Now, as we find ourselves in the middle of the weeklong, star-studded annual Miami Vice Cast & Crew Reunion extravaganza — full lineup and tickets here — it seems as good a time as any to revisit the nutty, over-the-top roles some of the biggest pop and rock stars of the sixties, seventies, and eighties accepted just to get close to the white hot heat of the iconic show that put Miami into the imaginations of viewers across the globe.
And if the list below captures your imagination, be sure to hit up the Miami Vice Cast & Crew Reunion wrap party on September 14 at J'Adore hosted by Miami Vice music producer Frederick Lyle and original composer Tim Truman.
1. Phil Collins as Phil Mayhew
Season 2, Episode 11: "Phil the Shill"Air Date: December 13, 1985.
After taking over lead vocals from Peter Gabriel in Genesis, but before buying J.Lo's Miami estate, Phil Collins appeared on this completely bonkers episode which included his character Phil "the Shill" Mayhew hosting a (too prophetic) exploitative game show called Rat Race — with avant-garde eighties comedian Emo Phillips as a contestant(!) — and ends with a shootout in a janky pop-up carnival.
Though Collins could've skated on his contribution of "In the Air Tonight" to the pilot episode, "Brother's Keeper" — maybe the most affecting, iconic sequence of the entire series. Instead, he proves himself a surprisingly natural actor and clearly approaches what could've easily been a hammy novelty role as something serious, not a lark.
2. Leonard Cohen
Episode: "French Twist"Air Date: February 21, 1986
Yep, the "Lord Byron of Rock 'n' Roll" did the 'Vice as a French Secret Service agent with questionable motives. Later, during an interview on French television, Cohen described the appearance as "one of his sins." It apparently wasn't a "Hallelujah" moment for producers, either: "I was invited to make a cameo," he told host Michel Field. "I refused many times, but my kids learned about it, and they accused me of inhibiting their social life, so I finally accepted…After I said a couple of words, they gave the part to someone else, and that ended my career."
3. Frank Zappa as Mario Fuente
Episode: "Payback"Air Date: March 14, 1986
I think we can all agree rock 'n' roll's king freak playing a drug dealer pushing weasel dust should be filed under: 'nuff said. It seems safe to assume that the product would pair well with the 1970 Mothers of Invention LP Weasels Ripped My Flesh, but we'll never know — Fuente never got the distribution locked down.
4. David Johansen as Singer at Party
Episode: "The Dutch Oven"Air Date: October 25, 1985
How depressing was it to lose David Johansen earlier this year? If you want a reminder of his infectious exuberance and expert hook crafting, revisit his performance of "King of Babylon" from his excellent 1984 synthpop-y LP Sweet Revenge— the last before he let his Buster Poindexter persona fully take over — on this episode with some nose candy Olympics going on in the background.
Bonus trivia: The episode was directed by Abel Ferrara, who went on to make infamous crime features like the Christoper Walken-starring King of New York (1990) and Bad Lieutenant (1992) with Harvey Keitel.
5. Little Richard as Marvelle Quinn
Episode: "Out Where the Buses Don’t Run"Air Date: October 18, 1985
"Out Where the Buses Don't Run" opens with a scheming boardwalk rollerblader, The Who's "Baba O'Riley," and…Little Richard as a beach preacher in a near-ecstatic state as he shares the Lord's word from the flower-filled back of a convertible? Apologies to Miss Molly, but that's the real good golly right there.
6. Barbra Streisand (Uncredited Cameo)
Episode: "Badge of Dishonor"Air Date: March 18, 1988
In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it walk-by cameo, Barbra Streisand gets checked out by Don Johnson at Bayside, her real-life beau at the time. The two made it official with a duet single "Til I Loved You" the next year. (No, seriously.)
