Willie Nelson got his co-star back on Friday when Miami Vice holdout Don Johnson reached a salary agreement with NBC to return to finish the first episode of the season.
Nelson is starring in the season premier of Miami Vice, in an episode called ‘El Viejo’, meaning ‘the old man’. Nelson plays a semi-bad guy who takes the law into his own hands before biting the dust at the end of the show.
Neither Robert Harris, head of Universal Television, which produces the show and announced the agreement, nor NBC-TV, would disclose the terms for Johnson.
Announcement of the agreement came at the end of a day in which Universal Studios, the parent of Universal Television, filed a 10 million breach of contract suit against Johnson, and reports surfaced that Universal was poised to replace him with either former St. Elsewhere star Mark Harmon, or movie and television star Treat Williams.
“That’s all out the window now,” NBC-TV spokesman Doug Maudlin said of the Superior Court lawsuit file shortly before the agreement was announced.
Johnson was a no-show Monday when Miami Vice began filming ‘El Viejo’ with guest star Nelson. That episode will be with Johnson included, Maudlin said.
The production crew shot around Johnson’s scenes during the week, but there was fear that the show would have to be cancelled due to schedule conflicts for Nelson.
Johnson, who was reportedly being paid $35,000 an episode to play handsome, unshaven Detective Sonny Crockett, was, according to some accounts, seeking at least $100,000.00 per episode.
The series is one of television’s most expensive, costing as much as $2 million for a single episode, and was criticized last season for losing the focus on character and plot that made it extremely popular in its first season.
Johnson is expected to play with a pick up band at Farm Aid II.
“I am looking forward to the new season, and joining the cast and crew on the set Monday morning”, a spokesman quoted Johnson as saying. He said Johnson was surprised by the media attention.
Thanks so much to Buddy Prewitt for sharing his amazing collection of archived Willie Nelson material. I have been benefitting from his expansive collection of posters, guitar picks, news paper clippings, back stage posters, and magazines since I started this blog. When I was in Austin, I got a little peak at some of his collection, and I was in Willie Nelson archive heaven — he has so much stuff!
If you haven’t yet — check out his website at www.Budrock.com, where he has posted pictures of some of his collection. Also, Buddy has created a new Willie Nelson’s Crews View facebook page, where he reports about life on the road with Willie Nelson and Family, and posts other pictures from his collection. I so appreciate fans and their collections. Thanks, Buddy.