NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Jack Webb

John Randolph "Jack" Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, director, and writer 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 Productions. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Santa Monica (disambiguation). ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (358th in leap years). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Nickname: WeHo Location of Los Angeles County in California and West Hollywood within Los Angeles County Country United States State California County Los Angeles Incorporated 1984 - City Council John Heilman (mayor) Sal Guarriello John J. Duran Abbe Land Jeffrey Prang Area - City 1. ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (358th in leap years). ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... A Television producer oversees the making of television penis programs. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organisations around the world. ... -LAPD Badge 714 Detective Sergeant Joe Friday was a fictional character created and played by American actor, television producer, and writer Jack Webb (1920-1982) on Dragnet. ... Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. ... Mark VII Limited was Jack Webbs TV production company that existed from 1951 to 1979. ...

Biography

Early life and career

Born in Santa Monica, California, Webb grew up poor in the Bunker Hill slum section of Los Angeles to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother; he was raised Catholic. He was a sickly child and studied art as a young man. One of the tenants in the rooming house run by his mother was an ex-jazzman who imbued Webb with a lifelong interest in jazz when he gave him a recording of Bix Beiderbecke's "At the Jazz Band Ball." For other uses, see Santa Monica (disambiguation). ... Bunker Hill as seen from Los Angeles City Hall Bunker Hill, in the downtown area of Los Angeles, California, is a short, developed hill with its peak located roughly around 3rd Street. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows his find. ... Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County Incorporated April 4, 1850 Government - Type Mayor-Council - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa - City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo - Governing body City Council Area - City 498. ... Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... Bix Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 â€“ August 6, 1931) was a notable jazz cornet player. ...

Acting career

After serving as a crewmember of a B-26 Marauder in World War II he starred in a radio show about a waterfront character who operated as an unlicensed private detective, Pat Novak for Hire. Webb's other radio shows include Johnny Modero, Pier 23, Jeff Regan, Investigator, Murder and Mr. Malone and One Out of Seven. Another Jeff Regan, investigator- Sat Dec 4, 1948 (22). The lawyer and the Lady (AM 1710 Antioch QTR,Scheduled Old-time-radio radio sub-genres. Martin B-26 Marauder See A-26 Invader for the plane known as the B-26 from 1948 to 1962. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A private investigator, or PI, is a person who undertakes investigations. ... Ladies and gentlemen, the American Broadcasting Corporation brings to its entire network one of radios most unusual programs . ... Gale Gordon Johnny Modero, Pier 23 was a 30-minute radio detective drama series which was broadcast on Mutual Thursday at 8pm from April 24, 1947 to September 4, 1947. ...

Probably his most famous motion picture role was as the combat-hardened drill instructor on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in the film The D.I.. Webb's characterization in this role would color most of his later acting. Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is an 8,095 acre (32. ...

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. The film was made in semidocumentary style with technical advice/assistance provided by Detective Sergeant Marty Wynn of the Los Angeles Police Department. It was this film that gave Webb the idea for Dragnet. Police plan of attack late in He Walked By Night He Walked by Night is a 1948 black-and-white film noir directed by Alfred L. Werker. ... Semidocumentary is book, movie, or television program presenting a fictional story that incorporates many factual details or actual events. ... â†’â™¥â™¥Ð This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organisations around the world. ... â€œLAPDâ€ redirects here. ...

After getting much assistance from Sgt. Wynn and legendary LAPD chief William Parker, Dragnet hit radio airwaves in 1949 (running until 1954) and then television in 1951 on the NBC network. Webb starred as Sgt. Joe Friday and Barton Yarborough co-starred as Sgt. Ben Romero. A dragnet is any system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects; including road barricades and traffic stops, widespread DNA tests, and general increased police alertness. ... NBC (a former acronym for National Broadcasting Company) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...

Webb was a stickler for attention to detail. He believed that viewers wanted "realism" and strove to give it to them. Jack Webb had tremendous respect for the people in law enforcement. He often mentioned in interviews that he was angry about the "ridiculous" amount of abuse that police were often subjected to by the press and the public. He said that he wanted to perform a service for the police by showing them as low-key working class heroes.

Despite his reputation for accuracy, he wasn't above bending the rules. According to one "Dragnet" technical advisor, he (the advisor) pointed out that several circumstances in one episode were extremely unlikely in real life. "You know that, and now I know that. But that little old lady in Kansas will never know the difference," Webb said in response.

In 1950, Webb appeared alongside future Dragnet partner Harry Morgan in the film noir Dark City. Harry Morgan as Colonel Sherman T. Potter Harry Morgan (born Henry Bratsburg on April 10, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American television actor of Norwegian extraction. ... Dark City was a 1950 black-and-white film in the film noir style. ...

