is the scene with
THE LAST APPEARANCE OF MOOSE.
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/BPmY8PXKF5s
Happy Days episode HAUNTED at The OLD SIMPSON HOUSE WHERE A HALLOWEEN PARTY IS GOING ON.
RICHIE CUNNINGHAM (Ron Howzrd)
Dumps a cup of lemonaide on
BAG Zombroski (Neil J. Schwartz).
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/q87PE7KRpZs
Kris Plays Cupid episode of The
Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
WALLY:SKIP YOUNG.
GINGER:Charlene Salerno.
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/HoC2ZrXkASs
Ginger (Charlene Salerno) dumps
a glass of water and ice cubes on
WALLY PLUMSTEAD (SKIP YOUNG)
in The ADVENTURES of Ozzie and Harriet episode Kris &The Queen.
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/BA9a_DYtQ78
The DEADLY DARES ON Happy Days
with Hank (ED BEGLEY JR.) AND
Bag Zombroski Neil J Schwartz.
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/95i76GRgXNw
Richie And Potsie want to join
Bag and become members of The
Demons a club for pranksters and
Practical JOKERS.
ReidDavis 16 months ago
Didn't know Kent McCord participated in those Rick/Elvis "touch" football games in a public LA park between Elvis & his "Memphis Mafia" & Rick & his friends. This was told to me by Mathew & Gunner Nelson who it was told to them by Lisa Marie who it was told to her by Priscilla. Apparently Elvis took these games very seriously & went out of the way to intentionally try to hurt/injure Rick for which he reportedly did a few times. According to Priscilla, it was out of Elvis being jealous of Rick after she suggested that Elvis start combing his hair forward "like Rick Nelson was now doing & that she thought looked good." After a few of these games where Rick came home hurt/bloodied that Ozzie got involved (the guy had some LA "pull") & he arranged that for the next game, some of the LA Rams showed up as Rick's teammates & they supposedly put a hurtin' on The king & his mafia!
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
RIP
The ADVENTURES of Ozzie and Harriet
Ozzie Nelson
Harriet Nelson
David Nelson
Rick Nelson
Skip Young (WALLY PLUMSTEAD)
Charlene Salerno (Ginger )
Lyle Talbot (JOE RANDOLPH)
MARY JANE CROFT (Clara Randolph)
Gordon Jones (Butch Barton)
Don DeFore (THORNY )
RIP
The ADVENTURES of Ozzie and Harriet
Kristin Harmon (KRIS NELSON).
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/a5yPgcRp-K8
IN MEMORY OF GAVAN O'HERLIHY AND IN HONOR OF RANDOLPH ROBERTS BOTH ACTORS PLAYED
CHUCK CUNNINGHAM ON HAPPY DAYS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO
RANDOLPH ROBERTS ON OCTOBER 5 2022 BORN ON OCTOBER 5 1947.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALSO TO BAG
NEIL J SCHWARTZ ON HAPPY DAYS
ON NOVEMBER 16 2022 BORN ON
NOVEMBER 16 1942.
THE TWO CHUCK CUNNINGHAM S
GAVAN O'HERLIHY AND
RANDOLPH ROBERTS ON
HAPPY DAYS.
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/6F_nyptM_ZI
BEST OF BAG ZOMBROSKI VIDEO
FROM HAPPY DAYS.
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/k7Jw7Yiess8
The Happy Days Band:
RICHIE CUNNINGHAM (Ron Howard)
Potsie WEBER (ANSON WILLIAMS)
RALPH MALPH (Donny Most)
Bag Zombroski (NEIL J. SCHWARTZ)
STICKS (John Anthony Bailey)
Daphne (HILLARY HORAN)
CHACHI ARCOLA (Scott Baio).
bagandwallyfan52 16 months ago
https://youtu.be/3sVejJZ-lRs
FONZIE TALKS TO THE
HAPPY DAYS BAND.
F5Twitster 16 months ago
"From there, McCord got a job through a family friend at Brackett Gield Airport in La Verne, California."

That's Brackett FIELD Airport ("Gield?" You didn't see anything wrong with that before you posted it? Crikey).
dangler1907 F5Twitster 16 months ago
Any journalist and editor will tell you how difficult it can be to spot a typo. It becomes more difficult when the material is presented free of charge - like this article - and it isn't possible to hire proofreaders.
LoveMETV22 dangler1907 16 months ago
There are a few commenters that only come here to point out grammatical errors. For what purpose is the question. They're not making MeTV look bad, their just drawing more attention to themselves.
Barry22 16 months ago
Elvis: "Ah, Hike-a, hike-ah 1, thank-ya, thank-ya very much."
Runeshaper 16 months ago
I wish I could have seen that football game! Just goes to show you that you never know what will happen in life based on decisions that might not seen so big a the time.
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