December 16, 1951 - April 16, 1970
NBC Police Drama - 376 Filmed Episodes
Cast:
| Sgt. Joe Friday (Badge 714): | Jack Webb |
| Officer Frank Smith (1953-1959): | Ben Alexander |
| Officer Bill Gannon (1967-1970): | Harry Morgan |
| Sgt. Ben Romero (1951): | Barton Yarborough |
| Sgt. Ed Jacobs (1952): | Barney Phillips |
| Officer Frank Smith (1952): | Herbert Ellis |
| Ann Baker, Joe's fiance (1953-1954): | Dorothy Abbott |
| Sharon Maxwell, Joe's girlfriend (1956): | Marjie Millar |
| Captain Mack: | Byron Morrow |
| Captain Brown: | Art Balinger |
| Captain Didion: | Art Gilmore |
| Policewoman Dorothy Miller (1967): | Merry Anders |
| Announcer (1952-1970): | George Fenneman |
| Narrator (1967-1970): | John Stephenson |
The program opened each week with these words from
Det. Sgt. Joe Friday: "This is the city, Los Angeles,
California. I work here, I carry a badge." Then that
arresting theme music began to play ("Dum-de-dum-dum").
Probably the most successful police drama in television
history. Dragnet's hallmark was its appearance of realism,
from the documentary-style narration by Joe Friday, to the
cases drawn from the files of the real L.A.P.D., to its
attention to the details of police work ("It was 3:55...
We were working the day watch out of homicide"). Viewers
were reminded of the unglamorous dead ends and the constant
interruptions of their private lives that plague real policemen,
and this made the final shoot-out and capture of the criminal
all the more exciting. At the end of each episode, after the
criminal was apprehended, an announcer would describe what
happened at the subsequent trial and the severity of the sentence.
The series was created and directed by Jack Webb himself.
It's catchphrases and devices became national bywords and
were widely satirized. There was Webb's terse "My name is
Friday--I'm a cop," and "Just the facts, ma'am".
The classic police drama was updated for the 1960s.
No-nonsense Sgt. Joe Friday and his new partner,
Officer Bill Gannon, tackled traditional police cases
and faced new challenges such as LSD, race riots,
and public service TV shows.
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Click HERE to download theme song.
Click HERE to purchase Dragnet videos!
Look for Dragnet on Nick at Nite.
Badge 714
Fan Site/Author Unknown
Dragnet
From Wikipedia
Dragnet
From The Museum of Broadcast Communications
Dragnet
From The Internet Movie Database
Dragnet
From TV.com
Dragnet Profile
By MysteryNet
Dragnet Shrine
By adadkins@aol.com
Episode Guide (1951-1959)
By Des Martin
Episode Guide (1967-1970)
By Des Martin
Jack Webb: American Legend
By Charlotte Younger
Jack Webb's Grave
By Find A Grave
These links were last tested April 2001.
Check out these classic TV Guide covers...
