Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	He Walked by Night
director	Alfred L. WerkerAnthony Mann
producer	Bryan FoyRobert Kane
screenplay	John C. HigginsCrane Wilbur
story	Crane Wilbur
starring	Richard BasehartScott BradyRoy RobertsJack WebbWhit Bissell
music	Leonid Raab
cinematography	John Alton
editing	Alfred DeGaetano
distributor	Eagle-Lion Films
released
runtime	79 minutes
country	United States
language	English

''He Walked by Night'' (1948) is a black-and-white police procedural film noir, crediting Alfred L. Werker as director. The film, shot in semidocumentary tone, was loosely based on newspaper accounts of the real-life actions of Erwin "Machine-Gun" Walker, a former Glendale police department employee and World War II veteran who unleashed a crime spree of burglaries, robberies, and shootouts in the Los Angeles area during 1945 and 1946.

During production, one of the actors, Jack Webb, struck up a friendship with the police technical advisor, Detective Sergeant Marty Wynn, and was inspired by a conversation with Wynn to create the radio and later television program ''Dragnet''.

''He Walked by Night'' was released by Eagle-Lion Films and is notable for the camera work by renowned ''noir'' cinematographer John Alton. Today the film is in public domain.

Plot

On a Los Angeles street, Officer Hollis, a patrolman on his way home from work, stops a man he suspects of being a burglar and is shot and mortally wounded. The minor clues lead nowhere. Two police detectives, Sergeants Marty Brennan (Brady) and Chuck Jones (Cardwell), are assigned to catch the killer, Roy Morgan (Basehart), a brilliant mystery man with no known criminal past, who is hiding in a Hollywood bungalow and listening to police calls on his custom radio in an attempt to avoid capture. His only relationship is with his little dog.

Roy consigns burgled electronic equipment to Paul Reeves (Whit Bissell), and on his fifth sale is nearly caught when he shows up to collect on his property. Reeves tells police that the suspect is a mystery man named Roy Martin. The case crosses the paths of Brennan and Jones, who stake out Reeves' office to arrest and question Roy. He suspects a trap, however, and in a brief shootout shoots and paralyzes Jones. Jones wounds Roy, who performs surgery on himself to remove the bullet and avoid going to a hospital, where his gunshot wound would be reported to the police.

With his knowledge of police procedures, Roy changes his MO and becomes an armed robber. During one robbery he fires his automatic pistol, and the police recover the ejected casing. Lee (Jack Webb), a forensics specialist, matches the ejector marks on the casing to those recovered in the killing of Officer Rawlins and the wounding of Sgt. Jones, connecting all three shootings to one suspect.

Captain Breen (Roy Roberts) uses this break to gather all of the witnesses to the robberies. They assist Lee in building a composite photo of the killer. Reeves then identifies Roy from the composite. However, Roy hides in Reeves' car and attempts to intimidate him into revealing details of the police investigation. He barely eludes a stakeout of Reeves' house.

Because the police do not realize that Roy has inside knowledge of their work, the case goes nowhere. Breen takes Brennan off the case in an attempt to shake him up. Jones convinces his partner to stop viewing the case personally and to use his head.

Plodding, methodical follow-up by Brennan, using the composite photograph, results in information that Roy, whose actual name is Roy Morgan, worked for a local police department as a civilian radio dispatcher before being drafted into the Army. Brennan tracks him down through post office mail carriers and disguises himself as a milkman to get a close look at Morgan and his apartment.

The police surround and raid the apartment that night, but Morgan, forewarned by the barking of his dog, escapes through the attic and uses the Los Angeles sewer system as a means of escape. The film continues with a dragnet and chase through the sewers. Roy is finally cornered by the police in a passage blocked by the wheel of a police car. As the police shoot tear gas at Roy, he staggers and attempts to fire at them. He is then shot down and killed. The final scene is notable for its resemblance to the final sceen in The Third Man in which Orson Welles is chased through the sewers of Vienna. No known connection between the films has been established..

