Biography for
Jack Webb (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

2 April 1920, Santa Monica, California, USA

Date of Death

23 December 1982, West Hollywood, California, USA (heart attack)

Birth Name

John Randolph Webb

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography

John (Jack) Randolph Webb was born in Santa Monica, California, on April 2, 1920. His father left home before he was born; Webb would never know him. He was raised by his mother and maternal grandmother in dire poverty that preceded the Depression. Making things worse, Webb suffered from acute asthma from age six until adulthood, somewhat surprising for a man whose cigarette intake reached three packs a day at its peak. Webb's great love was movies, and his dream was to direct them. He began in radio, first as a disc jockey then as host of a comedy show (believe it or not!), finally as "Pat Novak, Private Eye," his first true success. A small role in the film noir classic He Walked by Night (1948) led to the creation of "Dragnet." It first aired over NBC radio on June 3, 1949, and came to TV ("Dragnet" (1951)) on December 16, 1951, where it ran until September 1959. By then, Webb had become a film director and would helm (and star in) five features: Dragnet (1954), Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), The D.I. (1957), -30- (1959), and The Last Time I Saw Archie (1961). The last two were box office flops, and Webb returned to TV in 1962. In February 1963, he became Head of Production for Warner Bros. Television, a job he was fired from that December when his revision of "77 Sunset Strip" (1958) sent its ratings into a death spiral. After two years of unemployment, a new opportunity arose the made-for-TV film, of which Universal was then sole supplier. Coincidentally, they owned the rights to "Dragnet" (1951) and invited Webb to do a new "Dragnet" as a TV movie. It turned out so well that NBC and Universal persuaded him to do a new "Dragnet 1967" (1967) TV series, which lasted three-and-a-half seasons and went on to smash success in syndicated reruns. By then, Webb had parlayed Dragnet's renewed popularity into a second hit series, "Adam-12" (1968), and managed to keep his company solvent until his untimely death from a massive heart attack on December 23, 1982. Webb was married four times: to Julie London (1947-54), Dorothy Towne (1955-1957), Jackie Loughery (1958-64), and to Opal Wright (1980-death). He had two daughters by London: Stacey (1950-96) and Alisa (1952-his death).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Michael J. Hayde

Spouse

Opal Wright	(30 December 1980 - 23 December 1982) (his death)
Jackie Loughery	(24 June 1958 - March 1964) (divorced)
Dorothy Towne	(11 January 1955 - June 1957) (divorced)
Julie London	(19 July 1947 - November 1953) (divorced) 2 children

Trade Mark

Best known for his realistic television series featuring supremely professional civil servants such as police officers, police detectives and firefighters.

A buzzsaw flattop haircut. He first wore it for the title role of "The D.I." and kept it for the rest of his career.

Trivia

Performed charity work related to widows and orphans of police officers killed in duty.

Upon his death, the badge number 714, used by his character Joe Friday in the "Dragnet" TV shows, was officially retired by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Was buried with full honors befitting an LAPD detective, including a 17-gun salute.

Not only did the LAPD use "Dragnet" episodes as training films for a time, they also named a police academy auditorium after Webb.

Contrary to popular belief, his character, Joe Friday, never said, "Just the facts, ma'am" in any episode of "Dragnet". The actual line was, "All we want [or "need"] are the facts, ma'am."

Starred as the title character on ABC Radio's "Pat Novak for Hire" (1946 and 1949).

Had just over 6,000 jazz albums in his private collection.

Portrayed the title character (AKA The Lion's Eye) on CBS Radio's "Jeff Regan, Investigator" (1948).

Portrayed the title character on NBC Radio's "Pete Kelly's Blues" (1951).

He turned down the role of the Dean in Animal House (1978) because he felt it would be poking fun at his straight-laced, law-and-order image; he was closely identified with law and order, in particular police officers, and he felt that the film would be making fun of that, although he claimed he was willing to poke fun at himself - and, in fact, did just that in a famous skit on "Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The" (1962)_.

Was a close friend of "Star Trek" (1966) creator Gene Roddenberry.

Was the basis for the "Brett Chase" character in L.A. Confidential (1997).

At the height of "Dragnet's" popularity, people would actually call the LAPD wanting to speak to Webb's character, Sgt. Joe Friday. The Department eventually came up with a stock answer to the large volume of calls: "Sorry, it's Joe's day off."

Was part of the investigation of the Black Dahlia which was in turn some of his inspiration for "Dragnet".

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 851-853. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.

Was a huge baseball fan, and chose badge number 714 for Sgt. Friday because it was the number of home runs Babe Ruth hit.

Featured in "Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir" by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry (McFarland, 2003).

He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio at 7040 Hollywood Boulevard and for Television at 6728 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

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