Glenn Frey Rocks The Big Screen – And TV Too!
Eagles fans know all about the music – both from the band and from members as solo artists…so I wanted to look at Glenn Frey’s other passion: acting!
And where better to start than in Miami!
“Miami Vice” – Great Acting AND Smash Hit Singles!
Frey’s first role was on “Miami Vice” – an iconic hit from the 80’s…The storyline for his episode was inspired by his song “Smuggler’s Blues.”
The episode titled “Smuggler’s Blues” had Crockett and Tubbs on a secret mission to flush out a DEA leak with the aid of a guitar-toting pilot – Frey!
The “Miami Vice” soundtrack gave Frey two massive hits: “Blues” and “You Belong To The City.” Frey co-wrote some of his songs with friend and legendary Songwriter Jack Tempchin, who also contributed to some of the greatest Eagles songs….
Here is the music video for this classic song:
“The Heat Is On”!
Glenn also scored a massive hit with “The Heat Is On” from the “Beverly Hills Cop” soundtrack.
Here is a great live performance by Frey from the “Arsenio Hall” show…
Glenn showed up in guest spots on a number of shows such as “Wiseguy”, and starred in a short-lived series “South Of Sunset” as well.
“Let’s Get Harry!”
Frey’s film roles included starring in “Let’s Get Harry”, a 1986 film about a group of friends who travel to Colombia to rescue their friend from a drug lord.
Here is the trailer:
It’s a great cast including Robert Duvall, Gary Busey and Frey – a fun little action thriller worth checking out.
Glenn Chews Out Tom Cruise!
Frey starred in “Jerry Maguire”, and he got to have a lot of fun chewing out Tom Cruise! First, here is the trailer:
Frey was the frugal general manager of the Arizona Cardinals – who must negotiate a new deal with one of Cruise’s clients…in one great scene, Glenn got to chew out Tom Cruise for all of the abuse he’d suffered in previous negotiations…
It’s a great scene is a classic film, and it reinforced how comfortable Frey was on camera…
After leaving the Eagles, Frey had 12 solo hit singles. Eleven of those were written with Jack Tempchin who also wrote “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and other songs with the Eagles as well.
Of course, one of Frey’s greatest songs was written with Don Henley while sitting in a bar in West Hollywood!
I love this story of how Don and Glenn got the idea for the song – and you can read that story here:
https://johnrieber.com/2016/01/19/glenn-freys-greatest-song-lyin-eyes-the-true-story/
Of course, Frey and the band reunited and created one more masterpiece for fans:
I love this double album, full of classic Eagles songs like “Busy Being Fabulous”, written by Frey and Henley, and Frey’s beautiful song “You Are Not Alone.”
See more great music from that album here:
https://johnrieber.com/2016/04/01/the-eagles-swan-song-long-road-out-of-eden-glenn-freys-farewell/
Leave me a note and let me know your favorite Glenn Frey TV or movie moment!
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johnrieber 
As I have never seen the Miami Vice TV series or the films mentioned, it was good to read about Frey’s acting career, John. I was aware that he did ‘The Heat Is On’ for the film soundtrack, but I don’t think I have ever seen him as an actor.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks Pete!
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