James MacArthur reminisces about his time on the show. Advertiser file photo

James MacArthur doesn't know how often someone has come up to him over the years and said "Book him, Dano."/

"I know it's been hundreds of times," MacArthur said with a laugh.

Playing Danny Williams on "Hawaii Five-0" for 12 seasons, MacArthur heard the phrase numerous time from the show's star, Jack Lord. At the conclusion of many episodes, after Lord had finally cornered his prey, he turned the criminal over to MacArthur with a firm "Book 'em, Danno."

"He said 'book him' to others in the cast but I guess he said it to me the most," MacArthur said during a recent telephone interview. "It wasn't anything we really thought about it at first. But the phrase just took off and caught the public's imagination. The culture grabbed it and it's been around ever since."

Fans of the show can hear it again when "Hawaii Five-0: The First Season" (Paramount, $49.98) comes to DVD next Tuesday in a seven-disc set that includes all 24 episodes as well as the series' movie pilot "Cocoon." Also included is "Memories of Hawaii Five-O" with cast members including MacArthur reminiscing about the show. There is a special tribute to Lord, who died in 1998 at age 77.

Lord plays the tough, give-no-quarter detective Steve McGarrett, who is assisted by not only MacArthur, but also Kam Fong as Chin Ho Kelly and Zulu as Kono Kalakaua. MacArthur remembered the cast clicking together almost from the very start. He said he and Lord had a very good relationship on set but rarely socialized.

"Jack was very much a loner," MacArthur said. "But to be honest, there was little time for getting together. We worked six days a week and were out the door at 6:30 every morning. They were long days and by Saturday night you were done in."

Considering he was adopted as an infant by playwright Charles MacArthur and his wife, Oscar-winning actress Helen Hayes, it's not surprising that MacArthur became an actor at a very early age, appearing in his first radio drama at age 10. Televsion roles followed and then came "The Young Stranger" (1957) with MacArthur playing a misunderstood teen in a film directed by John Frankenheimer.

Disney hired him for such films as "Light in the Forest" (1958), "Third Man on the Mountain" (1959), "Kidnapped" (1960) and "Swiss Family Robinson" (1960). He was Clay-Boy in "Spencer's Mountain" (1963), the film that inspired the TV series "The Waltons" in which the character became John-Boy. He co-starred with John Mills and Haley Mills in "The Truth About Spring" (1964).

"I gave Haley her first screen kiss," MacArthur said and then added jokingly, "Somebody had to do it."

Next came "The Battle of the Bulge" (1965) and a cameo as a preacher in the Clint Eastwood Western "Hang "Em High" (1967). It was the latter role that lead him to "Hawaii Five-O." In the show's pilot, the character of Danny Williams had been played by Tim O'Kelly.

"I don't know what happened but they wanted to replace him (O'Kelly)," MacArthur said.

Leonard Freeman, who had produced and wrote "Hang 'Em High," was the man who created and produced "Five-0." He gave MacArthur a call.

"He wanted to know if I would be interested in the part," MacArthur said. "I read a script and said 'Heck, yes.' "

"Hawaii Five-0" premiered in the fall of 1968 and by its third season had moved into the top 10 of most-watched shows. It ranked as high as third during its lengthy, popular run.

MacArthur said that at the very beginning Freeman predicted "Five-0" would be a big success.

"He told us 'We can be a big hit. This is a morality play. It's good vs. evil and the good guys are going to win.' That was during the Vietnam era and I think many people were looking for something like that."

Of course, MacArthur said, there were other reasons for the show's popularity.

"The stories were good, the music was excellent and you had these decent characters," MacArthur said. "The location helped, too. Back then, Hawai'i was still an exotic place to many people. So many of them (the viewers) had never been there."

Today, MacArthur said, he is trying to "live the good life," spending time with his seven grandchildren and playing a lot of golf.

Despite his body of work in TV and films, MacArthur isn't bothered that these days most people remember him for "Hawaii Five-0."