Cast

Richard Basehart as Roy Martin/Roy Morgan

Scott Brady as Sgt. Marty Brennan

Roy Roberts as Captain Breen

Whit Bissell as Paul Reeves an electronics dealer

James Cardwell as Sgt. Chuck Jones

Jack Webb as Lee

Reception

Critical response

The staff at ''Variety'' magazine gave the film a positive review and wrote, "''He Walked by Night'' is a high-tension crime meller, supercharged with violence but sprung with finesse. Top credits for this film's wallop is shared equally by the several scripters, director Alfred Werker and a small, but superb cast headed by Richard Basehart...Starting in high gear, the film increases in momentum until the cumulative tension explodes in a powerful crime-doesn't pay climax. Striking effects are achieved through counterpoint of the slayer's ingenuity in eluding the cops and the police efficiency in bringing him to book. High-spot of the film is the final sequence which takes place in LA's storm drainage tunnel system where the killer tries to make his getaway. With this role, Basehart establishes himself as one of Hollywood's most talented finds in recent years. He heavily overshadows the rest of the cast, although Scott Brady, Roy Roberts and Jim Cardwell, as the detectives, deliver with high competence. Film is also marked by realistic camera work and a solid score."

Awards

Wins

Locarno International Film Festival: Special Prize, Best Police Film, Alfred L. Werker; 1949.

See also

List of films in the public domain

References

External links

''He Walked by Night'' film clip at You Tube (example of John Alton's cinematography)

Category:1948 films Category:1940s thriller films Category:American films Category:Black-and-white films Category:Crime thriller films Category:Eagle-Lion Films films Category:English-language films Category:Film noir Category:Films directed by Alfred L. Werker Category:Films directed by Anthony Mann Category:Police detective films Category:Procedural films

pt:He Walked by Night

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Name	Richard Basehart
Birth name	John Richard Basehart
Birth date	August 31, 1914
Birth place	Zanesville, Ohio, U.S.
Death date	September 17, 1984
Death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1947–84
Spouse	his death }}

John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred in the 1960s television science fiction drama ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'', in the role of Admiral Harriman Nelson.

One of his most notable film roles was the acrobat known as "the Fool" in the acclaimed Italian film ''La strada'' directed by Federico Fellini. He also appeared as the killer in the film noir classic ''He Walked by Night'' (1948), as a psychotic member of the Hatfield clan in ''Roseanna McCoy'' (1949), as Ishmael in ''Moby Dick'' (1956), and in the drama ''Decision Before Dawn'' (1951). He was married to Italian Academy Award-nominated actress Valentina Cortese, with whom he had one son before their divorce in 1960. Cortese and Basehart also costarred in Robert Wise's ''The House on Telegraph Hill'' (1951).

Basehart was also noted for his deep, distinctive voice and was prolific as a narrator of many television and movie projects ranging from features to documentaries. In 1980, Basehart narrated the mini-series written by Peter Arnett called ''Vietnam: The Ten Thousand Day War'' that covered Vietnam and its battles from the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945 to the final American embassy evacuation on April 30, 1975. He appeared in the pilot episode of the television series ''Knight Rider'' as billionaire Wilton Knight. He is the narrator at the beginning of the show's credits.

He starred as Hitler in the 1962 film of that name. In 1971, Basehart played "Captain Sligo", a comical Irishman with a pet buffalo who negotiates a flawed but legal cattle purchase and unconventionally courts a widow with two children, played by Salome Jens, in CBS's western series, ''Gunsmoke'', with James Arness. Basehart appeared in an episode of ''The Twilight Zone'', ''Hawaii Five-O'', and as Hannibal Applewood, an abusive schoolteacher in ''Little House on the Prairie'' in 1976.

