JW
Jack Webb
Actor, Producer, Director, Writer, Additional Credits
Born April 2, 1920Died December 23, 1982 (62 years)
John Randolph 'Jack' Webb, also known by the pen name John Randolph, 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.
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.
Movies & Shows on Plex
Filmography
| 2016 | O.J.: Made in America (TV Series) · as Sgt. Joe Friday (archive Footage) |
| 2003 | Los Angeles Plays Itself · as Sergeant Joe Friday In Dragnet (archive Footage) |
| 1999 | Television: The First Fifty Years · as Sgt. Joe Friday |
| 1978 | Project UFO (TV Series) · as Narrator |
| 1971 | The Partners (TV Series) |
| 1971 | O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (TV Series) · as Narrator |
| 1969 | Dragnet 1966 · as Joe Friday |
| 1968 | Adam-12 (TV Series) · as Announcer |
| 1968 | Greyhounds of the Sea · as Narrator |
| 1967 | Dragnet (TV Series) · as Sergeant Joe Friday |
| 1967 | A Day in Vietnam · as Narrator |
| 1962 | The John Glenn Story · as Narrator |
| 1961 | The Last Time I Saw Archie · as William 'bill' Bowers |
| 1959 | -30- · as Sam Gatlin |
| 1958 | 77 Sunset Strip (TV Series) · as Background Bystander |
| 1957 | The D.I. · as Gunnery Sgt. Jim Moore |
| 1955 | Pete Kelly's Blues · as Pete Kelly |
| 1954 | Dragnet · as Sergeant Joe Friday |
| 1951 | Dragnet (1951) (TV Series) · as Joe Friday |
| 1951 | You're in the Navy Now · as Ens. Anthony 'tony' Barbo |
| 1951 | Halls of Montezuma · as Correspondent Dickerman |
| 1950 | Dark City · as Augie |
| 1950 | The Men · as Norm |
| 1950 | Sunset Boulevard · as Artie Green |
| 1950 | Appointment with Danger · as Joe Regas |
| 1949 | Sword in the Desert · as Hoffman |
| 1948 | He Walked by Night · as Lee Whitey |
| 1948 | Hollow Triumph · as Bullseye (uncredited) |
| 1932 | Three on a Match · as Boy In Schoolyard (uncredited) |