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Jack Webb
MAIN
PHOTOS
VIDEOS
NEWS
CREDITS
BIOGRAPHY
AWARDS
FANSITES
FORUM
BIRTHDAY
April 02, 1920
Santa Monica, Los Angeles, CA
DIED
December 23, 1982
RECENT CREDITS
The Last Time I Saw Archie
(FILM)
Jun. 1, 1961
Pete Kelly's Blues
(FILM)
Aug. 1, 1955
Dragnet
(FILM)
Sep. 1, 1954
Appointment with Danger
(FILM)
May. 9, 1951
Halls of Montezuma
(FILM)
Jan. 1, 1950
View all
Jack Webb Credits
BIOGRAPHY
Following World War II, California native Jack Webb planned to renew the art studies that he'd abandoned for the military. Instead, he turned to acting, appearing on various San Francisco-based radio programs. He....
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Following World War II, California native Jack Webb planned to renew the art studies that he'd abandoned for the military. Instead, he turned to acting, appearing on various San Francisco-based radio programs. He briefly hosted his own satirical comedy series before finding his true metier in detective melodramas. In collaboration with future Oscar-winning screenwriter Richard L. Breen (who remained a Webb associate until his death in 1967), Webb concocted a hard-boiled private eye show entitled Pat Novak for Hire. The popularity he gained from this effort enabled Webb to secure small film roles -- one of these was as a police lab technician in the 1948 film noir He Walked by Night (1948). Intrigued by the police procedure he'd learned while preparing for the role, Webb immersed himself in the subject until he felt ready to launch what many observers still consider the first realistic radio cop show: Dragnet, which premiered June 3, 1949. Webb carried over his terse characterization of L.A. police sergeant Joe Friday into the Dragnet TV series (which he also directed) beginning in 1952. Armed with a bottomless reserve of police terminology and a colorful repertoire of catchphrases, the laconic, ferret-faced Webb became one of the most successful -- and most widely imitated -- TV personalities of the 1950s; almost always in the Top Ten, Dragnet, produced by Webb's own Mark VII Productions, ran until 1959. Webb's newfound industry clout permitted him to direct for the big screen as well -- his 1950s movie credits (outside of such pre-star efforts as The Men, Sunset Boulevard, and Halls of Montezuma) include the 1954 feature version of Dragnet, 1955's Pete Kelly's Blues (based on another of Webb's radio series), 1957's The D.I., and 1959's 30. In addition, Webb's Mark VII produced such TV series as Noah's Ark, The D.A.'s Man, and the video version of Pete Kelly's Blues. Webb kicked off the 1960s with a rare attempt at directing comedy, The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961). From 1962 through 1964, he was in charge of Warner Bros.' television division, an assignment which came to an end as a result of several failed TV ventures. A 1966 TV-movie version of Dragnet kicked off Webb's second career. He went on to star in a successful weekly Dragnet revival, which ran from 1967 through 1970, while his Mark VII outfit was responsible for a score of TV series, the most successful of which were Emergency and Adam 12. Regarded as something of a relic by the "hipper" viewers, Jack Webb nonetheless remained profitably active in television until the late '70s; he might have continued into the 1980s had not his drinking and smoking habits accelerated his death at the age of 62. Married three times, Jack Webb's first wife was singing star Julie London, whom he'd first met when he was 21 and she was 15.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Headlines
A Sad Day for Broadway and Hollywood
Oct. 19, 2000
HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 19, 2000 -- Gwen Verdon, a four-time Tony Award winner from Broadway's Golden Age, has died at age 75 from natural causes at her daughter's Vermont home. The petite, redheaded performer captivated audiences in musicals such as "Damn Yankees," "Chicago" and "Sweet Charity." Verdon was married to director-choreographer Bob Fosse, whom she married in 1960, and the...
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TAB WATCH: Whitney Preggers?
Posted: Jun. 30, 2000
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Recently Worked With...
Howard McNear
The Last Time I Saw Archie
Released: Jun. 1, 1961
John Booth
Pete Kelly's Blues
Released: Aug. 1, 1955
Cliff Arquette
Dragnet
Released: Sep. 1, 1954
Alan Ladd
Appointment with Danger
Released: May. 9, 1951
Richard Widmark
Halls of Montezuma
Released: Jan. 1, 1950
Julia Faye
Sunset Boulevard
Released: Jan. 1, 1950
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