In 1972, he appeared in the ''Columbo'' episode ''Dagger of the Mind'' in which he and Honor Blackman played a husband-and-wife theatrical team who were loose parodies of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. In the feature realm, he played a supporting role as a doctor in ''Rage'' (1972), a theatrical feature starring and directed by George C. Scott. He made a few TV movies including ''Sole Survivor'' (1970) and ''The Birdmen'' (1971). Both were based on true stories during World War II.

He died at age 70 following a series of strokes. One month before his death, Basehart was an announcer for the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Personal life

He had been married three times. After the death of his first wife Stephanie Klein, he wed Italian actress Valentina Cortese (whose name was spelled Cortesa in American films). After their divorce, Basehart married Diana Lotery, with whom he founded the charity ''Actors and Others for Animals''.

Legacy in popular culture

He had a notable fan in the character of Gypsy from the cult cable television program ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. Basehart is mentioned in the song "The Radio Is Broken" on the 1983 Frank Zappa album ''The Man from Utopia''.

Partial filmography

''Repeat Performance'' (1947)

''Cry Wolf'' (1947)

''He Walked by Night'' (1948)

''Roseanna McCoy'' (1949)

''Reign of Terror'' (1949)

''Tension'' (1950)

''Outside the Wall'' (1950)

''Fourteen Hours'' (1951)

''The House on Telegraph Hill'' (1951)

''Fixed Bayonets!'' (1951)

''Decision Before Dawn'' (1951)

''The Stranger's Hand'' (1952)

''Titanic'' (1953)

''Angels of Darkness'' (1953)

''The Good Die Young'' (1954)

''La strada'' (1954)

''Le Aventure di Cartouche (1954)

''Jailbirds (1954)

''The Good Die Young (1954)

''Il bidone'' (1955), also known as ''The Swindle'' (US) and ''The Swindlers'' (UK)

''Finger of Guilt (1956)

''The Extra Day'' (1956)

''Moby Dick'' (1956)

''The Intimate Stranger'' (1956)

''Los jueves, milagro'' (1957)

''Time Limit'' (1957)

''The Brothers Karamazov'' (1958)

''Amore e Guai'' (1958)

''Jons und Erdme'' (1959)

''The Man Stalin Killed'' (1959)

''The Ambitious Ones'' (1959), also known as "The Restless And The Damned" and "L' Ambitieuse"

''For the Love of Mike'' (1960)

''Five Branded Women'' (1960)

''Portrait in Black'' (1960)

''Passport to China'' (1961), also known as "Visa to Canton"

''Savage Guns'' (1961)

''Hitler'' (1962)

''Kings of the Sun'' (1963)

''The Satan Bug'' (1965)

''Un homme qui me plaît'' (1969), also known as "A man I like" and "Love is a Funny Thing"

''Hans Brinker'' (1969)

''Sole Survivor'' (1970, TV)

''The Andersonville Trial'' (1970, TV)

''Chato's Land'' (1971)

''Rage'' (1972)

''The Sagittarius Mine'' (1972)

''Columbo: Dagger of the Mind'' (1972, TV)

''...And Millions Will Die!'' (1973)

''Time Travelers'' (1976, TV)

''Mansion of the Doomed'' (1977), also known as "Masacre Mansion" and "Eyes of Dr. Chaney"

The Great Bank Hoax'' (1977)

''The Island of Dr. Moreau'' (1977)

''Being There'' (1979)

''Knight Rider'' (1982)

External links

Official site, with biography and filmography.

"The Birdmen" movie fan website, Information about the movie.

Category:Actors from Ohio Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Animal rights advocates Category:People from Zanesville, Ohio Category:Deaths from stroke Category:1914 births Category:1984 deaths

de:Richard Basehart es:Richard Basehart fr:Richard Basehart it:Richard Basehart ja:リチャード・ベイスハート pl:Richard Basehart pt:Richard Basehart fi:Richard Basehart

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Name	Scott Brady
Birth date	September 13, 1924
Birth place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Death date	April 16, 1985
Death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S. }}

Scott Brady (September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor.