7. Sheena Easton as Caitlin Davis
Episode: "Like a Hurricane"Air Date: November 20, 1987
Maybe Johnson didn't pursue Babs in his Sonny Crocket character he was still hung up on Caitlin Davis, a singer he was assigned to protect played by none other than Scottish singer Sheena Easton, perhaps best known for dueting with Prince on the mega-hit "U Got the Look." (In a bit of an interesting coincidence, Easton, according to Classic Pop, didn't consider a career in music "until she heard Barbra Streisand singing over the opening credits of the Way We Were when it played at the local cinema in 1972.") Anyway, it's like a less sophisticated version of the Bodyguard five years before the movie and, while reception to the episode is mixed, Easton is royalty, you heathens. Name one other person who could pull off the wholesome "We’ve Got Tonight" with Kenny Rogers and the risqué "Sugar Walls" with Prince in the same year!
8. Miles Davis
Episode: "Junk Love"Air Date: November 8, 1985
Maybe those who spent the mid-eighties watching the Cosby Show and Family Ties were shocked when Miles Davis —the jazz trumpeting genius behind the multiplatinum 1959 landmark Kind of Blue — went on 60 Minutes in 1989 and waxed poetic about his pimping years to Harry Shearer. But if you watched Miami Vice, you knew the man brought a verisimilitude to his role as the bordello owner, Ivory Jones, that might not have entirely been method acting. Regardless, Davis oozes his trademark fire.
9. Willie Nelson as Jake Pierson
Episode: "El Viejo"Air Date: November 7, 1986
Damn, Willie Nelson already looked like a very elderly statesman in 1986. Being generous, that beard is seventy-five percent salt. The Traveling Wilburys were still just a twinkle in George Harrison's eye. Anyway, it's pretty entertaining to see America's favorite pot advocate — he of "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die" fame — go toe to toe with some Bolivian coke dealers. Oh, and Steve Buscemi is in this episode as well!
James Brown and Philip Michael Thomas in Miami Vice (1984)
Screenshot via imdb.com
10. James Brown as Lou De Long
Episode: "Missing Hours"Air Date: November 13, 1987
This episode has a 4.5-out-of-ten stars rating on IMDB, which leads you to wonder…what exactly are people looking for? This is a Miami Vice episode about UFOs. And crop circles. And a young Chris Rock. And James Brown as an extraterrestrial truther with a special connection to crop circles. In other words, you know, art.
11. Eartha Kitt as Priestess Chata
Episode: "Whatever Works"Air Date: October 4, 1985
Though today probably best remembered as the singer of the 1953 holiday classic "Santa Baby," it's important to remember she also had a hit with the track "I Want to be Evil" that same year, portrayed Catwoman in the Adam West Batman television series the following decade, and risked it all to protest the Vietnam War at a luncheon with First Lady Lady Bird Johnson in 1968. Not exactly a shrinking violet — in fact, a Santeria priestess fits just fine, thank you very much.
This episode also features the Power Station performing its (then) recent hit, "(Bang a Gong) Get it On." The band featured Andy and John Taylor from Duran Duran. (Robert Palmer, who sang on the track, had already bounced for his solo career by the time the episode was shot.)
12. Gene Simmons as Newton Windsor Blade
Episode: "The Prodigal Son"Air Date: September 27, 1985
Gene Simmons takes a break from being the Sears and Roebuck of rock 'n' roll paraphernalia to portray the "Sears and Roebuck of controlled substances." It was good training, apparently, for his role as the bad guy opposite Rutger Hauer in 1986's cheesy-but-excellent Wanted: Dead or Alive.
Even aside from The Demon, the cast of “The Prodigal Son” is eclectic to say the least: Pam Grier and Penn Jillette are also along for the ride.
13. Glenn Frey as Jimmy Cole
Episode: "Smuggler's Blues"Air Date: February 1, 1985
Miami Vice producers not only based Frey's episode on his song of the same name — from his second post-Eagles solo record, the Allnighter, also released in 1985 — but also let him tote around that guitar. And you know what? The rock legend slides right into the role. Like he belonged there. Like he could've had a great acting career if his solo records weren't giving Fort Knox a run for its (literal) money. The relationship was so cucumber cool the show added his "You Belong to the City" to its repertoire as well.
