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"Come on, motherfucker! Let's dance!"
―Det. Lambert (from Predator 2)

Detective Jerry Lambert, nicknamed "The Lone Ranger", was an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, transferred (at his own request) from Rampart Station to Mike Harrigan's team at the Alvarado Precinct during the gang wars of 1997. The team's investigation of severe gang violence led them to cross paths with that of a Predator in the city hunting the same gangs for sport.

Jerry's motives for requesting a transfer to such a violent precinct initially concerned Harrigan, who feared the young officer was merely seeking a reputation and fame, but he later proved to be a good cop and valuable part of the team. He was killed making a last stand against the Predator when it attacked a Los Angeles subway train.

Biography[]

"The Lone Ranger"[]

Jerry began his police career at Rampart Station.[3] He earned his nickname in his first week of policing, when he stumbled across four heavily armed men robbing a Los Angeles bank. Rather than call for backup, he single-handedly intervened, taking down all four robbers by himself.[4] He later earned a commendation from the mayor for his actions. However, Jerry's subsequent career was less heroic — one of his partners was shot by an armed perpetrator, and many officers blamed Jerry for the incident.

Working with Harrigan[]

"Lieutenant, I've paid my dues. I had to bust my ass to get my transfer."
Jerry, to Harrigan (from Predator 2)

Jerry soon requested a transfer to Alvarado Precinct, where he was placed under Detective Lieutenant Mike Harrigan's command. While Harrigan was initially concerned by Jerry's specific request to join his precinct (as Harrigan himself put it, "No one requests to come down here...") Jerry soon proved himself to be a valued part of the team, applying his considerable surveillance skills, both physical and electronic, to following Peter Keyes and his men around the city. Jerry also helped to protect Harrigan from the invasive and arrogant news reporter Tony Pope as they investigated the murders committed, unknown to them, by the City Hunter.

Subway massacre[]

"Okay, everybody, just take a deep breath. Loosen your sphincters. We don't need any rush-hour Rambos there."
Jerry, trying to defuse a stand-off (from Predator 2)

Jerry and fellow detective Leona Cantrell were taking the Los Angeles Metro across town to a meeting with Harrigan when they stumbled upon several armed gang members threatening a commuter. They reluctantly intervened, stunned when several civilians on the train also drew weapons and joined the stand-off. Before the two detectives could defuse the situation, the City Hunter burst onto the train and attacked — the creature had followed Jerry and Leona, and now sought to kill them as a means of provoking its ultimate prey, Lieutenant Harrigan.[5] As the creature began slaughtering anyone who was armed (and unfortunate enough to be in its way), Jerry ordered Leona to evacuate the civilians while he faced the Predator alone. Despite unloading several magazines into the City Hunter, it kept advancing, and when Jerry attempted to face it with a machete taken from one of the fallen gang members it quickly overpowered him.

When Leona returned, she found Jerry's now blood-stained lucky golf ball on the floor and his body hanging from the ceiling of the subway car by its feet, strung up alongside the leader of the gang that had started the trouble. The City Hunter subsequently claimed Jerry's corpse, carrying it away down the subway tunnel and tearing out his head and spinal column as a trophy. With this trophy, the Predator scaled the Eastern Columbia Building and presented its prize to the world, attracting a bolt of lighting with its Combistick.

Personality and Traits[]

"I go in for my physical and the doctor says, 'I need a semen, stool and urine sample.' I say, 'Gee, doc, I'm in a big hurry, can I just leave my underwear?'"
Jerry, to Leona (from Predator 2)

Although somewhat brash and cocky, Jerry was an honorable detective. Despite his outwardly flamboyant and childish demeanor, he was a serious professional at his core and was more than willing to put his life on the line to protect the innocent. More typically though, he was a comedian, constantly cracking jokes in an attempt to impress the women around him (with varying degrees of success).

A fervent golf enthusiast, Jerry carried a lucky golf ball around with him wherever he went.[3] Professionally, his reputation as "The Lone Ranger" preceded him, eliciting various responses from the people he worked with — while some readily acknowledged his obvious skill as a police officer, others were deeply resentful of the fact his previous partner was killed in the line of duty.

Equipment[]

Jerry Lambert used a stainless steel SIG Sauer P226 fitted with laser sight as his primary weapon. In his final moments, he also briefly acquired a machete (similar to the machete Billy, Dutch and Mac had in the first film) from one of the fallen gang members on the subway train and attempted to use the weapon against the City Hunter, to little avail. Aside from weaponry, Jerry carried a lucky golf ball in his pocket at all times, and was an expert with high-tech electronic surveillance equipment.

Trivia[]

  • Lambert actor Bill Paxton also played Private William Hudson in Aliens. Hudson was a combat technician, skilled in electronics, a trait he shares with Jerry.
  • In early drafts of the film's script, Jerry was known as Tony D'Angelo.[6]
  • Paxton appeared in several other films written and directed by Aliens director James Cameron in the 1980s and 90s, playing the part of an unnamed punk in The Terminator, Simon in True Lies and Brock Lovett in Titanic. In The Terminator, his character is killed by the titular cyborg; this, combined with his deaths in Aliens and Predator 2, makes Paxton one of two actors who have been killed on-screen by an Alien, a Predator and a Terminator, a dubious honor he shares with fellow Aliens actor Lance Henriksen.
  • In some ways, Jerry is very similar to Hawkins from Predator, in that both characters are somewhat immature comedians who crack lewd jokes to try and make their colleagues laugh.

Appearances[]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Jerry's actor's (Bill Paxton) height was 5ft 11 ½ (181.6 cm), so that is also how tall Jerry would have been.
  2. Predator: Hunting Grounds OWLF Recording 15 - Agent Keyes - Anniversary (07/08/2007) - Died the same day as Peter Keyes
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Jim Thomas, John Thomas (writers), Stephen Hopkins (director). Predator 2 (1990), 20th Century Fox [DVD].
  4. Simon Hawke. Predator 2, p. 57 (1990), Jove Books.
  5. Simon Hawke. Predator 2, p. 151 (1990), Jove Books.
  6. Predator 2 script (September 15, 1989 draft) by Jim Thomas and John Thomas
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