Born as Gerard Kenneth Tierney, he was the younger brother of fellow actor Lawrence Tierney. Brady served in the Navy during World War II, where he was a boxing champ. After being discharged, he supported himself as a lumberjack, and began taking acting classes; he began his film career soon afterward.

Brady specialized in tough-guy roles in films like ''He Walked by Night'', ''Canon City'' and ''Johnny Guitar''. He appeared twice on the long running TV western ''The Virginian'' in the 1960s. He appeared regularly on the 1970s cop show, ''Police Story''. He played lead to Clint Eastwood's third billing in ''Ambush at Cimarron Pass'', which Eastwood is quoted as saying was "probably the lousiest western ever made."

His last film role was in the 1984 movie ''Gremlins''. He played Shirley Feeney's father Jack Feeney in episode 32 of ''Laverne & Shirley'' which aired on February 15, 1977. He also starred in the western TV show ''Shotgun Slade'' from 1959-61.

Brady died from pulmonary fibrosis at the age of 60. Other sources have the cause as emphysema.

Sources

Scott Brady tribute website

Category:1924 births Category:1985 deaths Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:People from Brooklyn Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Deaths from emphysema Category:Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Category:United States Navy sailors Category:American boxers

de:Scott Brady es:Scott Brady fr:Scott Brady nl:Scott Brady

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	Whit Bissell
birth date	October 25, 1909
birth place	New York City, New York, United States
death date
death place	Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States }}

Whitner Nutting Bissell (October 29, 1909March 5, 1996), better known as Whit Bissell, was an American actor.

Early life

Born in New York City, Bissell was the son of prominent surgeon Dr. J. Dougal Bissell. He trained with the Carolina Playmakers, a theatrical organization associated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He had a number of roles in Broadway theatre, including the Air Force show ''Winged Victory'', when he was a private.

Career

In a career that began in 1943 with the film ''Holy Matrimony'', Bissell appeared in literally hundreds of films and television series episodes, including ''Sheriff of Cochise'' and Rod Cameron's syndicated ''City Detective'' (1955), ''The Brothers Brannagan'' (1960), and ''The DuPont Show with June Allyson'' (also 1960).

Viewers of 1950s low-budget science fiction, horror films and B movies know him as one of "those actors" (perhaps ''the'' actor) that always shows up somewhere in such movies. Some of the most well-known of these roles were as a mad scientist in the 1957 film ''I Was a Teenage Werewolf'', as well as Professor Frankenstein in ''I Was a Teenage Frankenstein'' (1957). He also played the doctor who treats Kevin McCarthy's character in the 1956 classic ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'', and in the original 1954 ''Creature from the Black Lagoon''. In 1957, Bissell played Larry Sands in the Perry Mason episode ''The Case of the Crooked Candle''.

In 1960, he appeared in George Pal's production of ''The Time Machine'', as Walter Kemp, one of the Time Traveler's dining friends. Thirty-three years later, in 1993 the documentary film ''Time Machine: The Journey Back'', reunited Bissell with Rod Taylor and Alan Young from the original, he recreated his role as Walter in the opening sequence. It was Bissell's last acting performance. In 1957, he appeared in "The Man on the 35th Floor" of ''Fireside Theater'', hosted by Jane Wyman, with fellow guest stars Macdonald Carey and Phyllis Avery.

Bissell was a regular for the third and fourth seasons of the television series ''Bachelor Father'' (1959–1961), costarring John Forsythe, Noreen Corcoran, and Sammee Tong. He appeared as a guest star in practically every dramatic television series that aired between the early 1950s and the mid 1970s, with more sporadic appearances after that. In 1959, he appeared on NBC's science fiction series ''The Man and the Challenge''. In 1961, he guest starred in the episode "A Fool for a Client" on James Whitmore's ''The Law and Mr. Jones'' legal drama on ABC. He appeared three times on the long running TV western ''The Virginian'' in the 1960s.

