Randy is my father in law. He is a retired NYPD homicide detective and was partners with Sonny Grosso. He is the REAL detective that turned these guys into REEL detectives when he was brought on to consult and ultimately act in The French Connection. He did some of the driving in the famous car chase as well. This led to a lifelong friendships with Gene, Roy Schieder and William Friedkin (Billy as he called him). Billy acknowledges that Randy and his gold shield were instrumental in making it possible to “steal” many shots in several of his films. The did not have permits for a lot of the scenes in this film. More to come from other films including Cruising, where Al Pacino portrayed Randy.
by Soundsgoodtosteve