Known For
Acting
Born
Apr 02, 1920
Died
Dec 23, 1982
Place of Birth
Santa Monica, California, USA
Credits
66 titles
Jack Webb
Biography
John Randolph 'Jack' Webb (also known by the pen name John Randolph; April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) 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. Born in Santa Monica, California, Webb grew up in the Bunker Hill section of Los Angeles as the child of a single mother after his father left home before he was born. During World War II, Webb enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces, but he "washed out" of flight training and was granted a hardship discharge to care for his family. Following his discharge, he moved to San Francisco, where a wartime shortage of announcers led to a temporary appointment to his own half-hour comedy radio show on ABC's KGO Radio in 1946. By 1949 he had abandoned comedy for drama, and starred in numerous radio shows until finding success in film and television in the late 1950s. Webb had a featured role as a crime lab technician in the 1948 film He Walked by Night, a thinly-fictionalized recounting of the 1946 Walker crime spree. This experience 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. Following the success of Dragnet, Webb appeared in numerous television shows and specials, including the well-known 1972 series Emergency! During his work on a revival of Dragnet in 1982, Webb suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 62. His funeral was given full police honors, and then LAPD Chief Daryl Gates retired the badge number 714 used by Webb's Joe Friday of Dragnet fame.
Known For
Filmography
O.J.: Made in America
Sgt. Joe Friday (archive footage)
Greenboy: Prescription for Death
Joe Friday (archive footage)
L.A. Dragnet
Creator
The New Adam-12
Creator
The New Dragnet
Creator
Little Mo
Executive Producer
Sam
Producer
Project U.F.O.
Producer
Mobile One
Producer
Mobile Two
Executive Producer
The Log of the Black Pearl
Executive Producer
Sierra
Producer
Chase
Producer
Chase
Director
Escape
Producer
The Century Turns
Executive Producer
Hec Ramsey
Producer
Emergency!
Director
Emergency!
Director
The Partners
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury
Producer
The D.A.
Producer
O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra
Narrator
The Selling of the Pentagon
Self (archive footage)
The D.A.: Conspiracy to Kill
Executive Producer
Your Tour In Vietnam
Narrator
The D.A.: Murder One
Executive Producer
Dragnet
Joe Friday
Adam-12
Director
Star Spangled Salesman
Security Man
Greyhounds of the Sea
Narrator
Dragnet
Joe Friday
A Day in Vietnam
Narrator
The Man from Galveston
Executive Producer
Temple Houston
Creator
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
General Electric True
Self - host
Red Nightmare
On-Camera Narrator
The John Glenn Story
Narrator
The Last Time I Saw Archie
William 'Bill' Bowers
A Force in Readiness
-30-
Sam Gatlin
Pete Kelly's Blues
Producer
The D.A.'s Man
Producer
77 Sunset Strip
Producer
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Self
The D.I.
Gunnery Sgt. Jim Moore
24 Hour Alert
Himself
Pete Kelly's Blues
Pete Kelly
Dragnet
Sergeant Joe Friday