His most prominent television role came when he co-starred as General Heywood Kirk in the 1966-1967 science-fiction television series ''The Time Tunnel''. He often played silver-haired figures of authority, here as in many other roles (as described by Allmovie), "instantly establishing his standard screen characterization of fussy officiousness," leavened in many instances with a military bearing. Other examples of such authoritative roles as military or police officials, include appearances in ''The Caine Mutiny,'' ''The Manchurian Candidate,'' ''The Outer Limits,'' (1963) and ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1966).

Bissell appeared in the classic episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" of ''Star Trek'', footage of which was re-used in ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'''s "Trials and Tribble-ations".

In 1978 and 1980, Bissell appeared in episodes of ''The Incredible Hulk'', first in the second season episode "Kindred Spirits", and next (and lastly) in the second part of the fourth season two-parter "Prometheus". He played a different professor in both episodes.

Bissell's most-screened motion picture role is as the undertaker (who sees every man, no matter his race, as "just another future customer") in ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960).

Bissell received a life career award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films in 1994. He also served for many years on the board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild, as well as representing the actors branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences board of governors.

Bissell died in 1996 in Woodland Hills, California from the effects of Parkinson's disease. He was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Personal life

Bissell was married three times and had three daughters and a stepson, Brian Forster, who was the second actor to play the role of Chris Partridge on ''The Partridge Family'' TV series.

Wives: Jennifer Raine (24 November 1967 - 5 January 1993) (her death); Dilys Mary Shan Jukes (5 December 1954 - 11 January 1958) (her death) 1 child; Adrienne Marden (23 November 1938 - 1954) (divorced) two children.

References

External links

Category:1909 births Category:1996 deaths Category:American film actors Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:People from New York City Category:Deaths from Parkinson's disease

de:Whit Bissell fr:Whit Bissell

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	Jack Webb
birth date	April 02, 1920
birth place	Santa Monica, California, U.S.
death date	December 23, 1982
death place	West Hollywood, California, U.S.
other names	John Randolph
occupation	Actor, producer, director, screenwriter
years active	1954–78
spouse	}}

Jack Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982), also known by the pseudonym John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series ''Dragnet''. He was also the founder of his own production company, Mark VII Limited.

Early life

Born in Santa Monica, California, Webb grew up in the Bunker Hill section of Los Angeles. His Jewish father left home before Webb was born, and Webb never knew him. He was raised a Roman Catholic by his Irish-Indian mother. One of the tenants in his mother's rooming house was an ex-jazzman who began Webb's lifelong interest in jazz by giving him a recording of Bix Beiderbecke's "At the Jazz Band Ball".

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Webb lived in the parish of Our Lady of Loretto Church and attended Our Lady of Loretto Elementary School in Echo Park, where he served as an altar boy. He then attended Belmont High School, and later, the St. John's University, Minnesota, where he studied art. During World War II, Webb enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces. After washing out of flight training, he applied for and received a hardship discharge, being the primary financial support for his mother and grandmother.

Career

Acting

Following his discharge, he moved to San Francisco to star in his own radio show on ABC's KGO Radio. ''The Jack Webb Show'' was a half-hour comedy that had a limited run on ABC radio in 1946. By 1949 he had abandoned comedy for drama, and starred in ''Pat Novak for Hire'', a radio show about a man who worked as an unlicensed private detective. The program co-starred Raymond Burr. ''Pat Novak'' was notable for writing that imitated, almost to parody, the hard-boiled style of such writers as Raymond Chandler, with lines such as: ''"She drifted into the room like 98 pounds of warm smoke. Her voice was hot and sticky--like a furnace full of marshmallows."

