Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh, Jr. (born January 22, 1937, in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American writer known for his fictional and non-fictional accounts of police work in the United States. The son of a police officer, Wambaugh joined the U.S. Marines at age seventeen (an element he works into several of his novels), and married at eighteen. He received an Associate's degree from Chaffey College, joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1960 (eventually serving fourteen years) and rose through the ranks from patrolman to detective sergeant, and attended California State University, Los Angeles, in his off-duty time, receiving bachelor of arts and Master of Arts degrees. January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... East Pittsburgh is a borough located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... An associate degree is an academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges and some bachelors degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years. ... Image:Chaffee library. ... It has been suggested that Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners be merged into this article or section. ... California State University, Los Angeles (also known as Cal State L.A. or CSULA or even more rarely CSLA) is a California public university part of the California State University system. ... Bachelor of Arts (B.A., BA or A.B.), from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus is an undergraduate bachelors degree awarded for either a course or a program in the liberal arts or the sciences, or both. ...

Wambaugh's unique perspective on the realities of police work led to his first novel, The New Centurions, which was published early in 1971 to critical acclaim and popular success. (The success of the early books happened while Wambaugh was still working in the detective division. He reportedly remarked "I would have guys in handcuffs asking me for autographs.") Soon turning to writing full-time, Wambaugh was prolific and popular starting in the 1970s, mixing novels (The Blue Knight, The Choirboys, The Black Marble) with nonfiction accounts of crime and detection a.k.a. "true crime" (The Onion Field). Later books included The Glitter Dome (a TV-movie adaptation starred James Garner and John Lithgow), The Delta Star, and Lines and Shadows. The New Centurions is a 1972 film based on the book by cop-writer Joseph Wambaugh, with George C. Scott as the veteran police officer, and Stacy Keach as his world-weary rookie trainee. ... For the Australian rock band The Choirboys, see The Choirboys (band). ... The Onion Field is a book by Joseph Wambaugh, a sergeant for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during the 1960s riots, published in 1974, regarding the March 9, 1963 kidnapping of two LAPD officers by two criminals, pulled over for a routine traffic violation. ... James Garner (born James Scott Baumgarner on April 7, 1928) is an American film and television actor. ... John Arthur Lithgow (IPA: [ʤɔn lɪˌθ.ĝo]) (born October 19, 1945) is an American actor perhaps best-known for his starring role as Dick Solomon in the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. ... The Delta Star is a novel by author Joseph Wambaugh first published in 1983. ...

In contrast to conventionally heroic fictional policemen, Wambaugh brought a gritty texture to his flawed police characters. Many of his books were made into feature films or TV-movies during the 70s and 80s. The Blue Knight, a novel following the approaching retirement and last working days of aging veteran beat cop "Bumper" Morgan, was made into an Emmy-winning 1973 TV miniseries starring William Holden and later a short-lived TV series starring George Kennedy. His realistic approach to police drama was highly influential in both film and television depictions (such as Hill Street Blues) from the mid-70s onward. William Holden (April 17, 1918 – ca. ... George Kennedy George Kennedy (born February 18, 1925 in New York City, New York) is an actor who has appeared in over 200 film and television productions. ... Hill Street Blues was a serial police drama that first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. ...

Wambaugh was also involved with creating/developing the NBC series Police Story, which ran from 1973 to 1977. The anthology show covered the different aspects of police work (patrol, detective, undercover, etc.) in the LAPD with story ideas and characters supposedly inspired by off-the-record talks with actual police officers. At times the show's characters also dealt with problems not usually seen or associated with typical TV cop shows, such as alcohol abuse, adultery, and brutality. The show also had a brief revival on ABC during the 1988-1989 season. This article is about the American TV series Police Story, for the Jackie Chan film see Police Story (movie) Police Story was an anthology television drama on the NBC broadcast network from the years 1973 through 1977. ...

Wambaugh was also involved in the production of the acclaimed film versions of The Onion Field (1979) and The Black Marble (1980), both directed by Harold Becker. In 1981, he won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his screenplay for the latter film. This was after The Choirboys film adaptation had met with very poor critical and audience reception a few years earlier. (Trivia note: all three films featured performances by then young up-and-coming actor James Woods.) The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (popularly called the Edgars), named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. ... The Mystery Writers of America are an organization for mystery writers. ... James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an Oscar-nominated American actor. ...