The year 1952 saw Dragnet become a successful television show. Unfortunately Barton Yarborough died suddenly of a heart attack, and Barney Phillips (Sgt. Ed Jacobs) and Herbert Ellis (Officer Frank Smith) temporarily stepped in as partners. In 1952, veteran radio and film actor Ben Alexander would debut as the second incarnation of jovial, burly Officer Frank Smith. Alexander proved to be a popular addition to the series as Webb's detective partner and remained a cast member until the cancellation in 1959. 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ben Alexander, 1919 Ben Alexander (Nicholas Benton Alexander IV) alias Bennie Alexander, (May 26, 1911 â€“ July 5, 1969) was an American motion picture actor, who started out as a child actor in 1915. ...

Dragnet began with "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 results of the trial of the suspect and severity of sentence were announced by Hal Gibney. Webb frequently re-created entire floors of buildings on soundstages, such as the police headquarters at Los Angeles City Hall for Dragnet and a floor of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner Building for the 1959 film -30-. The Los Angeles Herald Examiner building, located in downtown L.A., was designed by Julia Morgan. ... -30- (released as Deadline Midnight in the UK) is a 1959 movie starring William Conrad and Jack Webb as the editor and publisher, respectively, of a fictional Los Angeles evening newspaper. ...

During the early days of Dragnet, he continued to appear in other movies, notably the 1950 Billy Wilder film Sunset Boulevard. Billy Wilder (June 22, 1906 â€“ March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-born, Jewish-American journalist, screenwriter, film director, and producer whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. ... It has been suggested that Norma Desmond be merged into this article or section. ...

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 Webb met singer and actress Julie London. They married in 1947 and raised two children. They later divorced and Webb married three more times. Jazz is a musical art form that originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States around the start of the 20th century. ... Bâ™ cornet The cornet is a brass instrument that closely resembles the trumpet. ... Julie London Julie London (September 26, 1926â€“October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress. ...

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 radio series became the basis for a 1955 movie of the same name. However, neither the radio series nor the movie resonated with the audiences of the time. Pete Kellys Blues was an American radio drama which aired over NBC as an unsponsored summer replacement series from July 4 through September 19, 1951. ... Pete Kellys Blues is a 1955 film based on the original radio series. ...

In early 1967 Webb produced and starred in a new color version of Dragnet for NBC. This version co-starred Harry Morgan 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 series itself ran through 1970. NBC (a former acronym for National Broadcasting Company) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Harry Morgan as Colonel Sherman T. Potter Harry Morgan (born Henry Bratsburg on April 10, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American television actor of Norwegian extraction. ... Felony Squad was a half-hour television crime drama originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 12, 1966 to January 31, 1969, a span encompassing 73 episodes. ... The American Broadcasting Company ( oftenly known as ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ...

Beginning in 1968, in concert with Robert A. Cinader, Webb produced NBC's popular Adam-12, which focused on LAPD uniform officers Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and Jim Reed (Kent McCord), which ran until 1975. Adam-12 was a television program which ran from 1968 until 1975 on police officers, of the Rampart Division , veteran Pete Malloy (Martin Milner) and rookie Jim Reed (Kent McCord), and their sergeant, played by William Boyett. ... Martin Sam Milner (born December 28, 1931 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American actor best known for his performances in two popular television series, Adam-12 and Route 66. ... Kent McCord (born Kent Franklin McWhirter on September 26, 1942 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor. ...

In 1968 Webb performed, in Joe Friday character, the classic "Copper Clappers" sketch during an appearance on The Tonight Show where a pokerfaced Webb echoed Johnny Carson's equally-deadpan robbery report where all the details started with "Cl" or least the letter C. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other persons named John Carson, see John Carson (disambiguation). ...

In the early 70s Webb produced The DA with Robert Conrad and O'Hara: US Treasury with David Janssen. These were short-lived, but another show, Emergency!, proved to be a success, running from 1972 to 1977, with ratings occasionally even topping its timeslot 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. Robert Conrad Robert Conrad (born either Conrad Robert Falk or Konrad Robert Falkowski on March 1 in Chicago, although the year is still subject to question), is an American film and TV actor and director. ... David Janssen David Harold Meyer (March 27, 1931 - February 13, 1980), better known as David Janssen, was an American film and television actor who is best-known for his role as Dr. Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive (ABC,1963-1967). ... Emergency! was a popular crime drama/medical television series that was produced by Mark VII Limited (Jack Webbs company) and distributed by Universal Studios. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Late life

Project UFO was another Webb production and depicted Project Blue Book, a U.S. Air Force investigation into unidentified flying objects. This was the last major product of his Mark VII production company. The end credits for the Mark VII productions famously showed a man's hands using a sledge hammer to stamp "VII" into a metal plate. It was later revealed that the hands belonged to Webb himself. Gatlin and Fitz in Project UFO Project UFO was an NBC television series which lasted two seasons, from 1978 to 1979. ... Project Blue Book was one of a series of systematic studies of Unidentified flying objects (UFOs) conducted by the United States Air Force. ... Seal of the Air Force. ... UFO redirects here. ... Sledge Hammer! is a US television satirical sitcom that screened for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. ...