Webb's radio shows included ''Johnny Modero, Pier 23;'' ''Jeff Regan, Investigator;'' ''Murder and Mr. Malone'' and ''One Out of Seven.'' Webb did all of the voices on ''One Out of Seven'', often vigorously attacking racial prejudice.

His most famous motion picture role was as the combat-hardened Marine Corps drill instructor at Parris Island in the 1957 film ''The D.I.,'' with Don Dubbins as a callow Marine private. Webb's characterization in this role (Sgt. Jim Moore) would be reflected in much of his later acting.

''Dragnet'' and stardom

Webb had a featured role as a crime lab technician in the 1948 film ''He Walked by Night'', based on the real-life murder of a California Highway Patrolman by Erwin Walker, a World War II army veteran and former Glendale police department employee. The film was done in semidocumentary style with technical assistance provided by Detective Sergeant Marty Wynn of the Los Angeles Police Department. ''He Walked by Night'''s thinly-fictionalized recounting of the 1946 Walker crime spree gave Webb the idea for ''Dragnet'': a recurring series based on real cases from LAPD police files, featuring authentic depictions of the modern police detective, including methods, mannerisms, and technical language.

With much assistance from Sgt. Marty Wynn and legendary LAPD chief William H. Parker, ''Dragnet'' hit radio airwaves in 1949 (running until 1954). It was then picked up as a television series by NBC, which aired episodes each season from 1952 to 1959. Webb played Sgt. Joe Friday, and Barton Yarborough co-starred as Sgt. Ben Romero. After Yarborough's death, Ben Alexander joined the cast as Officer Frank Smith.

Webb was a stickler for attention to detail. He believed viewers wanted "realism" and tried to give it to them. Webb had tremendous respect for those in law enforcement. He often said in interviews that he was angry about the "ridiculous amount" of abuse to which police were subjected by the press and the public. Webb was also impressed by the long hours, low pay, and injury rate among police investigators of the day, particularly in the LAPD, which was notorious for jettisoning officers who had become ill or injured in the line of duty. In announcing his vision of ''Dragnet'', Webb said he intended to perform a service for the police by showing them as low-key working class heroes. ''Dragnet'' moved away from earlier portrayals of the police in shows such as ''Jeff Regan'' and ''Pat Novak,'' which often showed them as brutal and even corrupt. According to one ''Dragnet'' technical advisor, when the advisor pointed out that several circumstances in an episode were extremely unlikely in real life, Webb responded, "You know that, and now I know that. But that little old lady in Kansas will never know the difference." ''Dragnet'' became a successful television show in 1952. Barton Yarborough died of a heart attack, and Barney Phillips (Sgt. Ed Jacobs) and Herbert Ellis (Officer Frank Smith) temporarily stepped in as partners. Veteran radio and film actor Ben Alexander soon took over the role of jovial, burly Officer Frank Smith. Alexander was popular and remained a cast member until the show's cancellation in 1959. In 1954, a full-length feature film adaptation of the series was released, starring Webb, Alexander, and Richard Boone.

''Dragnet'' began with the narration "The story you are about to see is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." At the end of each show, the trial verdict of the suspect was announced by Hal Gibney. Webb frequently re-created entire floors of buildings on sound stages, such as the police headquarters at Los Angeles City Hall and a floor of the ''Los Angeles Herald-Examiner''.

In ''Dragnet'''s early days, Webb continued to appear in movies, notably as the best friend of William Holden's character in the 1950 Billy Wilder film ''Sunset Boulevard''. In 1950, Webb appeared alongside future 1960s ''Dragnet'' partner Harry Morgan in the film noir ''Dark City'', which also featured the first screen appearance of a new young actor named Charlton Heston. In contrast to the pair's straight-arrow image in ''Dragnet'', here Webb played a vicious card sharp in Dark City and Morgan a punch-drunk ex-fighter who tries to talk Heston back into a straight-and-narrow life.

