''Popeye Doyle'' is an American 1986 television film starring

Ed O'Neill Edward Leonard O'Neill (born April 12, 1946) is an American actor, comedian, and former football player. Over his career, he has earned four Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

police

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle is a fictional character portrayed by actor Gene Hackman in the films '' The French Connection'' (1971) and its sequel, '' French Connection II'' (1975), and by Ed O'Neill in the 1986 television film '' Popeye Doyle'' ...

. It is a sequel to the feature films '' The French Connection'' (1971) and ''

French Connection II ''French Connection II'' is a 1975 American neo-noir action thriller film starring Gene Hackman and directed by John Frankenheimer. It is a sequel to the 1971 film '' The French Connection'', and continues the story of the central character, Dete ...

'' (1975), in which

Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (January 30, 1930 – ) was an American actor. Hackman made his credited film debut in the drama ''Lilith (film), Lilith'' (1964). He later won two Academy Awards, his first for Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor for ...

played Doyle; Hackman won the

Academy Award for Best Actor The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading ...

for his performance in ''The French Connection''. ''Popeye Doyle'' was originally intended as a

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

for a proposed series under that title, but the series was not picked up. Popeye Doyle is based on a real New York City detective,

Eddie Egan Edward W. Egan (January 3, 1930 – November 4, 1995) was an American actor and former police detective. He was the subject of the nonfiction book '' The French Connection'' and its 1971 film adaptation. Life Edward R. Egan was born in Queens, ...

, who appears in ''The French Connection'' as Walt Simonson, Doyle's supervisor.

Premise

New York City police

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

investigates the case of a murdered model, which leads him on the trail of a gang of

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

and a

drug cartel A drug cartel is a criminal organization composed of independent drug lords who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the illegal drug trade. Drug cartels form with the purpose of controlling the supply of the i ...

of international smugglers.

Cast

as Detective

Matthew Laurance Matthew Laurance is an American actor and comedian best known for starring as Ben Coleman in the Fox sitcom ''Duet'' and for his recurring role as Mel Silver on ''Beverly Hills, 90210''. Early life, family and education Matthew Dickoff was born ...

as Tony Parese *

James Handy James Handy is an American film actor. He appeared in numerous films and television shows since 1977. On film, he appeared as Byers in '' K-9'' and its sequel, '' K-911''. He later appeared in ''Arachnophobia'', ''Jumanji'', '' Unbreakable'', '' ...

as Lieutenant Gregory Paulus *

Candy Clark Candace June Clark (born June 20, 1947) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Debbie Dunham in the 1973 film '' American Graffiti'', for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Act ...

as Corinne Evans * George De La Pena as Itan Kellerman / The Shadow (credited as George de la Pena) *

Audrey Landers Audrey Landers (born July 18, 1956) is an American actress and singer, best known for her role as Afton Cooper on the television series ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'' and her role as Val Clarke in the film version of ''A Chorus Line (film), A Ch ...

as Jill Anneyard * Nicholas Kadi as Auram Bardas / The Weasel * Elias Zarou as Fahoud Nazzim * Elizabeth Lennie as Toni *

Richard Monette Richard Jean Monette CM, DHum, LLD (June 19, 1944 – September 9, 2008), was a Canadian actor and director, best known for his 14-season tenure as the longest-serving artistic director of the Stratford Festival of Canada from 1994 to 2007. Ear ...

as Patrick Henley * Guy Sanvido as Sammy * Chick Roberts as Detective Bender * Joanne Perica as Connie Parese (credited as Joanna Perica) * Alexandra Innes as Marta Rodriguez * J.K. Simmons as Patrolman In Park (credited as Jonathan Simmons) *

Tony Rosato Antonio Rosato (26 December 1954 – 10 January 2017) was a Canadian actor and comedian, who appeared in television and films. He was best known as a cast member on both '' SCTV'' and ''Saturday Night Live'', and for voicing Luigi in '' The Adven ...

as Wise-Ass Reporter * Todd Postlewaite as Manager of Club 1502 *

Susan Diol Susan Vanita Diol is an American actress who has played supporting roles in over forty television series, including '' Quantum Leap'' (1989–1993; 2022–2024), '' Night Court, One Life to Live'', '' Wings'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' ...

as The Blonde * Gary Tacon as Deli Bandit #1 * Phil Nelson as Deli Bandit #2 *

Molly Johnson Margaret Leslie "Molly" Johnson, Order of Canada, OC is a Canadian singer of pop and jazz. Biography Johnson began as a child performer, receiving formal training from the National Ballet School and the Banff School of Fine Arts. Johnson's b ...

as Herself (uncredited) * Norman Orenstein as Himself (uncredited)

References

External links

* * Films about the French Connection 1986 television films 1980s English-language films 1986 films NBC original films American detective films American crime films 1986 crime films Films about terrorism in the United States Films scored by Brad Fiedel Television films as pilots Television pilots not picked up as a series Films directed by Peter Levin 1980s American films American mystery television films English-language crime films {{1980s-US-film-stub