Randy Jurgensen has had a tremendous life.
After earning three bronze stars and a purple heart during the Korean War, he joined the NYPD as a patrolman in 1958. The native New Yorker quickly rose to detective and got involved in some major investigations, including hate crimes, officer shootings, police corruption, and a melee at Nation of Islam’s Mosque No. 7 in Harlem.
Detective Jurgensen then transitioned to acting, consulting, and production, appearing in more than 30 films, including The Godfather (1972), Superman (1978), Fort Apache, The Bronx (1981), and Donnie Brasco (1997).
Get the story behind one of his greatest efforts on Saturday, May 25, when the Queens Historical Society screens The French Connection. After watching the thriller, Jurgensen will participate in a Q&A session with QHS Executive Director Jason Antos.
The 1971 blockbuster won five Oscars, including Best Director (William Friedkin) and Best Actor (Gene Hackman). Jurgensen played a police sergeant (surprise, surprise) and served as a technical advisor for the fictional story of NYPD detectives going after a French heroin king.
Editor’s note: Scenes were filmed in Long Island City, Ridgewood, and under the Hell Gate and Triborough (RFK) bridges in Astoria.
General admission is $15. (Bring your own popcorn.)
The event is scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm at Kingsland Homestead, which is located at 143-35 37th Ave. in Flushing.
While there, visitors can enjoy the Moving Kingsland exhibition, which is currently on display.
To avoid demolition due to a planned subway extension in 1923, the two-story Long Island half house — which is now Queens Historical Society’s headquarters — was physically moved about one block to 40-25 155th St. Then with more development on tap in 1968, the structure was rolled about one mile down Northern Boulevard from 155th Street to its current address.
The gallery show mostly informs on the 1968 relocation via newspaper articles, documents, a radio report, and never-before-seen color prints developed from original Kodachrome slides.
Images: Queens Historical Society