In 1951, Webb introduced a short-lived radio series, ''Pete Kelly's Blues'', in an attempt to bring the music he loved to a broader audience. That show became the basis for a 1955 movie of the same name. In 1959 a television version was made. Neither were very successful. In the early 1960s Webb (along with actor Jeffrey Hunter) formed Apollo Productions. They made the TV series Temple Houston.

In 1963, Webb took over from William T. Orr as executive producer of the ABC detective series ''77 Sunset Strip''. He brought about wholesale changes in the program and retained only Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., in the role of Stuart Bailey. The outcome was a disaster. Ratings fell and the series was cancelled in its sixth season.

Beginning in early 1967, Webb produced and starred in a new color version of ''Dragnet'' for NBC, this time for Universal Television, which packaged all but one of his subsequent shows. Harry Morgan co-starred as Officer Bill Gannon. (Ben Alexander was unavailable, as he was co-starring in ''Felony Squad'' on ABC.) The show's pilot, originally produced as a made-for-TV movie in 1966, did not air until 1969. The TV movie was based on the Harvey Glatman serial killings. The TV series ran through 1970. To distinguish it from the original series, the year of production was added to the title (''Dragnet 1967,'' ''Dragnet 1968,'' etc.). The revival emphasized crime prevention and outreach to the public. Its attempts to address the contemporary youth-drug culture (such as the Blue Boy episode voted 85th-best TV episode of all time by TV Guide and TV Land) have led certain episodes on the topic to achieve cult status due to their strained attempts to be "with-it", such as Joe Friday grilling Blue Boy by asking him, "You're pretty high and far out, aren't you? What kind of kick are you on, son?"

In 1968, in concert with Robert A. Cinader, Webb produced NBC's popular ''Adam-12'', which focused on uniformed LAPD officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Kent McCord), which ran until 1975. Webb also performed the classic "Copper Clappers" sketch during an appearance on ''The Tonight Show'' where a pokerfaced Joe Friday echoed Johnny Carson's equally-deadpan robbery report in which all the details started with "Cl" or least the letter C.

In the 1970s Webb began to expand his Mark VII Limited into other shows. The most successful of his 1970s efforts was ''Emergency!'', which portrayed the fledgling paramedic program of the L.A. County Fire Department. The show become a huge success, running from 1972–79, with ratings occasionally even topping its time slot competitor, ''All in the Family''. Webb cast his ex-wife, Julie London, as well as her second husband and ''Dragnet'' ensemble player Bobby Troup, as nurse Dixie McCall and Dr. Joe Early. There was even a cartoon spin-off, ''Emergency+4''.

Personal life

Webb's personal life was better defined by his love of jazz than his interest in police work. His life-long interest in the cornet and racially tolerant attitude allowed him to move easily in the jazz culture, where he met singer and actress Julie London. They married in 1947 and had two children. They later divorced, and Webb would marry three more times.

Webb's first marriage to Julie London ended in 1954. Subsequently, he married Dorothy Towne in 1955, divorcing in 1957, former Miss USA Jackie Loughery (to whom he was married from 1958 to 1964), and Opal Wright, who married him in 1980 and was widowed by his death in 1982. He had two daughters with Julie London: Stacy (1950–1996) and Lisa (born 1952). Stacy Webb authorized and collaborated on a book, ''Just the Facts, Ma'am; The Authorized Biography of Jack Webb, Creator of Dragnet, Adam-12, and Emergency'', by Daniel Moyer and Eugene Alvarez. It was published in 1999. Stacy did not live to see the publication of the book, having been killed in a car accident three years earlier.

Death

Jack Webb began working on scripts for a revival of ''Dragnet'' with Kent McCord as his partner. However, he died of a heart attack in 1982 at the age of 62.

He was interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, and was given a funeral with full police honors. On Webb's death Chief Daryl Gates announced that badge number 714 which was used by Joe Friday in ''Dragnet'' would be retired. Mayor Tom Bradley of Los Angeles ordered all flags lowered to half-staff in Webb's honor for a day, and Webb was buried with a replica LAPD badge bearing the rank of Sergeant, and the number 714.

