Person
Jack Webb
Santa Monica, California, USA
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…
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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.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2016
O.J.: Made in America
TV show Sgt. Joe Friday (archive footage)
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2013
Greenboy: Prescription for Death
Movie Joe Friday (archive footage)
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2003
L.A. Dragnet
TV show Creator
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1990
The New Adam-12
TV show Creator
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1989
The New Dragnet
TV show Creator
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1978
Little Mo
Movie Executive Producer
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1978
Sam
TV show Producer
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1978
Project U.F.O.
TV show Narrator (uncredited)
-
1975
Mobile One
TV show Producer
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1975
Mobile Two
Movie Executive Producer
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1975
The Log of the Black Pearl
Movie Executive Producer
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1974
Sierra
TV show Producer
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1973
Chase
TV show Producer
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1973
Chase
Movie Director
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1973
Escape
TV show Producer
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1972
The Century Turns
Movie Executive Producer
More credits
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1972
Hec Ramsey
TV show Producer
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1972
Emergency!
TV show Director
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1972
Emergency!
Movie Director
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1971
The Partners
TV show
-
1971
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury
TV show Producer
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1971
The D.A.
TV show Producer
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1971
O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra
Movie Narrator
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1971
The Selling of the Pentagon
Movie Self (archive footage)
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1971
The D.A.: Conspiracy to Kill
Movie Executive Producer
-
1970
Your Tour In Vietnam
Movie Narrator
-
1969
The D.A.: Murder One
Movie Executive Producer
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1969
Dragnet
Movie Joe Friday
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1968
Adam-12
TV show Director
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1968
Star Spangled Salesman
Movie Security Man
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1967
Greyhounds of the Sea
Movie Narrator
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1967
Dragnet
TV show Joe Friday
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1967
A Day in Vietnam
Movie Narrator
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1963
The Man from Galveston
Movie Executive Producer
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1963
Temple Houston
TV show Creator
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1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV show Self
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1962
General Electric True
TV show Self - host
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1962
Red Nightmare
Movie On-Camera Narrator
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1962
The John Glenn Story
Movie Narrator
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1961
The Last Time I Saw Archie
Movie William 'Bill' Bowers