In 1992, Wambaugh suffered some controversy with his nonfiction book Echoes In The Darkness, regarding the murder of Susan Reinert, a teacher in Upper Merion School District outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was alleged that the author paid prosecutors in the trial of principal Jay C. Smith to funnel information to him before an arrest was even made. [1] Smith's conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on the grounds that the prosecution hid the existence of sand that could have supported Smith's case. Smith later sued but lost after a federal appeals court concluded that despite his release evidence of his guilt remained overwhelming. Dr. Jay C. Smith was sentenced to death in 1985 for the 1979 murder of Susan Reinert and the presumed murder of her two children. ... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto (Let brotherly love continue) Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ... Dr. Jay C. Smith was sentenced to death in 1985 for the 1979 murder of Susan Reinert and the presumed murder of her two children. ...

Wambaugh's most famous and recent nonfiction book is The Blooding, which tells the story behind how an early landmark case involving DNA fingerprinting helped solve two murders in the English Midlands, resulting in the arrest and conviction of Colin Pitchfork. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In general, the midlands of a territory are its central regions. ... Colin Pitchfork Colin Pitchfork (born . ...

In 2003, Fire Lover: A True Story brought Wambaugh his second Edgar Award, for Best Crime Fact book, and in 2004 he was the recipient of an MWA Grand Master Award. He returned to fiction with Hollywood Station (2006), his first book depicting life in the LAPD since The Delta Star (1983). The Mystery Writers of America are an organization for mystery writers. ... The Delta Star is a novel by author Joseph Wambaugh first published in 1983. ...

In the 2000s, Wambaugh also began teaching screenwriting courses as a guest lecturer for the theater department at the University of California San Diego. 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Screenwriting refers to the art and craft of writing screenplays. ... For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle &#8212... The University of California, San Diego (popularly known as UCSD) is a public, coeducational university located in La Jolla, California. ...

Books by Joseph Wambaugh

• The New Centurions (1971, fiction)
• The Blue Knight (1972, fiction)
• The Onion Field (1973, nonfiction)
• The Choirboys (1975, fiction)
• The Black Marble (1978, fiction)
• The Glitter Dome (1981, fiction)
• The Delta Star (1983, fiction)
• Lines and Shadows (1984, nonfiction)
• The Secrets of Harry Bright (1985, fiction)
• Echoes in the Darkness (1987, nonfiction)
• The Blooding: The True Story of the Narborough Village Murders (1989, nonfiction)
• The Golden Orange (1990, fiction)
• Fugitive Nights (1992, fiction)
• Finnegan's Week (1994, fiction)
• Floaters (1996, fiction)
• Fire Lover: A True Story (2002, nonfiction)
• Hollywood Station (2006, fiction)

The New Centurions is a 1972 film based on the book by cop-writer Joseph Wambaugh, with George C. Scott as the veteran police officer, and Stacy Keach as his world-weary rookie trainee. ... The Blue Knight as a name or title has several meanings: Greg Valentine (born 1951), also known as The Blue Knight, an American professional wrestler The Blue Knight (novel), a novel by Joseph Wambaugh The Blue Knight (film), a made-for-television film based on the novel by Joseph Wambaugh... The Onion Field is a book by Joseph Wambaugh, a sergeant for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during the 1960s riots, published in 1974, regarding the March 9, 1963 kidnapping of two LAPD officers by two criminals, pulled over for a routine traffic violation. ... For the Australian rock band The Choirboys, see The Choirboys (band). ... The Delta Star is a novel by author Joseph Wambaugh first published in 1983. ... Echoes in the Darkness is the title of a 1987 book by crime writer Joseph Wambaugh. ... This article refers to the entoptic phenomenon. ... Hollywood Station is a Tri-Rail commuter rail station in Hollywood, Florida. ...

Sources

• Marling, William. Hard-Boiled Fiction. Case Western Reserve University. Marling page
• WAMBAUGH, Joseph International Who's Who. accessed September 1, 2006.

September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

External Links

• 1981, 1989 audio interviews with Joseph Wambaugh by Don Swaim
• Hollywood Station Reviews at Metacritic