Webb has two Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for radio at 7040 Hollywood Boulevard, and for television at 6728 Hollywood Boulevard.

Selected filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Film ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- | 1932 | ''Three on a Match'' | Boy in schoolyard | Uncredited |- | rowspan=2|1948 | ''Hollow Triumph'' | Bullseye | Uncredited |- | ''He Walked by Night'' | Lee | |- | 1949 | ''Sword in the Desert'' | Hoffman | Uncredited |- | rowspan=4|1950 | ''The Men'' | Norm | Alternative title: ''Battle Stripe'' |- | ''Sunset Boulevard'' | Artie Green | |- | ''Dark City'' | Augie | |- | ''Halls of Montezuma'' | Correspondent Dickerman | |- | rowspan=2|1951 | ''You're in the Navy Now'' | Ens. Anthony "Tony" Barbo | Alternative title: ''U.S.S. Teakettle'' |- | ''Appointment with Danger'' | Joe Regas | |- | 1954 | ''Dragnet'' | Sgt. Joe Friday | Director |- | 1955 | ''Pete Kelly's Blues'' | Pete Kelly | Producer/Director |- | 1957 | ''The D.I.'' | Tech Sgt. Jim Moore | Director |- | 1959 | ''-30-'' | Sam Gatlin | Director |- | 1961 | ''The Last Time I Saw Archie'' | William "Bill" Bowers | Producer |- | 1962 | ''Red Nightmare'' | Narrator | Producer |- |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Television |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Title ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- | 1951–1959 | ''Dragnet'' | Sergeant Joe Friday | 276 episodes |- | 1956–1957 | ''Noah's Ark'' | Creator of the series starring Paul Burke | 24 episodes |- | 1962–1963 | ''GE True'' | – | Director, 4 episodes |- | 1967–1970 | ''Dragnet 1967'' | Sergeant Joe Friday | 98 episodes |- | 1968–1975 | ''Adam-12'' | – | Writer, 174 episodes |- | rowspan=2|1971 | ''O'Hara, U.S. Treasury'' | Narrator | 1 episode |- | ''The Partners'' | The Commissioner | 1 episode |- | 1972–1976 | ''Emergency!'' | – | Director, 5 episodes |- | 1978 | ''Project UFO'' | Announcer | 1 episode |}

Discography

''Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues'' (1955)

''You're My Girl: Romantic Reflections by Jack Webb'' (1958)

''Golden Throats'' volume 1 (1988)

''Just the Tracks, Ma'am: The Warner Brothers Recordings'' (2000)

References

Further reading

Hugh W. Binyon: Reflections in a Pig's Eye Babcock Publishing; (paperback, 2002)

Michael J. Hayde: My Name's Friday: The Unauthorized but True Story of Dragnet and the Films of Jack Webb; Cumberland House Publishing; ISBN 1-58182-190-5 (paperback, 2001)

Jack Webb: The Badge: The Inside Story of One of America's Great Police Departments; Prentice-Hall; (hardback, 1958)

Maurice Zolotow: The True Story of Jack Webb The American Weekly, September 12, 19, 26, October 3, 1954.

External links

Badge 714 (''Dragnet'' and Webb fan site)

Pat Novak For Hire (''Pat Novak For Hire'' fan site)

AAFCollection.info Pictures of Jack Webb as an Air Cadet at the Rankin Aeronautical Academy at Tulare, California in 1943.

Category:Actors from California Category:American film actors Category:American film directors Category:American film producers Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:United States Army Air Forces soldiers Category:American radio actors Category:American television actors Category:American television directors Category:American television producers Category:American television writers Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Edgar Award winners Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:1920 births Category:1982 deaths Category:People from Echo Park, Los Angeles

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