He was working on scripts for another revival of Dragnet in 1983 with Kent McCord as his partner, when he died of a heart attack in 1982 at the age of 62. Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. ... Kent McCord (born Kent Franklin McWhirter on September 26, 1942 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor. ... Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ...

He was interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. Webb was given a funeral with full police honors (including the chief of police announcing that the badge number 714 that Webb used in Dragnet would be retired) although he had never actually served on the force. Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in Los Angeles, California, on the south edge of the San Fernando Valley by Burbank (and on the north side of the Santa Monica Mountains from Hollywood). ... Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. ...

Not only did the LAPD use Dragnet episodes as training films for a time, they also named a police academy auditorium after Webb. Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. ...

Universal has released several of Webb's series on DVD, including Dragnet 1967, Emergency! and Adam-12. In addition a number of episodes of the 1950s Dragnet series are now in the public domain and as such are widely available on non-Universal DVD releases. The Dragnet 1967 and Adam-12 theme songs are available on iTunes for downloading to iPod. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... This article is about about the iTunes application. ... iPod (fifth generation) in Apple Universal Dock, iPod nano (second generation) and iPod shuffle (second generation) iPod is a brand of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple and launched in 2001. ...

Trivia

Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor, Emmy-winning director, voice-over artist and movie producer. ... Daniel Edward Aykroyd CM (born July 1, 1952 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) is an Academy Award-nominated Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, and musician. ... Dragnet is a 1987 film starring Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Dabney Coleman, Harry Morgan, and Alexandra Paul. ... Harry Morgan as Colonel Sherman T. Potter Harry Morgan (born Henry Bratsburg on April 10, 1915 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American television actor of Norwegian extraction. ... Try a Little Tenderness is a song written by Jimmy Campbell, Reginald Connelly, and Harry Woods, and recorded separately by both Ruth Etting and Bing Crosby in 1933. ... Rhino Entertainment is a specialty record label originally known for releasing retrospectives of famous comedy performers, including Stan Freberg, Tom Lehrer, and Spike Jones. ... Golden Throats is Rhino Records series of humorous compilations of critically lambasted cover versions of songs, performed mostly by either by celebrities known for something other than musical talent or musicians not known for the genre from which the song they are covering comes. ...

Filmography

Short Subjects: Bette Davis, Joan Blondell, and Ann Dvorak in Three on A Match A pre-Code film (made in 1932 and directed by Mervyn LeRoy) about three young women who are friends from childhood: Mary Keaton aka Mary Bernard (Joan Blondell), a bad girl who is sent to a reformatory Ruth... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... Hollow Triumph, also known as The Scar, is a black-and-white film released in 1948. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Police plan of attack late in He Walked By Night He Walked by Night is a 1948 black-and-white film noir directed by Alfred L. Werker. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... The Men is a 1950 film which tells the story of a World War II veteran, who is seriously injured in combat, and the struggles he faces as he attempts to re-enter society. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Norma Desmond be merged into this article or section. ... Dark City was a 1950 black-and-white film in the film noir style. ... Halls of Montezuma is a 1950 World War II action/drama that follows a group of U.S. Marines from the beach to a Japanese rocket site through enemy infested jungles as their ex-school teacher leader is transformed into a battle veteran and his squad becomes a tight fighting... Youre in the Navy Now is a Hollywood film released in 1951 by Twentieth Century Fox about the United States Navy in the first months of World War II. The film is a comedy starring Gary Cooper as a new officer wanting a command at sea but who is... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pete Kellys Blues is a 1955 film based on the original radio series. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... -30- (released as Deadline Midnight in the UK) is a 1959 movie starring William Conrad and Jack Webb as the editor and publisher, respectively, of a fictional Los Angeles evening newspaper. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... The Commies are Coming, the Commies are Coming (1962) is a Cold War-era drama, short subject film, starring Jack Kelly, and Jeanne Cooper. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1968 Gregorian calendar. ...

Television Work

Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dragnet was a long-running radio and television police procedural drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... OHara, U.S. Treasury was a crime drama broadcast in the United States by CBS during the 1971-72 television season. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Gatlin and Fitz in Project UFO Project UFO was an NBC television series which lasted two seasons, from 1978 to 1979. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ...

Books

References

External links

Categories: American television actors | American radio actors | American film directors | American film producers | American television directors | American television producers | Hollywood Walk of Fame | United States Army soldiers | American military personnel of World War II | People from Los Angeles | Edgar Award winners | 1920 births | 1982 deaths The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... Find A Grave (or findagrave. ... TV.com is a website belonging to the CNET Games and Entertainment family of websites. ...

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