TV & VIDEO - Oct. 12, 1987

Miami and its most famous fictional son, “Miami Vice” star Don Johnson, are having a rather public spat. Johnson has called city officials and developers ungrateful for rewards they have reaped from the slam-bang NBC series. Johnson went further in a USA Today interview, maligning the Miami Herald for its coverage of the Gary Hart-Donna Rice matter and saying Dade County officials have “snubbed” the TV series that films in Miami and its environs. Herald managing editor Pete Weitzel replied: “I didn’t know that Mr. Johnson was so politically aware and concerned. He’s never given me any reason to take him seriously.” Added Miami developer Tom Ferguson: “I read the article, and it just sounded to me like a big star with a dying show.”