Evidently “21 Jump Street” loved admonishing America’s old enemies because we’re about to transition from an episode dragging Communism to an episode dragging Neo-Nazis. Season 4, Episode 22, “Shirts and Skins,” sees different members of Jump Street infiltrating opposing sides of a brewing social conflict between some neo-Nazis and a group of liberal protestors. Throughout the episode, the white supremacists find themselves undergoing a power dispute after their leader is murdered. The dead leader’s father, Albert Schalin, was played by one of America’s leading TV Western actors, Morgan Woodward.
Woodward, who died at the age of 93 in 2019 (via The Hollywood Reporter), had a long and fulfilling career playing iconic Western characters in shows like “Dallas,” “Wagon Train,” and “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.” These performances ranged from classic cowboys like the latter series’ Shotgun Gibbs to the sleazy oil tycoon Marvin “Punk” Anderson” in “Dallas.” As Albert Schalin, however, Woodward put down the spurs to play a more conflicted character.
Throughout the episode, continual struggles to co-lead the neo-Nazi movement alongside his grandson, Lance (Steven Eckholdt) lead Albert to discover that it was Lance who murdered his father. So while he may be a white supremacist, the episode is actually tinged with a certain amount of sympathy for the old racist. As compelling as that might make the story, however, we’re sure fans preferred it when Woodward wore cowboy hats and holsters instead of brown shirts and Nazi armbands.