John Shea (3/86 Case of Deadly Force)
Orlando Sentinel 3/2/86: John Shea | A Case of Deadly Force
Crenna In Cbs Movie
March 2, 1986|By Crosby Day
FILMING HAS begun in Boston on A Case of Deadly Force. In the two-hour CBS movie, Richard Crenna will portray attorney Lawrence O'Donnell Sr., who undertakes a three-year investigation into the shooting death of a black man by police officers. The film will co-star John Shea as Lawrence's son and law partner, Michael O'Donnell. A Case of Deadly Force is based on the book Deadly Force by Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. No air date for the movie has been announced by the network.
© Orlando Sentinel
Sun Sentinel 4/9/86: John Shea
Father And Son Lawyers Take On Police
By Bill Kelley, Staff writer, April 9, 1986
Richard Crenna and John Shea portray Lawrence and John O`Donnell, a father- and-son team of attorneys who investigate A Case of Deadly Force (9 p.m., WTVJ-Ch. 4, WTVX-Ch. 34). Hired by the widow of a black robbery suspect who was killed by Boston police, they uncover an apparent conspiracy to conceal the facts of the shooting and find that the police are the main obstacle preventing them from reaching the truth. Michael Miller (Jackson County Jail ) directs the CBS movie.
© Sun Sentinel
Excerpt from Los Angeles Times 4/9/86: John Shea
This Is For Page 5, Not Tv : 'Deadly Force' Focuses On Controversial Boston Death
April 09, 1986|CLARKE TAYLOR
NEW YORK - "A Case of Deadly Force," a CBS fact-based television drama airing at 9 tonight, tackles a sensitive subject involving the black community and the largely white police department of Boston, a city where racial tensions are highly charged.
....
The two-hour TV movie stars Richard Crenna as Lawrence O'Donnell Sr. and John Shea as his son and partner Michael O'Donnell. They portray two Boston lawyers who waged a protracted court battle to prove the wrongful death of a black man shot in 1975 by members of Boston's now-disbanded tactical police force.
© LA Times
Excerpt from Chicago Tribune 4/9/86: John Shea
`Deadly Force` Comes Alive In A Scary Tale
April 09, 1986|By Clifford Terry, TV/radio critic.
The two-hour made-for-TV movie is based on the novel, ``Deadly Force,`` written by Lawrence O`Donnell Jr.--the only member of his family, in fact, who never joined the father`s nepotistic law firm. ``We`re gonna chase our tail for three years and end up with nothing,`` son Michael O`Donnell (John Shea) complains when told about the case. But Lawrence Sr., who harbors a chilling secret about his own father, dissents: ``We`re talking about a widow with two young children. I know what it`s like for a mother to raise kids on her own.`` In more than 100 years, Michael persists, no one has ever won a similar case against the Boston police. ``That`s because I never tried one,`` the father retorts.
© Chicago Tribune